Chapter 1343

<Chapter 1343> 1343. Ghost Romance

I crossed my arms and gazed out at the vast wasteland stretching before me.

An entire mountain had vanished, opening up an expansive view. The sky, which had been darkened by the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, had cleared up again, with the sun shining brilliantly.

“So this is the scene I’ve created, huh?”

The outrageous power that could erase an entire mountain!

Raitenryu (Thunder Heaven Style) Ultimate Technique: Raitenmei (Thunder Heaven Fate).

Of course, using this kind of power in reality was near impossible. My real-world stats simply couldn’t keep up with what I was capable of here.

“I don’t think I’ll ever use this technique again… but if I reach S Rank… maybe it’ll be possible?”

I wasn’t entirely sure.

But I will become stronger than S Rank. With a gaming app simulating real life, anything’s possible.

“So I need to remember this feeling right now.”

My ultimate technique, Raitenmei, wasn’t really what you’d call a “technique” in the traditional sense. Its power was immense, but its structure was deceptively simple.

“The principle is based on Raitenryu (Thunder Heaven Style) Rai Mei (Thunder Roar), a technique that resonates two or more lightning bolts.”

It wasn’t just about making them resonate; the catch was perfectly controlling those resonating lightning bolts. By real-world standards, the limit for Rai Mei was roughly six lightning bolts. Pushing it, I might manage eight.

However, Raitenmei resonates thousands of lightning strikes from the heavens. Control? Practically impossible. All I could do was set their general direction.

“With so many lightning bolts, once you nail the starting point, they naturally resonate without needing much control.”

The principle behind Raitenmei was simple.

And there was also a simple problem.

“Energy. Generating thousands of lightning bolts requires insane amounts of energy. And once resonance begins, there’s no turning back. But honestly, that last part isn’t too big of an issue.”

Could an S Rank Hunter even use Raitenmei with their mana? I doubted it. The only reason I could use it now was because the space was saturated with ghostly energy released by hundreds of ghosts being wiped out.

“But reducing the number of resonating lightning bolts would weaken its effectiveness… and resonance itself could fail midway anyway. So is the answer just to keep leveling up my mana stats?”

I pondered deeply. Raitenmei was the first ultimate technique I’d created in Raitenryu, so I had a soft spot for it.

Just then, a cloud slowly drifting closer from the distant blue sky caught my eye.

“A cloud… ah, right. If I use thunderclouds, I could probably use Raitenmei without draining massive amounts of mana. But such conditions aren’t exactly common. Still, having control over weather… hmm?”

I felt something slipping out of my mind. No, it wasn’t just a feeling—something black was actually emerging from between my eyebrows.

It solidified about five meters in front of me.

A muscular man with jet-black hair.


His fangs stuck out past his lips like Dracula’s. His skin was a shade close to ash-gray. The sclera of his eyes were black, and the irises were red—what people often referred to as devil eyes. He held a sword in his right hand. It looked exactly like the True Ghost Blade I gripped.

“Are you Dojin?”

“That’s right.”

“What? You can manifest?”

“I’ve only temporarily materialized using ghostly energy. My true soul is still inside your mind.”

“Have you given up on reclaiming my body?”

“Don’t make me laugh. That body was crafted by me. When I was trapped in that damn jar, I gathered ghostly energy and used it to completely transform myself!”

“It definitely improved a bit. But this body belongs to me.”

I had no intention of handing over control of my body to Dojin. This body is mine. I hold the reins tightly. The fact that Dojin could even materialize using ghostly energy was because of me.

“…Wait. You materialized without my permission, using MY ghostly energy?”

“Your ghostly energy? Please. That energy also belongs to me.”

“Bullshit.”

I checked my body’s condition.

My ghostly energy had decreased by about 10%.

‘So he can use about 10% of my ghostly energy.’

Dojin swung his sword through the air with fierce determination and murderous intent directed at me.

“For now, I’ll let you have control of the body. But I will definitely reclaim it one day.”

“You’re planning to stick around then.”

“Why? Did you think I’d leave?”

“No, I’m actually relieved. If you left, I wouldn’t be able to use ghostly energy anymore.”

Ghostly energy is the power of spirits.

Only spirits can use it. If Dojin were to leave my body, I’d just become a normal human with a strong physique.

‘Now that I know how convenient ghostly energy is… do you really think I’d let go?’

Honestly, having some guy parasitize my mind is extremely unpleasant. But if I want to use ghostly energy, it’s unavoidable.

“Sung Yoojin. You’d better stay on guard. While I’m inside you, I’ll analyze and grow stronger. And someday, when this body surpasses you, it will return to me.”

“There’s no way that’ll ever happen.”

“Hah, I wonder how long your confidence will last.”

Dojin took his stance.

A slightly lower center of gravity.

