Chapter 130

It was finally time for all the flattery I had invested in to pay off.

I had handed over Magic Absorption, an ability that could become an invaluable asset in the future. I had thrown her a rope when she was sinking into the mire. And every time we met, I had treated her with boundless generosity.

What did she think all that effort had been for?

‘Hahahaha!’

The very first thing I did after deciding to deal with Su Yehwi was visit the Magic Tower.

There was only one reason for that visit.

“Oh my, I’m not late, am I?”

With my hands clasped together, I had begged Esther for her help.

And now I had brought a powerful ally to capture Su Yehwi.

‘The investment was worth it!’

In truth, I had already sensed that Esther regarded me favorably. When the appearance of the fully grown Imoogi had been imminent, she had readily accepted my request not to attack the gate.

‘With this, I’ve achieved my original goal of becoming close to an S-rank curse sorceress.’

Hohoho.

Was there really any need to explain what happened after my visit to the Magic Tower?

Golem control magic.

Afterward, I simply used that magic to track the movements of the Rakshasa Temple.

‘Once I found Mr. Heo, gathering information became much easier. It certainly helps that no one on Earth knows golem control magic exists.’

I thought back over the past several weeks I had spent consumed by the investigation.

The Rakshasa Temple usually held its meetings at night, so I had been forced to stay awake until dawn on more than one occasion.

This body had endured far too much overtime already.

There was no possible way I could allow Su Yehwi to live.

Well, setting that aside—

—Kiryeo-ssi, about that Awakener named Su Yehwi...

—Yes?

—If he’s an S-rank like us... wouldn’t his brainwashing affect me too?

—Ah, that.

—I’m worried because there doesn’t seem to be any proper equipment capable of resisting brainwashing...

There was a reason I had chosen Esther as my ally instead of Kang Changho or Jung Haseong.

Before coming here, Esther had been deeply concerned about how she was supposed to fight Su Yehwi.

But honestly, would I have brought her into this warehouse if there were any real chance of her being brainwashed?

The battle was going to be entirely her responsibility.

‘Do your best.’

To put it plainly, Hunter Esther held an overwhelming advantage over Su Yehwi.

—There’s no need to worry, Esther-ssi.

—You’ll defeat him easily.

The curse attribute.

Thanks to her innate awakening ability, Esther possessed exceptionally strong resistance to mental interference.

“Hello there, Mr. Cultist~ This is two against one, and it looks like you’d lose even in a direct confrontation. Why don’t you raise your hands and surrender?”

“Silence! You depraved, worldly woman!”

“Oh my. This criminal certainly has a loud voice.”

Brainwashing.

Curses.

Mental magic of this kind followed a peculiar set of rules.

When sorcerers of the same type fought one another, the outcome was governed by a simple principle:

The first to strike was the first to win.

Suppose two wind sorcerers fought.

As their spells collided, both sides would gradually be wounded. They might be cut by blades of wind or thrown backward by the impact.

Generally speaking, when two elements of comparable strength clashed, both combatants suffered at least some damage.

But the sorcerers standing before me were different.

Because they specialized in invading the minds of others, they also guarded their own consciousness with extraordinary care.

‘That’s why Esther is immune to the [Siren’s] song. Her defenses against mental interference are exceptional.’

But what did that have to do with the principle of striking first?

‘The stronger the defense, the greater the collapse once it breaks.’

To explain it more clearly, battles between mental sorcerers were usually decided by whoever managed to invade the other’s consciousness first.

Once the mind had been breached, counterattacking became extremely difficult.

Imagine trying to break into someone else’s house, only to discover that your own home was being robbed at that exact moment. Your focus would inevitably shift, and the spell you had been casting would fall apart.

At least, that was what I had heard.

‘I’m an all-rounder, so I’ve never experienced it myself.’

For that reason, specialists in mental attacks devoted themselves obsessively to developing decisive finishing techniques.

For them, there was no such thing as losing honorably after a good fight.

Whoever landed the first successful attack seized every advantage.

This system made Su Yehwi an extraordinarily dangerous opponent.

The mind-controlling sorcerer belonged to the S-rank category, which meant that within his own field, he possessed near-absolute authority.

‘Even if a hundred—or a thousand—mind-control Awakeners attacked him at once, they would be no more threatening than a swarm of ants.’

There was only one way to minimize the damage caused by this battle.

I needed to bring in a mental sorcerer who was stronger than Su Yehwi, even if only by the slightest margin.

Fortunately, there was exactly one Hunter in Korea who met that condition.

“Honestly, people like you disgust me more than anyone.”

Tap. Tap.

Esther stepped toward Su Yehwi, speaking slowly as she closed the distance.

“You learned a handful of tricks and started thinking you were special. Then you committed crime after crime, as though you had been waiting your whole life for the opportunity.”

Her voice was soft, and a smile remained on her face.

Her manner was almost lighthearted.

Yet the words she spoke were laden with unmistakable emotion.

“I hope your body is torn into as many pieces as there are believers in the Rakshasa Temple.”

