Free Web NovelChapter 184: False Spirits
Mallory looked down at the strange carrot resting in her palm before carefully placing it inside her inventory.
"...Got it."
After reading the item’s description, she finally understood why Adam had given it to her. It was an escape tool, one that could save her life if she was ever caught off guard.
She silently committed its effect to memory before closing her inventory.
The two soon arrived at the first and closest temple that they could find.
Rather than remaining beside her, Adam immediately moved away, quietly circling the surrounding forest to keep watch.
Mallory understood what he intended to do, thus there was no need to ask about where he was heading.
She stepped in front of the weathered shrine and slowly brought both of her hands together, almost as if she were offering a prayer.
Mana quietly gathered between her palms.
A moment later, she opened her eyes as dark flowers suddenly burst from the ground.
Their black vines rapidly spread across the stone paths, wrapping around old lanterns, creeping over wooden pillars, and rooting themselves around the temple’s foundation.
Thick petals stained with malicious energy bloomed one after another, their presence clashing against the peaceful spiritual atmosphere.
Within only a few seconds, the once sacred surroundings had become tainted.
The pure spiritual energy lingering around the temple began to fluctuate ever so slightly.
"...Done."
Adam emerged from the nearby trees after confirming the area was safe.
Without wasting time, the two immediately headed toward the next temple.
Again and again, the same process repeated itself.
While Mallory contaminated each temple with her [Festering Bloom], Adam silently scouted ahead, checking rooftops, forests, cliffs, and every possible hiding place the Reflection might use.
Yet despite covering three temples... They still hadn’t encountered Seo-jun’s Reflection.
By the time they reached the third shrine, Mallory had almost finished spreading the last of her flowers.
She dusted off her hands before turning toward the forest where Adam was slowly walking out of.
"This one’s finished. We can head to th—"
Shling!
A sharp sound suddenly resounded through the area.
Before Mallory could even finish speaking, she saw Adam’s head slide cleanly from his shoulders.
His body remained standing for a brief moment before collapsing onto the stone path.
"...!"
Mallory’s pupils shrank. freёwebnovel.com
Her mind went completely blank.
She couldn’t even process what had just happened.
Then—
She caught sight of another figure calmly stepping out from behind the beheaded corpse.
It was another Adam.
The body lying on the ground slowly dissolved into countless paper talismans before scattering into the wind.
The real Adam lowered the blade in his hand, his eyes fixed on the dense forest surrounding them.
His expression remained calm.
"He’s nearby."
Only then did Mallory realize what had happened.
The "Adam" that had approached her had never been Adam at all.
Before either of them could say another word—
Rustle.
Rustle... Rustle...
The faint sound of branches moving and leaves brushing against one another rang out from somewhere within the surrounding forest.
Under normal circumstances, the noise would’ve been far too distant for ordinary people to notice.
But they were no longer ordinary humans.
As Stream Hunters who’s existences were constantly evolving and improving, their bodies and senses had long surpassed those of normal people.
Even sounds coming from hundreds of meters away could be picked up if they paid enough attention.
Adam’s expression immediately turned serious.
Without needing to exchange a single word, both he and Mallory instinctively turned toward the direction where the sound had originated.
The next moment, figures began emerging from the forest.
One... Five... Ten...
Soon, dozens of people stepped out from between the trees.
Or rather... Things pretending to be people.
There were countless "Adams" and "Mallorys" rapidly rushing toward them.
At first glance they looked identical, but after a closer look, their appearances were strangely distorted.
Their faces were blurry, as though someone had tried to recreate them from memory but failed to remember the finer details.
Their eyes lacked focus, their smiles stretched unnaturally wide, and portions of their bodies occasionally flickered into translucent spirits before returning to human form.
Adam immediately stepped in front of Mallory to ensure her safety in case of long ranged attacks.
[Temporary Copy : Pulsed Howler]
[Skill Copied : Howl of Pursuit]
[Howl of Pursuit has been reduced to Reverberating Impact]
[Reverberating Impact] : Every successful strike releases a delayed shockwave. Moments after impact, a second burst of vibrational force erupts from the same location, damaging nearby enemies and disrupting defensive techniques.
Behind him, Mallory quietly opened her mouth.
A low melody drifted through the mountain.
It was a song filled with dread, despair, and hopelessness.
