It was Lee Ye-Eun who moved first.
She quickly shot an arrow with her signature gripping method, pulling the string with a slight twist.The arrow that should have pierced Yoo Ji-Hyuk's back bent and flew straight toward Svengali.Naturally, he deflected the arrow with a single flap of his wings.
Trajectory, wind, distance.Lee Ye-Eun, who grasped everything with that one shot, picked up three arrows at once and set them on the string.
The front row and the back row have their respective roles.And she was thoroughly acting in accordance with her role.It was the same with Yoo Ji-Hyuk.
Lee Ye-Eun also has a piece of wood that was part of Svengali, so she can make significant attacks.
It meant that he didn't have to overdo it to hurt him.Yoo Ji-Hyuk decided to be faithful to the role assigned to him in the front row.The role of the front row is to defend the rear and catch the enemy.
In any case, Lee Ye-Eun had discovered both the branches of the World Tree and Hanir's shadow, so he didn't need to hide anymore.As he ran forward, he began to spread Henir's shadow as wide as he could.
"Fungus, bloom."
Svengali flapped his wings in the air as if dancing and singing.He spewed out a strange powder and flapped his wings as hard as he could, scattering it so widely that it was unavoidable.
And as soon as it touched the body, something like green fungus began to cover the body in an instant.As soon as the fungus bloomed, it fed on Yoo Ji-Hyuk's mana and energy and multiplied.Before he could do anything about it, he heard Lee Ye-Eun's voice from behind him.
"The roots that reach three worlds… ."
As she chanted a spell, the fungus fell apart in the blink of an eye.Not only that, but he also felt his overall physical abilities increase.So much for the effect being reduced by half... .
He thought for a while and mumbled.Maybe it's possible.
Yoo Ji-Hyuk took out a spear from the shadow.And as he ran, he suddenly hit the ground with it and threw it with all his might.
"Uh-huh!"
Svengali orbited in the air in surprise.Immediately, the spear that flew through the shadows passed through where he was.
"Space movement series, that also has a random time difference on it, so you are going to tie my feet with it?"
Muttering that way, Svengali made a squeaking sound and clacked his beak.Making the branches of the World Tree grow and using them as a stepping stone, Yoo Ji-Hyuk came running.
A dagger in one hand, a longsword in the other.Are you running here believing in two thin pieces of iron and one body?Seeing this, Svengali stuck out his beak protrudingly.
"You look down on me."
Along with him, the trees and vines that had grown around him began to grow rapidly.It only takes a single step to destroy the precarious foothold and another to seriously injure a human being.
"Keuk!"
Just as he aimed, the branch of the World Tree that served as Yoo Ji-Hyuk's foothold collapsed.And as he spread his wings to snatch him from the air as he fell, he could instantly notice that it was dark around him.
"… what?"
Henir's shadow, which had spread thinly around Yoo Ji-Hyuk, was closing like a Venus Flytrap.
As soon as he saw it closing instantly, he knew that its purpose was to prevent him from escaping like a net, and to restrict his range of activities.
It was a technique on a scale far beyond Yoo Ji-Hyuk's limits, which he had grasped through Lee Jae-Joon.
"Meanwhile, the mana on me is on the verge of tears."
Yoo Ji-Hyuk chuckled and fell from the air and was sucked into the shadows.
Then he immediately swung his sword as he leaped out right next to Svengali.Svengali hurriedly created another wing to block his sword strike.The first sword strike he encountered was heavier and sharper than expected.
"Keuk!"
"… I couldn't do what I wanted to do."
Yoo Ji-Hyuk muttered as he hung from Svengali's body, using the branches of the World Tree like a rope.At the same time, he roughly shoved the dagger he was holding in reverse into Svengali's body.
"…!!!"
Svengali opened his beak wide in the pain raging through his body, and shook his body to shake him off.Yoo Ji-Hyuk, who had inserted Yado's dagger into his body, bounced off his body and floated into the air.And he was sucked into the shadows again.
"You really are like a bug… ."
Svengali, who was clacking his beak in anger, could see that his wounds did not heal easily.A curse that inhibits healing.It was not easy to dig between the flapping of wings, of all things, and to cut the body out now and create a new one.
He could not resist the thought of killing Yoo Ji-Hyuk instead of letting him live more and more.
"Run, fly!"
Meanwhile, the voice of Lee Ye-Eun, who had been left in a corner of the mind, divided the battlefield.She fired a single arrow at Svengali.
One?While he was thinking, Lee Ye-Eun shouted.
"Ji-Hyuk, don't ever come out!"
