Chapter 6: The Summoned Wicked Spirit

Translator: Roblag

“Fuooo!“

The wicked spirit hit the wall hard and fell to the ground on all fours, panting heavily. With that blow, the cave shook so hard that Shatia could not help but extend her arms to regain her balance.

“Oh my, this is going to be a bit tricky.”

Shatia said this as she used her Flying Magic to avoid the attack of the creature, which had lunged at her. The creature could not stop and ended up crashing into the Skeleton Lord, blowing him to pieces.

The creature grunted in anger as it realized that it had failed in its attack. Looking at it from the air, Shatia began to analyze it calmly.

“As the Skeletons gathered many magic particles for this ritual, the old man ended up summoning a very powerful wicked spirit. This is going to be somewhat annoying.”

The failed resurrection ceremony had allowed the wicked spirit to use the magic particles to appear on this plane. On this occasion, the old man used a large number of magic particles to try to resurrect Shatifal, so a very powerful wicked spirit had appeared. One could even say that the evil spirit had power comparable to that of Shatifal. Shatia gently wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.

“I will have to take this seriously. If I don’t go home soon, my mother will become suspicious.”

To avoid having to face an uncomfortable experience with her mother, Shatia decided to fight with all her might. Incidentally, Shatia believed that the cave would not withstand the attacks that would be caused in the fight and could even collapse during the skirmish.

Despite this, she extended her arms and formed a fire spear. Then she swung her arms and released the fire spear. The spear was sent flying at great speed and it stuck into the wicked spirit’s body. However, the creature did not seem to receive any significant damage, rather the fire spear began to sink into its body with an unpleasant sound.

“Gruuooo!“

“Unbelievable. You even can absorb magic.”

Noticing that the magic power of the wicked spirit increased and that there was no damage to her body, Shatia immediately knew what kind of ability she had. Although she wasn’t sure if this ability was something innate in all wicked spirits or was just a coincidence, the important thing at that moment was that her opponent was much more troublesome than she first thought.

Shatia scratched her head uncomfortably, and this time the wicked spirit began to move. It kicked the ground with both feet and pounced on Shatia with a faster movement than before. Shatia could easily dodge it with her flight magic and took refuge higher up.

Wicked spirits can’t make magic attacks. This was the same physical attack as before. Thinking about how best to deal with the wicked spirit, Shatia raised her hands and activated a spell.

“Hah!”

“Boooooooo!“

Shatia used the same gravitational magic she had used against the Skeletons and instantly the wicked spirit’s body sank to the ground with such force that it cracked. Shatia continued to increase the strength of the spell as she supported one of her hands with the other.

“Gooooooo!“

Gravity Magic had been specifically designed to stop an opponent’s movements. However, because of the enormous amount of magic power Shatia had she was able to use this magic as an attack, just as she had done with the Skeletons. It was truly a powerful spell; however, the evil spirit slowly began to take hold.

“Can you move even under this pressure?”

“GOOOOO!“

Finally, the wicked spirit lifted its body with a powerful roar and broke the gravitational magic. Shatia was thrown slightly by the magic recoil and spun in the air.

After recovering her stance, Shatia looked at the wicked spirit with eyes of disbelief. The wicked spirit was so powerful that it could counteract the gravitational magic, which was supposed to be Shatia’s specialty. It was the first time she had ever seen anything like it.

“Ha ha! You’re what I was looking for!”

Shatia couldn’t help but smile. No one has ever resisted her gravitational magic. That’s why Shatia was so confident about using it. But even though the wicked spirit had broken her spell… she was smiling. And that’s because experiencing defeat meant that magic could continue to evolve indefinitely. For her, this was the greatest joy of all.

“So how about this!”

Shatia immediately raised her arms and floated the pillars and coffins into the area and threw them to the wicked spirit. The idea was that if the magic didn’t work, a physical attack could. However, the wicked spirit destroyed the pillars with its fists and stopped the coffins with the movement of its arms, completely unharmed.

“Gaaaaaaah!“

“Ugh!”