Normally, anyone caught within its range would gradually lose the will to fight.
However... These spirits were barely sane to begin with.
Most of them were little more than puppets shaped from spiritual energy.
The song failed to invade minds that hardly existed.
Still, their movements noticeably slowed, as though the lingering malice weighed down their unstable bodies.
Not wasting the opportunity to attack, mana surged through Adam’s bloodstream.
[Crimson Dominion]
Every drop of blood within his body accelerated.
His muscles swelled with explosive strength as crimson mana flowed through every vein.
At the same time, dozens of razor-sharp blood spears formed around him before shooting forward like a violent storm.
Shk! Shk! Shk!
The blood spears pierced through the charging spirits one after another.
Yet the true attack came a heartbeat later.
Boom!
Every successful hit unleashed a delayed burst of vibrating force.
The impacts echoed across the mountains like repeated thunderclaps.
Nearby spirits were blasted apart before they could even recover, while trees shook violently from the aftershocks.
Boom! Boom!
Boom!
The forest quickly descended into chaos.
Dust exploded into the air while broken tree branches scattered everywhere.
Even the stone paths surrounding the temples cracked beneath the continuous shockwaves.
Within only a few seconds, dozens of false spirits had already been destroyed.
Neither Adam nor Mallory celebrated as these weren’t their true objective.
No matter how many they eliminated, Seo-jun’s Reflection could simply summon more.
The true target was still hiding somewhere among the mountains, patiently controlling everything from the shadows.
Just then, more rustling noises suddenly occured—
A familiar figure suddenly emerged from beneath the shadow of a towering pine tree.
It was Kurou.
His breathing was somewhat uneven, but his eyes remained focused.
"I found him!"
He pointed toward one of the distant mountain peaks rising above the forest.
"He’s at the summit of the third peak! The tallest temple overlooking the eastern valley!"
Adam moved his gaze toward the distant mountain, ignoring the false spirits that were crawling on the ground still trying to go towards them.
Without wasting another second, he began issuing orders.
"Mallory, continue spreading [Festering Bloom] to the remaining temples."
His eyes then turned toward Kurou.
"Kurou, regroup with the others and inform them of the Reflection’s location."
Finally, he looked back at the towering peak in the distance.
"I’ll go on ahead."
Neither of them questioned his decision.
Mallory immediately turned and sprinted toward the nearest untouched temple while Kurou disappeared into the surrounding shadows, heading back to reunite with the rest of the team.
Only Adam remained.
However... Instead of charging straight toward the Reflection, he suddenly knelt down and placed a hand against the ground.
Blood slowly seeped from his palm.
He had activated one of [Crimson Dominion]’s Chanter abilities.
A strange language, one that no ordinary person could understand, quietly flowed from Adam’s lips.
"In the age before names, power had no price..."
The crimson blood pooling beneath his hand began to tremble.
Unlike before, there were no monsters or enemies nearby whose blood he could borrow for the ritual.
Thus the only available source for blood... was himself.
Fortunately, Adam’s blood regeneration had long surpassed that of ordinary Stream Hunters and could only be described as "monstrously fast."
The amount of blood consumed by the caster spell was quickly replenished, allowing him to maintain the spell without placing himself in danger.
The pool of blood suddenly rippled.
One... Three... Ten... Dozens of small creatures crawled out from it.
They resembled monkeys no taller than a child’s waist. Their bodies were formed entirely from hardened crimson blood, while rows of unnaturally sharp teeth lined their mouths.
Their glowing red eyes darted around with frightening intelligence as long tails of blood lazily swayed behind them.
Without waiting for a command, the blood monkeys scattered in every direction.
A few leaped across trees quite swiftly while others climbed rocky cliffs.
Several disappeared into the forests surrounding the mountain.
Within moments, they had begun surrounding the entire third peak from every possible direction.
Only after making sure every escape route was being watched did Adam stand back up.
He activated [Crimson Dominion] once more.
Blood erupted from behind his back before rapidly taking shape.
A pair of enormous crimson wings unfolded, each feather formed from compressed blood that shone beneath the sunlight.
With a single powerful flap—
Boom!
Adam shot into the sky.
Leaving behind only a burst of wind, he flew directly toward the tallest temple overlooking the eastern valley, where Seo-jun’s Reflection was located.
