Chapter 116
A white-haired man, a woman, and another man who constantly stayed by his side and followed him had already left them several minutes ago, leaving the two of them alone in the quiet and terrifying place near the Black Graveyard.
How difficult it was, and something Aaron had never imagined in the middle of the night like this, when he invited Zavi into the Black Graveyard to capture several demons and seal them inside the two small bottles he kept in the pocket of his coat.
'Yeah, I understand myself that this job is very easy, and... also dangerous if those demons possess someone else's body,' Aaron thought while glancing at Zavi walking toward him, never imagining those demons taking control of Zavi's body.
Still, he had already thought everything through ever since the bartender earlier gave him the secret code for this movement, and he was certain this job would go smoothly until that money rested in his own hands.
After sinking in his thoughts for too long, he half turned around and spoke in a calm tone mixed with concern, even though his expression remained indifferent.
"Actitus, it's better if you don't go inside the graveyard and stay several meters away from this gate. As for the rest, decide for yourself."
Zavi immediately asked for the reason. "Is there a special reason why I can't go inside?"
"Yeah, you could say it's troublesome and horrifying... or maybe the opposite..."
After answering Zavi's question and leaving him even more curious, Aaron began slicing open his own left arm. At the same time, the circular shadow that always existed beneath his feet churned violently before shooting upward, forming a curtain of shadows that merged with the darkness surrounding the gravestones inside the cemetery, which was covered in white fog amidst the millions of falling snowflakes.
Watching it with his own eyes, even though it wasn't the first time he had seen it, Zavi still became curious as the world before him grew darker and more oppressive than before when he heard strange murmurs and screams echoing from behind the gate that stood surrounded by walls almost completely hiding the gravestones from the streets outside.
Feeling there was nothing he could do, Zavi immediately backed away and chose to wait for Aaron to come out of that horrifying place, while his knees suddenly weakened and every breath felt suffocating with each step away from the graveyard.
'Is there a demon clinging to my legs?'
Zavi swallowed hard when something that felt like a breath brushed against the back of his neck.
Even so, he kept walking without looking back, because the myths of Narsikka strictly forbade people from turning around in lonely places such as graveyards.
After walking dozens of meters in the same condition and finally leaving the silent alley where the graveyard stood, his chest gradually calmed down, though he had forgotten how to breathe properly.
Zavi quickly pulled up the sleeve of his jacket, staring at his violently trembling arm as he sank into his thoughts.
'This is far worse than I imagined all this time.'
He realized just how many demons inhabited that graveyard, which explained why people like the white-haired man from earlier were obsessed with those horrifying entities, though he still couldn't understand what they intended to do with them afterward.
'Rituals? Or some kind of supernatural wealth ritual so those demons can make them rich?'
He instantly remembered the rumors about supernatural money laundering back on Earth where he used to live, and deep in his memories, Zavi knew about it despite the incident happening six years before he entered this body.
'Yeah, in Krensen, I remember when a middle-ranking noble mysteriously lost a huge amount of money and jewelry, and there were rumors about a servant falling into a coma after seeing a humanoid creature with an entirely pitch-black body and a face filled with fear itself,' Zavi thought while swallowing hard, unable to imagine such a thing happening to him someday even though he had witnessed something similar himself on the very first day he arrived in this world.
Afterward, Zavi chose to sit at the corner of the alley sidewalk aligned with the Black Graveyard, placing his wide hat over his face while lying down with both hands serving as a pillow beneath his head.
Inside the graveyard filled with pointed and blunt gravestones, Aaron could clearly see himself walking along the stone pathway.
He still wasn't entirely sure where to search for those demons, and walking around while maintaining the first stage of Retrieval while concealing Extraction was a terrible idea. His vision kept spinning, and his head throbbed every time he wandered without direction, nearly circling the entire cemetery.
'Damn it, do they know I'm the one trying to capture them?' Aaron thought while scanning his surroundings.
The silence of the graveyard that mirrored his emotions suddenly turned terrifying when Aaron's ears caught the sound of restrained breathing echoing for a long time, causing the leaves of the trees to rustle harder than they should, followed by shrill laughter as though mocking his presence in the gathering place of supernatural beings such as demons, wandering spirits, ghosts, and jinn.
