Chapter 396

At first thought, Moon Issak's words were quite plausible-after all, Dawon had disappeared. However, if Seo Dawon was truly within that man's hands, what would showing his ring and trying to convince me serve?

'I thought Moon Issak was... to me...'

Wasn't he obsessed with me?

I calmly considered what his motives might be.

Moon Issak's true purpose wasn't to own Seo Dawon. Furthermore, even if it was true that he was holding the Mage captive, he'd most likely remove Dawon from the picture after obtaining me.

"What do you mean that Dawon-ie is 'in your hands?'" I asked.

"It means that Seo Dawon is locked up in my care."

I pretended to be dejected and bowed my head to hide my expression. But in reality, I was inwardly mocking Moon Issak's obvious lies.

'So, he must have somehow 'sealed' Dawon. And...'

There was a high probability that the sealing method involved a barrier or something similar.

Then, where was he getting the energy to maintain that skill? Fortunately, I had previous experience with these 'blockades' or 'barriers.' I had encountered this pattern several times while infiltrating various secret locations.

So, once the Servants join in-whether that's Kim Olim or Jung Garam-they would surely find Dawon's location. The only problem was time-How long would that all take?

'In my hands...? What a joke.'

I bit the inside of my cheek and schooled the smirk out of my expression as I raised my head. Moon Issak was still staring at me nonchalantly.

'How did he get that ring?'

What was the probability that Dawon-ie was still conscious? Judging from what had happened to Garam, they must have found a way to damage the Mage despite him being a Vengeful Spirit.

If Dawon-ie was trapped in that sort of barrier, he could have fainted, or perhaps he may still be conscious but unable to move freely.

'I don't think he's been seriously injured or under someone's mind control.'

If that were the case, Moon Issak would have directly shown me Dawon's body instead of showing me the ring in order to instill greater anxiety within me. That point was incredibly important. If he was merely preventing Dawon-ie from coming to my side...

'I just need to figure out where the Mage is.'

To be frank, the Mage must be somewhere within this half-completed dungeon. Therefore, I was certain the search wouldn't take long.

The ring that Moon Issak had thrown at me helped me arrive at this conclusion. The man had dangled this rather large bait to try and shake me up. Something was making this man nervous for him to act so hastily.

In the end, this fight... could be won if I simply didn't yield to Moon Issak.

I glanced at Koo Hui-seo over Moon Issak's shoulder. He was frustrating and idiotic, but, as long as he kept Lim Jisoo at a distance, Moon Issak would no longer be a source of fear. He couldn't kill me anyway.

I sneered coldly at Moon Issak, "Don't make me laugh, Moon Issak... I'm the only one who can lay a hand on Seo Dawon."

"What?"

I didn't respond and instead quietly chanted one of my skills.

"[Possession]."

[Activating the 'Possession' skill... Please select a servant.]

Seo Dawon-the golden symbol that was first in the list-caught my eye, but as expected I was faced with the [you cannot currently choose this servant] message when I tried to select the symbol.

Of course, I hadn't been planning on using the [Possession] spell on Dawon-ie in the first place. I pressed the flame-colored, orange crow.

[You've selected 'Choi Kyung-sik.']

[Searching for your synchronization rate...]

[Your synchronization rate is currently at 60%. The closer the rate is to 100%, the stronger the skill becomes.]

[Will you take a 'Synchronize Quiz' to raise your synchronization rate?]

I shook my head when I saw Moon Issak's vicious expression. At 60%, the skill would reliably succeed without raising the synchronization rate any higher.

'After all, it had succeeded at 50% as well.'

I didn't know what would happen if I were caught by Moon Issak during [Possession], but I didn't have time to think further; the skill activated.

[The bonus quiz has been denied.]

[Current synchronization rate: 60%....]

[Executing 'Possession'...]

After a brief dizzy spell, I popped out of 'my body' before Moon Issak grabbed me.

As soon as Choi Kyung-sik opened his eyes, he awoke to Moon Issak latching onto him; he frowned as if he couldn't believe what was happening, "What on earth...! Haah."

