24 Hearts

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Calypso’s Nightmare

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Of the hundreds of ghosts pouring out from the front, most of them crumbled by the bloody energy of the three Altemias. The spirits possessing Count Jinmu were at a loss for words as the front of the magic circle opened wide. When Judah glanced behind him, Jeanne continued to fight against Count Jinmu, but she was being pushed back because of the large difference in their stats. He had to hurry, stepping into the circle as fast as he could. As his feet met the foreign letters engraved on the ground, ghastly figures emerged and grabbed his ankles.

-Where are you going?

-Don’t go. Are you saying we can’t see him after all the sacrifices we made here?!

It felt like they could drag him down into the very ground. But they weren’t physical beings, and with enough strength, Judah managed to drag them too. Judah trotted on the ground with the ghosts wrapped around his feet. He stomped his feet with a bang, sending magic to spread out and the bodies of shapeless ghosts to distort and fall apart.

‘They’re strong.’

His eyes narrowed when he saw the number of ghosts that had fallen and tried to hang onto him again. Not only from the floor but in all directions, they latched onto him as they mumbled the language of a curse. Although he managed to brandish his bastard sword and Altemia into the air to cut off the ghosts, it felt like he went against a tidal wave at the number of ghosts holding him back.

One of the ghosts that came from behind put a hand on his shoulder and sent a chill through his body. One became two, and soon three of them crushed his shoulder. Holding Altemia in his left hand, he triggered Liberation and severed the ghosts nearby. But the ones in his shoulder stayed. The curse they whispered did not affect the nature of the player, so it merely annoyed him.

‘That’s just a pearl necklace around a pig’s neck.’

Each fragment’s power was tremendous, but the strength of that power increased and decreased depending on the user’s ability. Of course, they were not suitable for use in these situations.

The twenty-fourth fragment was all about the power to seduce the opposite sex, arouse the opponent’s favor, and further subjugate. On the other hand, the tenth fragment had limited control regarding blood. He wasn’t even a Wielder of the Sword compared to those who owned fragments and made achievements enough to become a myth.

However, it was just an excuse. It was ridiculous to see that he had two fragments and was still caught by the ankle in a place like this. If he stayed like that, he might not be chosen by the fragments with their own will.

The fragments had owners.

And among some of the objects, they could choose their owners themselves.

If he wasn’t chosen, then he cannot obtain that fragment.

It was a simple proposition.

Having earned two fragments so far, Judah knew exactly how to use them, even if he was special or whether they picked their owners.

‘If I don’t have blood anywhere, I can use my blood.’

Bleeding caused quick stamina consumption, but he could restore it by killing the ghosts. Judah frowned at them and stumbled forward.

– Crush him to the ground.

– You dare try to disturb our cause!

– You will die too. Let’s offer his blood and soul so he can join us.

Judah paused. The number of ghosts that crushed his back increased quickly. One or two? No, they exceeded dozens. They were weak on their own, but together, they were strong enough. Behind Judah’s bent back, ghosts climbed and crushed him.

Judah tried to cut himself by the wrist with Altemia as a hundred ghosts whispered into his ear. Offer his blood and soul? As the question repeated in his head, the circle below him caught his eyes. A red liquid that looked like sticky blood flowed along the magic circle engraved deeply on the floor. Judah’s mouth curled up.

“What? Now, this is a pearl necklace around a real pig’s neck.”

There was a solution in the sitch he was in, but he had to get to this hard place to realize it.

Judah laughed bitterly and activated -Dominance-. It followed his will, and as the fragment’s power triggered, the blood flowing through the crevices of the floor shot up into the air.

-Ah?

-Huh?

The blood that rose silently became thorns and pierced the ghosts surrounding Judah. As long as they were stuck in the straw-like limbs, they were destined to be eaten. Altemia began to suck their existence. One of the ghosts caved in pain, yelling out whatever.

-Oh, oh, oh! He… is coming to this land!

-This sacrifice is for Him!

-We are the dedicated souls that can call him up!

‘It became lighter.’

Judah stretched his back, feeling the power that had crushed his entire body lift away. As he tilted his head up, the ghosts, brought into the air by the red thorns, were finally extinguished. The spirits felt no fear, so the ghosts that hid sprung up in a display of power, only to end up in the same position as the rest.

“You’re all like a cult. Your plans failed… And I don’t feel anything for you if you died believing in something like this.”