As if waiting its turn to attack, the wicked spirit kicked the ground and pounced on Shatia, who was still in the air. But this time its movements were much faster than before, and she could not avoid it. Her shirt sleeve was torn and her illusion magic was partially cancelled. That meant that just as her clothes could be damaged, her magic could be nullified by its physical attacks. Shatia’s expression was clouded.

“If I return with these torn clothes, my dear mother will be angry.”

If it was only the shoulder part, it would be fine if she sewed the worst part, but if I know if it tears too much, it would be impossible to restore it. Shatia turned to look at the wicked spirit as she thought of what kind of excuses she would use when she returned to the village.

It was obvious that the wicked spirit had become faster than before. It seemed that it was getting used to moving its body more freely. It was truly an ominous existence. If she did not finish it off quickly, it would surely become quite troublesome. So Shatia directed both hands towards the wicked spirit.

“You’re going to pay for this. I’ll make you experience something truly special.”

Shatia knew there must be a limit to how much magic it could absorb. She only had to secure a direct hit. Shatia gathered a great amount of her magic power in the palm of her hand and released it all in one blow. A huge wave of magic, similar to a devastating typhoon, was released and hit the wicked spirit directly as it tore the cave apart.

“Gooaah!“

A thunderous sound, like a lightning strike, rumbled through the cave, followed by a piercing shriek from the wicked spirit. The wicked spirit was thrown back and crashed into the wall. After the impact, the wall collapsed and the wicked spirit was buried in the rocks. Shatia then let out a small sigh and landed on the ground.

The old man, who was hiding nearby, put his hand on his chest and sighed with relief at the sight of the wicked spirit buried under a mountain of loose rocks.

“That was a terrible monster… and you, are you a wizard?”

“Something like that. And now, I advise you to go away and hide again.”

“What?”

Shatia had a serious expression on her face and the old man, having a bad feeling, turned to look at the pile of rocks. It was then that a large rock moved slightly and then exploded into a thousand pieces, revealing the arm of the wicked spirit. Then the wicked spirit slowly emerged from the rocks, yet it was now twice the size of when it first appeared.

“Now you are bigger… Is it because you consumed my magic?

“Goooo!!“

Despite having received such a powerful attack, the wicked spirit not only came to no harm but had absorbed the magic power and become larger. This was certainly a dreadful outcome. Shatia had a complicated expression as she did not believe that her attack could ever be absorbed. So, while keeping her attention on the wicked spirit in front of her, Shatia started to gather her magic power in her hands to attack at any time.

“Gooo!“

In that instant, the wicked spirit attacked. It quickly lunged at Shatia and swung its arms intending to destroy her. Shatia immediately responded by creating a magic barrier to stop it. Due to the great power of the attack, a small portion of the damage reached Shatia. For her real body, this was a great burden and she could not help but let out a groan of pain.

The wicked spirit retreated and attacked again, this time with more force. Shatia created a magic barrier again, but the impact caused her to fall backwards. The wicked spirit attacked once more and Shatia again created a magic barrier. This process was repeated several times until, gradually, Shatia began to be pushed back and was brought to one of the walls of the cave.

“Ngh!”

“Goaaaaa!“

A constant barrage of fists from the wicked spirit overwhelmed Shatia. The magic barriers began to crack, and Shatia was about to reach her limit.

What should I do now, thought Shatia calmly despite the sweat dripping off her forehead. She kept her composure at all times, and without any hurry sought a way to reverse the situation.

Regular magic didn’t work, gravitational magic was rejected and physical attacks are practically useless. How could she defeat such an enemy? Shatia could not help but meditate and immerse herself in her thoughts. Thinking of a way to defeat the wicked spirit, a way to defeat this powerful enemy. At that moment, an idea came to her mind.

“I guess I’ll have to use that.”

There was a very different kind of magic than the regular one, and it was done by a special magic formula. No magic in Shaita’s repertoire resembled it and being forbidden magic, the other witches were afraid to use it.

Besides, due to her personality, Shatia hated to use this magic. But in this situation, there was no other way. Shatia opened her eyes, determined to act.