He stood silently while his heart seemed to scream inside his chest, followed by the familiar reaction of Exorcist whenever the demons he sought were about to appear in overwhelming numbers that might actually trouble him.
Realizing that, he quickly glanced behind him and weakened the activation of the shadow veil as his left arm regenerated within a few blinks, while he pulled out the two small bottles from his coat pocket.
"Alright, now show yourselves and fight me with everything you've got," Aaron said with a faint smile spreading across his face.
As the white fog thickened once more despite the midnight snowfall, the echoing laughter and horrifying voices that could terrify ordinary people multiplied more than before.
Aaron made a finger-gun gesture, shadow bullets appearing at his fingertips as he began firing in every direction.
That still wasn't enough. Feeling mocked by them, he created waves of shadows through Extraction while running across the sides of the graveyard.
The surroundings instantly fell silent as the supernatural beings dwelling inside the graveyard finally revealed themselves.
Aaron smiled in satisfaction after realizing his job would soon be finished.
He reinforced the shadow veil once more as his left arm burst apart again before regenerating while sweeping shadows mixed with exorcising effects struck several supernatural beings before him.
"Faster...." Aaron shouted as the waves of shadows surged back toward him after dragging a third of the mixture of demons and ghosts within the graveyard back into the shadow beneath his feet.
With hurried yet organized movements, Aaron immediately performed a sealing ritual by using the blood flowing from his left arm, which was no longer restrained by Extraction. He drew a circle filled with symbols and intricate patterns while writing Talazze Lirei dialect as the activation script in the center of the ritual circle.
He immediately turned around and ran when he felt the blood from his left arm beginning to pour heavily, leaving trails along the road.
That still wasn't enough. The demons, jinn, wandering spirits, and ghosts inhabiting the Black Graveyard began chasing after him after realizing a human was fleeing after disturbing their dwelling place.
"Aaa..."
"@$+;")#!!")!!"
Those sounds shook Aaron's heart for a moment, but Exorcist neutralized the effects, allowing him to continue escaping.
Once again, because the second bottle was still empty, he began unleashing sweeping shadows mixed with exorcising effects toward the supernatural creatures chasing him, driving them away while capturing some of them before dragging them through the shadows and into the circular shadow beneath his feet.
He once more formed a circle filled with symbols and intricate patterns while writing Talazze Lirei dialect in the center just like before. It was an absolute requirement to transfer the demons and supernatural creatures he captured into the remaining bottle inside his coat pocket.
A strange sensation emerged as he stood there, causing his thighs to feel cold amidst the heavy blood flowing from his left arm.
Cold sweat covered Aaron's face as he clicked his tongue in irritation. He stared at the demons and supernatural creatures whose movements slowed as they tried attacking him, though they were still capable of creating violent winds while several demons spat corrosive saliva capable of melting whatever it touched.
Aaron remained calm while powerful gusts created by one of the creatures blurred his vision.
'I don't want to do this, but whatever,' Aaron thought as he turned around, slowly releasing the shadow veil to launch a medium-scale attack from his first stage, Retrieval, before continuing his steps with an expression so calm that their presence seemed meaningless to him.
Feeling underestimated by a mere human, they struggled violently to break free from the Exorcist bindings suppressing their desire to move and wreak havoc.
Yet without any effort at all, the Extraction restraints vanished like fog swept away by the wind. Realizing that freedom was real, they instantly lunged toward Aaron with obvious speed and blazing fury, accompanied by their strange mutterings.
Snap...
The sound of fingers snapping echoed briefly through the air, freezing the winds they created and stabilizing Aaron's robe that had previously been fluttering wildly. He turned around and spread his palm wide open as an incredibly dark shadow gathered above it and reacted with the demons and other supernatural creatures.
The strange sounds of those supernatural beings disappeared, and all of them were completely exorcised from this graveyard and from the place called the Black Graveyard, unable to dominate it anymore or terrify humans visiting this place.
Realizing his work was finally done, Aaron immediately walked out of the Black Graveyard while enduring the pain from his bloodied left arm that stained his black coat.
'This... this is far more exhausting than I expected.'
He laughed strangely while wiping his face.
'150 Pace, huh, hahaha.'
And right then, his knees gave out as his body collapsed onto the stone road with his chest facing upward, while everything below his stomach still remained within the Black Graveyard area.