His stamina restored as the life force absorbed from the ghosts channeled into him.

Quaang!

Something flew in his direction. Judah felt it before it hit and tried to avoid it out of reflex, but when his eyes found out that it was Jeanne, he couldn’t evade it. The sight of her soaring in the air terrified him, with her heavy armor, shield, and lance increasing the weight of her trajectory. Judah turned the blood around him into a net, weakening the shock of her impact as he picked her up.

“Are you okay?”

“Wow. I’m okay.”

Jeanne stood up, her body churning. Her faceplate was bent and cracked.

“And you did well. This is enough.”

“Is it enough…?”

Jeanne asked in a strange coo, but Judah did not answer while he carried her up as he looked at the approaching Count Jinmu. He wore a helmet, so he couldn’t read his expression, but Judah could tell he had grown sinister.

“What did you do?”

Hundreds of voices growled at the same time. Within their voices was furious anger.

“If you saw it, then you know? I haven’t done anything yet. But…”

He was going to do it now. Judah’s eyes flickered to the three magic beads in the circle. They were the orbs they needed to summon Lord Bel-Therja. Unfortunately, he had control over the blood on the floor.

“How dare you!”

Along with the thundering screams of a hundred voices, purple magic covered the beads, forming a powerful barrier of protection. Judah remembered his memories of playing the game, laughing as it flashed in his mind.

Originally, the pattern would start when one of the three marbles was broken. The marble’s defense and stamina increased, and it would raise even more when the last marble remained. He had to break the marbles while avoiding the attacks and skills of Count Jinmu.

But now, he didn’t have to. The blood flowing along the floor turned into hundreds of thorns, pounding the barriers, breaking them, and piercing the beads inside them. Altemia absorbed its life force much stronger than it had ever done before. The overflowing energy struck straight through Judah’s body, and Altemia’s blade gleamed into an even more vivid hue of red.

“Don’t get in our way of summoning him!”

Count Jinmu ran to Judah with her lance. Jeanne, who was behind, hurried up and tried to move forward. But Judah ran first and confronted Count Jinmu. His magic power wrapped around his bastard sword that turned into a lance.

“Are you attacking me with such a lance without fear?”

His voice, presumed to be the Blue Lancer, shouted. He knew it wouldn’t work. The moment their weapons met, Judah’s right arm blew.

“Judah!”

Jeanne exclaimed, looking at the blood spurting in the air and his other arm holding the black lance. As she tried to rush to Judah, her body only managed a step before she fell with a groan.

“How could you try despite knowing what would happen!”

Count Jinmu tried to laugh, but as they grew closer, his eyes widened at the sight before him. The arm he had pierced went through his lance in a bloody charade, but the ripped limb wriggled like a haze. Then, his entire arm melted into blood before disappearing into thin air.

‘A hallucination?’

The Blue Lancer in Count Jinmu’s body gasped, but the rest of the ghosts shouted that it was nonsense. However, he found no answer other than a hallucination. Suddenly, Judah’s arm regenerated. Even his hem was intact.

“Yes, it was obvious what would happen.”

He heard Judah’s voice. The next thing he knew, Judah’s left hand that grasp the red dagger had swung at him. He felt as it tore his armor to pieces, but not enough to smash his shield. Barely repairing the armor with magical power, he stumbled backward and fell to the floor. He hurriedly kicked off the ground and tried to stand.

Pachinggg!

In time, a loud crack echoed through the cavern as the blood consumed every last energy within it, breaking it into pieces.

The ceremony failed.

The ceremony was meant to fail in the first place. Count Jinmu, who was just about to get up, made a whistling sound and bowed his head. Blood flew out of his helmet in a snap. It crawled throughout his body, and soon the armor he was wearing gave in and disappeared, melting into the blood. Count Jinmu’s disheveled face emerged, spitting blood out of his mouth.

“Excellent… Excellent.”

The smorgasbord of voice had disappeared. There was only a voice talking. It was the same voice they heard the first time they met Count Jinmu.

-No way!

-The ritual we prepared for so long failed! It cannot be! This shouldn’t happen!

-Jinmu, you have to kill him! If I had a little more time, I would have been able to summon Him!

Black figures emerged around his body and began to point and swear at Judah. But even when the ghosts commanded Jinmu to get up and attack Judah, the Count did not budge. He didn’t stand up. Rather, he sat there and answered the ghosts.

“He did a good job. What’s gotten you all hot?”