At her cry, Svengali could sense that something was dangerous.In his hastily soaring eyes, the scene where a single arrow was divided beyond counting was reflected.
One arrow soon turned into a literal storm, tearing the air apart.
With a loud thundering noise, the arrow she shot pierced through Henir's shadow, further digging through the flesh wall as if it were mutilating it.
"…… ."
She never forgot the fact that this was inside Svengali's body.So she was able to pour out her power to the best of her ability without having to worry about her surroundings getting caught up in it.
There is nothing more meaningless than maintaining a perforated barrier.Yoo Ji-Hyuk secretly recovered Henir's shadow and appeared in front of her.Lee Ye-Eun, who had been wondering if he was fine, was immediately relieved to see him.
"Haa… Haa… ."
And in front of them, Sbangali, whose more than half of his body had blown away, was breathing heavily.Shaking from the floor, he sniffed around and muttered as if he knew now.
"This parasite-like thing dares to take roots inside my body...?"
"Oh, I got caught."
Yoo Ji-Hyuk smacked his lips.He secretly sowed the seeds of the World Tree here and there when Svengali was excitedly instigating their division and stirring up Lee Ye-Eun.Thanks to this, he was able to use his abilities to his heart's content while sucking up the vast amount of mana of Svengali.
"When I concentrate my mind… I can feel it."
The magic of the World Tree is no different from the mana of nature, so it cannot be detected by ordinary methods.However, Svengali now had a brunch of the World Tree blooming on his back, so he was able to detect it.
"Huu, I guess it was impossible to capture you alive without wounding you."
Before they knew it, his body was all regenerated, and he folded his wings and moved his head up and down.
"And I am telling you just in case you are mistaken, but this body now is not my real body. I told you, this is inside my body? This is just another alter ego I created... ."
As he spat the words, he hurriedly lowered his head to avoid a flying arrow.Lee Ye-Eun clicked her tongue regretfully, and nonchalantly drew the bow again.Seeing that, Yoo Ji-hyuk smiled a little.
"But if I beat you to a pulp, at least I'll be able to escape from your body, won't I?"
Since he already knew everything, Yoo Ji-Hyuk spoke provokingly, and even though he hit the nail on the head, Svengali asked back in a completely unshaken voice.
"Well, I am not sure about that. More than that, I think… I need to break a few limbs off of both of you. You might die, so I did not want to do it if possible... ."
It was when he muttered that.Mandragora, who was hiding in Yoo Ji-Hyuk's inner pocket, hurriedly pulled his collar.
"Ear!"
At his cry, Lee Ye-Eun quickly covered her ears.Immediately afterward, a terrible scream escaped from Svengali's mouth, who was still speaking calmly.
As much as he created Mandragora, he was also able to use the instant death cry.
But the two of them had already covered their ears.And Mandragora with his head stuck out, faced him and screamed, albeit weakly, to offset his scream.
Moments later, looking at Lee Ye-Eun and Yoo Ji-Hyuk, both standing there looking fine, he let out a loud sound and closed his beak.With his shiny eyes, he glared at Mandragora hiding in Yoo Ji-Hyuk's pocket.
"How dare an alter ego… !"
"…! ……!"
Mandragora swung his roots like a fist, as if telling him to come at him, then staggered and got sucked into his pocket.
Yoo Ji-Hyuk pulled out a branch of the World Tree like a spear as he watched Svengali gasping for breath.And hung Nidhogg's fang at the end of it.
"It's hard, isn't it? As far as I know, the side effects must be enormous."
Even in the original story, after you did that sh*t, you got stunned and couldn't move.Yoo Ji-Hyuk, who grinned and swallowed those words inside, rushed in as if he could not miss the opportunity.Svengali urgently made branches soar like a wall, but Lee Ye-Eun's arrows made his attempt meaningless.
The bird's body was designed for airborne flight, not for agile movement on the ground.Svengali hastily tried to dodge, but the spear that Yoo Ji-Hyuk threw into the air came first.With a piercing sound, Nidhogg's fang pierced deep into his body.
After confirming it, Yoo Ji-Hyuk threw himself back without hesitation.Immediately a heavy wing struck where he was.
"… You're like a rat. You."
Svengali, who realized that he was slowly getting heated, was able to calm down quickly by taking a deep breath.He had to admit that he was not used to hand-to-hand combat.His main specialty was to use human psychology to divide and make them eat their own flesh.Had he known this would happen, he would have practiced some fighting using his own body.He clacked his beak regretfully.
"Rather than that, what the hell is this… Nidhogg? Huh... ."
Looking at Nidhodg's fang lodged in his own body, he muttered as if he was dumbfounded.