“Guooooo!“

In front of her was the wicked spirit hitting the magic barriers with fury over and over again trying to destroy them. Shatia slowly began to chant a spell as she looked at her violent enemy. She was taking her time, as the new kind of magic required precision and concentration to imprint itself on its target.

“Don’t look so angry. I haven’t used this kind of magic in a long time, so the situation could get a little… complicated. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

After saying this, Shatia elegantly moved her arms and began to create the magic formula for her attack. Almost all the magic barriers had been destroyed, and the wicked spirit continued to strike hard. At this point, the wicked spirit seemed to realise that Shatia was up to something and started hitting the barriers harder to reach her. But the girl remained calm. Slowly and gracefully, she continued with her spell as she spoke calmly.

“My name is Shatifal, the Witch of Wisdom. Remember me, fear me, and repent.”

Shatia gently said the words with her index finger over her mouth so that the old man, who was hiding, would not hear her. The next moment, a light illuminated the whole cave and was then absorbed into Shatia’s palm. The cave was completely dark and suddenly several magic circles emerged from Shatia’s palm.

“[Death’s Lullaby]”

The magic circles scattered and small balls of light danced around the area. Little by little, the frenetic movements of the wicked spirit were slowed down until finally, it was completely immobile. Moments later, the wicked spirit held his chest tightly as if in terrible pain. Then the spirit let out a thunderous cry of pain.

“Guuaaaaaaa!“

Finally, its body began to disintegrate until it disappeared completely in a cloud of dust.

[Death’s Lullaby]. It was magic specially created by Shatia that reduces the magic particles of any object to zero.

This magic was feared even by other witches and was one of the reasons why Shatia was considered their leader. For a sorcerer or magic creature, it was simply a terrifying spell, as it nullified all magic particles, which were the source of their powers. And since witches were closely linked to the magic particles of nature, this spell could be considered their natural enemy.

Thus, the wicked spirit, whose existence was centred on the magic particles that were used to summon it, lost the ability to remain in that plane and disappeared.

“Fuu… It’s been a long time since I used this, but it worked quite well.”

Seeing the wicked spirit disappear, Shatia sat down on the floor, exhausted. Her body seemed to tremble slightly, which meant that her Illusion Magic was about to be cancelled.

Naturally, the Death’s Lullaby had its drawbacks. Many conditions were required to use it. Not only did it consume a great deal of magic power, but it took quite a bit of time to cast it. To use it in the middle of a fight is borderline madness since to hesitate for a single moment in combat could mean defeat. Even Shatia, whose magic was the most versatile, had to take her time to cast the spell.

“Did you defeat it? I mean, who the hell are you?! What kind of spell did you use in the end?! It was as if all the magic particles in the cave had suddenly disappeared!

“Oh, you’re still here. You’re lucky to be alive. I’m sorry, but I can’t tell you what happened. I have my reasons.”

The old man emerged from behind a rock and ran towards Shatia, as he asked his questions. Shatia was impressed that the old man had not been harmed while the fight was going on, but she had the sensitivity not to delve into the matter.

“But this could be a good excuse. You failed to perform the resurrection ritual. The altar was destroyed by the summoned wicked spirit, and you fainted because of your wounds. Well, I think this scenario could work.”

“Wh-What are you talking about?”

Seeing the damage inside the cave, Shatia applauded loudly as if she had come up with a great idea. The old man looked at Shatia with a dazed expression without understanding what the girl was talking about.

“I’m sorry, but I have to put you to sleep. I’m glad you tried to revive me, but if you take the magic particles out of the forest, you’ll destroy nature, remember that.

While saying this, Shatia put her hand in front of the old man’s face and chanted a spell. With that, the old man closed his eyes, relaxed his breathing, and ultimately fell asleep.

Shatia nodded in satisfaction and then looked around again. She examined whether, by some mistake, she had left a trail in the cave. When she was satisfied, Shatia stood up.

“All right, it’s time to get out of here.”

Shatia decided to cancel the Illusion Magic and return to the village in her real appearance.

As she flew home, Shatia wondered what her mother’s reaction would be when she saw the condition of her clothes.