Disgust.

“Yes. Why don’t you hurry up and die?”

A surge of magical power swept through the warehouse.

Esther fixed Su Yehwi with a cold glare and unleashed a powerful curse.

Su Yehwi immediately responded with his mind control.

But I already knew how this confrontation would end.

“Keugh!”

Both Su Yehwi and Esther were S-ranks.

However, when the innate strength of their abilities was compared directly, one of them held a slight advantage.

“This can’t be happening! Wait, this is—”

Su Yehwi’s expression twisted more violently by the second.

The sorcerer struggled against the curse, clawing at the raincoat draped over his body.

But even as he fought back, Esther’s magic continued creeping into his mind, devouring his consciousness from within.

“────!”

A scream tore through the warehouse.

In the direct confrontation between them, Su Yehwi had been completely overwhelmed by the curse sorceress.

The difference in power was small.

But even that slight difference was enough to establish an absolute hierarchy between them.

“Ahhhh! Ugh... What—what is happening? My... my head! My head...!”

Su Yehwi began scratching frantically at his ears, as though insects were crawling inside them.

The sensation produced by Esther’s curse must have been intolerable.

“Oh my! It happened exactly as Kiryeo-ssi predicted! I only shattered his defense once, and all his skills stopped working!”

Esther pointed at the writhing enemy with visible fascination.

But my revenge for those countless nights of overtime had only just begun.

Did he truly think I had come all this way merely to demonstrate the principles of mental magic?

“Hunter Esther.”

“Yes~ You mean that one, don’t you?”

The moment I called her name, Esther’s expression changed.

More precisely, her eyes sharpened with concentration.

“W-what are you planning to do...?”

Curses were highly versatile forms of magic whose effects could be specified in countless ways.

They could induce inflammation.

They could cause paralysis.

And among the many branches derived from curse magic, one of the most unusual had even been assigned a separate name on Earth.

“As expected, there really is no punishment better suited to you. Tell me, Su Yehwi—have you ever heard of a skill called ‘Incitement of Hatred’?”

There were so few curse spellcasters on Earth that some of their skills did not appear to have been translated properly.

“Stop.”

The moment Su Yehwi heard Esther’s words, all the color drained from his face.

He began shaking his head.

“W-wait. Just wait a moment. There’s no need to go that far. You haven’t even confirmed with your own eyes whether I committed any serious crime, have you? Isn’t that right?”

Still wearing his raincoat, the believer clasped his hands as though in prayer.

“Please, just wait. I can explain everything. The truth is, I had my reasons...!”

But no matter how desperately he pleaded, Esther’s expression did not change.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t care for villains with tragic backstories.”

A few seconds later, Esther seized Su Yehwi by the eyelid and poured mana into him without hesitation.

Her awakening ability activated.

“Ugh... Ack!”

Su Yehwi struggled desperately to escape her grasp, but it was useless.

How could a mind-control sorcerer possibly match Esther’s physical strength?

“Ahhhhhhhh!”

And what spell had she activated?

“Hic...?”

Swish.

Esther slowly withdrew the hand that had been pressing against his face.

But when Su Yehwi opened his eyes, the despair in them was far greater than before.

“Ah... ahhhhh...”

This was Esther’s second skill.

It inflicted a random phobia upon its target.

“Kiryeo-ssi, are you certain this is all right?”

And the new phobia Esther had planted within Su Yehwi was none other than a fear of humans.

The idea might have sounded trivial when put into words.

But the terror created by the skill was far beyond anything a normal person could imagine.

The moment Su Yehwi saw us—beings with human faces and human bodies—he collapsed onto the floor, began crawling away, and vomited.

“Yes. He won’t be able to use his awakening ability anymore.”

I watched the cult founder’s fate unfold before me.

“[Brainwashing] is an ability that places its user above others. But there’s no way someone can dominate a person they’re terrified of.”

The very foundation of his magic had been sealed.

And with Su Yehwi reduced to this state, every instance of brainwashing he had maintained until now must have collapsed as well.

“Eek... eek... hic...”

The Rakshasa Temple was finished.

To celebrate the success of my plan, I crouched beside Su Yehwi and whispered into his ear.

“Didn’t I warn you not to look down on others?”

There was no reply.

A moment later, Su Yehwi foamed at the mouth and lost consciousness from sheer terror.

“He really fainted.”

“What should we do with him?”

“Leave him. As long as Esther wants it to, the skill will remain active. We can simply hand him over to the police now.”

Esther and I remained in the warehouse for a brief conversation.

“In any case, thank you for helping me today.”

“Well~”

We were just about to finish everything and leave when Esther suddenly asked me an odd question.

“By the way, Kiryeo-ssi.”

“Yes?”

“About Su Yehwi... As I explained earlier, if he remains like this, he won’t survive for very long. These days, no matter where you look, there are people everywhere.”

She paused.

“Even in the mirror.”

“Ah. Yes.”

“I’m telling you that Su Yehwi will be reduced to a helpless wreck and eventually die, yet your reaction is surprisingly dull.”