"I could not find it no matter how much I searched, but I did not think you killed it first. I found Surt, but I could not find it... ."
Then he laughed as if it was ridiculous.
"But, did you put it in because you thought it would have a great effect on my body? If you have a branch of the World Tree, Nidhogg's poison would work, with such shallow thoughts?"
He shook his beak as if it were funny.
"You are so stupid. I am Seven Evil, Svengali. I acknowledge Nidhogg's poison, but its poison will never cause any fatal damage to my body... !?"
Svengali, who was muttering like that, immediately sensed that something was wrong.
Even if those two have pieces of wood, his current body is an alter ego anyway.Even if it breaks down, it would merely make the situation a little regrettable.
But this is different.Something is fundamentally wrong.The energy of something that had seeped into this dagger was hitting even his main body.What in the world...?
Margo!Margo, it's his energy!You idiot, if you were going to die, die alone...!
"Keu, aeu, euaa… !!!"
Svengali twisted his whole body as if in pain.Seeing that, Yoo Ji-Hyuk moved his finger while making an expression that said he did not expect this at all.
The hunting marks had already been overlaid in several places as a result of his successful attacks.He burst it at once and inflicted another wound.
Seeing Sbengali's body being shattered, he rushed straight at him.He has no intention of missing out on an opportunity that has come to him.
Then Svengali, who became impatient, reflexively used his ability toward Yoo Ji-Hyuk.
Sympathy and assimilation.His inherent ability to dig into the mind and the inner side of a person and break it down according to his own taste.However, it doesn't work on Lee Ye-Eun and Yoo Ji-Hyuk because they have pieces of wood.Knowing that, he didn't bother wasting his energy.
But at this moment, something no one expected happened.A notification popped up in front of Yoo Ji-Hyuk.
[Svengali's mind is now connected to yours!]
[You are connected with a highly intelligent body and begin to assimilate his ideas and beliefs!]
[You feel that your ego is slowly collapsing… .]
"Keueuk… !"
"… what?"
Yoo Ji-Hyuk collapsed, grabbing his head, and Svengali looked at the scene blankly, as if he did not expect his ability would work.
No one knew what the hell had happened.
Perhaps it was because he had absorbed Svengali's mana.Perhaps it was because Svengali had a branch of the World Tree in bloom and Yoo Ji-Hyuk also had a branch of the World Tree, making the connection between the two stronger.Perhaps it was because Yoo Ji-Hyuk had not one but two branches of the World Tree in his body, or perhaps it was because it had an antipathy to Yoo Ji-Hyuk who killed its master and absorbed him, so it might have connected them more strongly.
What was certain, however, was the fact that the situation tilted in Svengali's favor.
He immediately concentrated his mind on Yoo Ji-Hyuk to use his ability more strongly.However, Lee Ye-Eun, who sensed something strange, immediately rushed toward him like a beast.
"Don't you dare touch him!"
Holding an arrow in one hand, Lee Ye-Eun rushed at him as if she didn't care about her own safety.Svengali, who was using his ability, freaked out and flew away to avoid her attack.He was passive because of the Nidhogg's fang, which was stuck deep into his body and could not be removed.
"How ignorant… !"
Thanks to her hard work, Yoo Ji-Hyuk was able to come to his senses even though it was only a little.Lying face down on the ground, he suddenly remembered an item he had never taken out after getting it as a reward for capturing the Isabelle Gaudi dungeon in the past.Henir's shadow noticed his owner's will and hurriedly threw it out.
"Ah, uu… ."
But before he could do anything, the ring fell from his hand with a small clinking sound.He could hardly keep his sanity.
"…! ……!!!"
Mandragora, who had escaped from his pocket and hurriedly shook Yoo Ji-Hyuk, could see the ring falling from his hand.He didn't know what it was, but he could tell that Yoo Ji-Hyuk was urgently trying to put it in his hand.
"…!"
Mandragora quickly picked it up and began to insert it into Yoo Ji-Hyuk's finger.
Ring of Corruption.A cursed item that made everyone who wore it take their own life.An item that can cut off all mental interference when worn, but in return afflicts the wearer with mental corruption.
Yoo Ji-Hyuk, who was losing his consciousness, could not confirm this, but notification windows were appearing one after another in front of him.
[You've worn the Ring of Corruption!]
[The effect of the Ring of Corruption cuts off all mental interference!]
[Due to the effect of the Ring of Corruption, you fall into the state of 'Mental corruption'.]
[Judging… .][Status 'Mental corruption' ― 'Trauma' will be implemented.]
[The memories hurting your soul begins to reappear.]
The world blackened.