It was a familiar stance to me.

The stance used when wielding Rai-Ten Ryu (Thunder Heaven Style) Raiko (Thunder Light). Of course, Rai-Ten Ryu reaches a level where forms don’t matter much, so posture isn’t crucial. What matters is that he’s imitating Rai-Ten Ryu.

Crackle, crackle.

Lightning sparks flew from Dojin’s sword, indicating he fully understood Raiko.

“Hear me well. One strike, fatal. If you let your guard down, even you could receive a mortal wound.”

“Letting my guard down? That would be you.”

Kiing!

Rai-Ten Ryu Raiko.

As I passed Dojin, I swung my sword. In haste, Dojin swung his blade back at me. Two lightning trajectories crossed in the air.

Of course, my Raiko won. Dojin was slashed deeply, spraying blood everywhere before collapsing to the ground. Without looking back, I said,

“You’re too slow… Even falling looks sluggish.”

“Graaahh… You little bastard…!”

“Don’t curse so much; it makes you look weak.”

“Somewhere… Someday…!!”

While hearing Dojin’s enraged voice, I urgently manipulated the ghostly energy…


It hit. The ghostly energy was visible on my chest. There was a slight cut wound inflicted by Dohyun.

“Shit. This is embarrassing. This can’t be discovered.”

I pumped up the recovery rate using a lot of ghostly energy, and the wound vanished without a trace.

“Anyway, since you’re parasitically living inside my mind… you must absolutely follow my commands.”

“…The logic of power, huh? Guess there’s no helping it. I’ll humor you for now…”

Dohyun’s materialized body disappeared into ghostly energy.

『Day 5 checkpoint has been saved.』

Day 5 arrived.

After returning home, I cut my annoyingly long hair and slept. It was to hurry through Day 4 in case any unforeseen variables arose.

‘With this, I won’t have to repeat Day 4 again, right?’

Day 5.

Today was the day of the decisive battle.

Wearing my school uniform, I headed to school. On the way, I ran into Shin Ohjeong. Shin Ohjeong widened his eyes upon seeing me.

“You’ve grown taller and your skin’s gotten even whiter. Something happened yesterday, didn’t it?”

Since I was bored, I told Shin Ohjeong what happened yesterday. There was no real reason to hide it anyway.

“Received an unsealed demon from the main house and dealt with the Parade of One Hundred Demons?!”

Shin Ohjeong roughly muttered while clenching his fists and getting extremely excited.

“So the saying ‘he who fights monsters becomes one’ is true… Hmph. Nietzsche-sensei was right!”

“You really love that.”

Shin Ohjeong. This guy had some pretty entertaining reactions. Not only that, but he knows where to draw the line.

“How do you use ghostly energy? Following the textbook method with body enhancement and telekinesis?”

“Body enhancement is basic… And stuff like this.”

Zzzt!

I generated lightning in my palm. Shin Ohjeong’s eyes bulged out. After taking several deep breaths, he quietly mumbled.

“Lightning Fairy Sung Yoojin…!”

“This brat.”

Suddenly crossing the line.

Bam!

I smacked Shin Ohjeong’s head with my fist. Even after being hit, Shin Ohjeong didn’t back down and walked beside me. He started babbling about information he collected online last night—data on ghosts not just in this neighborhood but all over South Korea.

I half-listened and half-ignored him. My exorcising of ghosts until now was to lower their energy levels so I could face Seolnyeo. But now that I’ve obtained ghostly powers, there’s no need to bother roaming around for exorcism.

After entering the school grounds, I immediately turned toward Seol Ji-young’s classroom.

“Is Senior Ji-young here?”

“Ji-young? She hasn’t come yet. Normally she’d be the first to arrive… today she’s late.”

She wasn’t late; she hadn’t come at all.

She probably pulled some tricks.

I smirked coldly and turned around.

The reason I came to school to look for Seol Ji-young was to give Seolnyeo one last chance.

‘Seolnyeo was a beauty in the original story.’

That’s why I gave her a chance.

If she had abandoned her ambitions and returned to normal life, I would have quietly let her be.

‘So she insists on fighting me, huh. Well, where she’d be is obvious.’

I left the school and headed to the abandoned hospital.

I feel much more ghostly energy than when I was here last time. What does this mean?

‘This girl has gathered all the ghosts in the area. Is this her final resistance? Hmm, does she know I dealt with the Parade of One Hundred Demons?’

Perhaps the Parade of One Hundred Demons was also Seolnyeo’s doing. Since she originates from Japan…

‘Since Seolnyeo tipped off the Parade of One Hundred Demons, they tried to kill me under the pretext of prophecy.’

Well, none of that matters now. The Parade of One Hundred Demons is dead, and Seolnyeo can’t handle me.

Holding the sacred blade I brought along, I entered the abandoned hospital.