"Choi Lee-kyung, you won't be able to escape from me now."

"......"

I shook my head at Choi Kyung-sik and placed a finger to my lips.

Just then, Lackey found me and approached, but, when I shook my head, the skeleton whined before awkwardly attacking Moon Issak. Then, as if he were swatting at a fly, Moon Issak sent Lackey rolling away with one swipe of his hand.

'Bastard...' Even as I cursed at him, I retreated.

On the other hand, Choi Kyung-sik, blinking several times, shot daggers through his eyes at Moon Issak. Though barely, the young Alchemist managed to bite back several swears of his own.

Afterwards, Moon Issak dragged Choi Kyung-sik, who was possessing my body, into his embrace and looked around at his surroundings. I flinched, worried that the bastard may have noticed something awry.

"Be patient for a minute. Be still." Thankfully, it seemed he was still ignorant, and instead spouted some bullshit. He placed what appeared to be a black bag over my face-was that meant to block my view? I, as an observer, wanted to make the bag burst into flames with my gaze.

Afterwards, Moon Issak clutched my body with a triumphant look on his face as he kept furtively glancing around him. As I wondered where he kept looking, I realized that he was conscious of Lim Jisoo's presence.

'As expected-this alliance was rather temporary, huh?'

As I contemplated drawing Lim Jisoo's attention towards his scheming, I decided to sit still for now.

Soon, Moon Issak hid himself in a shady location, blending into the shadows; he then began groping at the wall.

Click-!

Accompanied by a clicking sound, Moon Issak and my body (Choi Kyung-sik) disappeared-almost instantly-behind the wall.

I hurriedly approached the wall and floundered against the rock face, but I couldn't really use physical force in my disembodied soul state. Even though I was merely a soul, my fingertips couldn't pass through the wall; it felt as if my fingertips were touching something firm.

'Lackey! Come over here!'

Lackey, who was sprawled in a corner, sprinted with all its might to my side. The skeleton zealously fumbled around the wall as I instructed; it soon succeeded and pressed something. I rushed to hug Lackey and was able to cross to the other side of the wall.

'Are those stairs?'

Beyond the wall, there were some narrow and steep stairs, but I sensed no human presence.

However, I was able to find my way quickly-when my body and my soul were separated a certain distance, I could feel my body tugging on my soul as if they were magnets.

I ordered Lackey to follow me from behind because I was worried that Moon Issak would completely demolish the skeleton. We quickened our pace.

Because I was floating-moving against the laws of gravity, I was able to cross a large distance in a rather short time even though the stairs were rather narrow and unstable.

"It's a shame that I can't show you this sight."

"......."

Then, when I travelled far enough that I could hear Moon Issak's clearly, my body froze, as if nailed to the ground, as I looked to his direction.

The wall at my final destination/arrival point had been hollowed out to create what looked to be a large aquarium tank; the empty space was filled with brilliantly glowing amber liquid.

Dawon-ie was inside that tank-eyes wide open and looking our way. His body was restrained by various shackles, and Moon Issak was sneering at the Mage in triumph.

The bastard stared back at Dawon-ie's sharp gaze as he willfully and wholeheartedly molested my body. Though I wasn't in my body at the moment, the mere thought of his touch disgusted me.

"No," Moon Issak continued, "Since you'll never have a chance to meet again, shall I allow this last reunion? Hm?"

Become a member!

TL: Poor Poor Choi Kyung-sik.

They knew they were walking into a trap, but they just had no other way, right? Lee-kyung also agreed (and brought up) the fact that they needed to find Moon Issak to poison Bae Jaemin's mansion. It just ended up being way worse a trap than they imagined lolol.

They probably should have expected the other Red Lotus members to be a target (rather than just Lee-kyung) since they knew Moon Issak and Bae Jaemin knew of their existence. Lim Jisoo coming to their aid was quite surprising, though. Although I realize, as a reader, we did watch Ryu Hyerin contact Lim Jisoo. Lee-kyung et al had no way of knowing that meeting ever took place >.<