Crack!
The white mask, hit by the fist tinged with orange light, flew powerlessly down the hallway.
Contrary to my worries from inside, I was able to hit properly since even a ghost without a physical form could be affected by qi.
“K-Kim Yu-seong?”
Ms. Mizuki, behind me, called out with a surprised voice.
“Stay inside, Teacher. I will handle this thing.”
After saying that, I slowly walked toward the white mask lying on the floor.
“Croak, cack-keuk-keuk.”
Meanwhile, the white mask on the floor made strange noises and floated back up into the air.
The recent attack seemed effective, as there was a slight crack at the edge of the mask.Instead of rushing at it, I observed how it reacted.
“Gururuk.”
Right after, a sound like boiling phlegm was heard, and the darkness of the hallway began to coalesce behind the white mask.
It felt like something out of a manga, as if it were undergoing a first-stage transformation to reveal its true form.
However, I had no intention of kindly waiting for the transformation to complete.
“Heup!”
With a strong kick against the hallway floor, I lunged at the still-transforming mask.
Then, tentacles made of darkness shot out from behind the mask like arrows.
But I didn’t block the attack.
Because there was no ‘need’ to block it.
The black tentacles that extended from the mask couldn’t penetrate the yang qi surrounding my skin and were deflected weakly.
“Keuk?!”
The nature of my qi, learned through the Mirror of True Essence, was invulnerability, which meant I wouldn’t be hurt by ordinary attacks.
It was simple, but an unmatched ability for someone like me who primarily engaged in physical combat.
I grabbed the deflected tentacle and pulled it towards me.
Then, the still-transforming mask was dragged along like a piece of luggage.
I caught the mask with my other hand.
The mask started struggling fiercely to escape my grasp.
But the more it struggled, the tighter I gripped.
The crack where my fist had hit began to widen.
“I’ll kill you.”
Feeling the crisis, the creature, which had only been shrieking, spoke in a human voice for the first time and emitted a bright light.
I momentarily closed my eyes, but I tensed my right hand to crush the mask.
Crack!
But just before the mask broke, something else grabbed my arm.
When I quickly opened my eyes, I saw that a strong limb, sprouting from beneath the mask, was gripping my wrist.
Crack!
The black hand began to compress the yang qi surrounding my wrist.
I could have resisted, but there was no need to take a gamble, so I employed a different method.
Instead of using my bound hands, I used my head.
Bang!!
“Kieeeeeek!!”
As expected, the mask was a weak point; when it collided with my forehead, and the crack widened, the creature clutched its head and quickly retreated.
Only then could I finally get a good look at the creature’s entire appearance.
A giant stature with a hunched back, almost reaching the ceiling.
Overly developed arms like a gorilla and legs with reversed joints.
Beneath what seemed to be its main body, the mask, were a black mouth and white teeth exposed.
It looked dangerous at first glance.
I don’t know why such a creature was inside the school, but I had no intention of letting it go anyway.
Because it had definitely crossed the line with what it had done just now.
“Don’t even think about running away.”
After saying that, I raised my arms diagonally to assume an attack stance.
This was the preparatory move of a martial art called ‘Emperor’s Bear’, used by Sasha’s father, Ivan.
Though I had never formally learned it and was merely imitating, using martial arts in this manner would be stronger than fighting haphazardly.
As I got ready to attack, the creature also slightly lowered its body.
Then…
We, standing about 5 meters apart, charged at each other simultaneously.
To gather courage, I let out a resounding cry from deep within my chest.
“Uoooooooh!!”
We collided in the middle of the hallway.
Kwaang!
The shockwave caused the windows of the surrounding classrooms to shatter all at once.
“Ugh!”
It felt like colliding with a dump truck.
It seemed it wasn’t only me affected by the great impact; the creature also faltered slightly.
Then, a relentless close-range brawl began.
The creature’s massive fists pounded mercilessly all over my body.
In response, I, too, in a no-guard state, fervently pounded its massive body.
Each time it was hit by my fist, surrounded by yang qi, the creature emitted white smoke from its body and let out agonized cries.
Although its punches hitting me were quite heavy, they couldn’t penetrate the barrier of yang qi surrounding my body.
It seemed likely that before my qi’s invulnerability feature, the extreme nature of yang and yin energies played a role.
After dodging its punch, I thrust my fist into its solar plexus.
But perhaps because the bodily structure of a ghost was different from a human’s, it kicked my groin without showing any discomfort.
‘This thing?’
I blocked it with my leg reflexively, but I felt irritated.
I wrapped my arms around its massive body, emitting much stronger yang qi than before.
Then, using pure physical strength, I lifted its huge body.
It was the so-called bear hug move.
“Grrrrrrr!”
The creature struggled in pain, pounding my body with its free hands, but that was not enough to stop my movement.
The creature and I had different fighting experiences.
Unlike this creature, which had unilaterally tormented humans in the school, I had fought against dozens of humans and even against a moon bear.
Compared to that, a ghost with an artificially inflated body was nothing.
I squeezed its waist with all my might and then threw it down the hallway.
Despite its giant appearance, it seemed to have no actual mass, as there were no signs of destruction in the hallway.
I quickly climbed onto the creature’s body, which was unable to regain its senses due to pain.
The mount position offered stability.
Once properly positioned, the opponent couldn’t resist at all.
Realizing the danger too late, it struggled to escape, but with me sitting on its upper body, its resistance was futile.
I clashed my fists above the creature’s head.
Bang!!
The undulating yang qi flickered like the flames of the sun.
Pulling my right arm back behind my shoulder, I said,
“Do you know why you are being hit right here, right now?”
The white-masked creature shook its head in fear.
I kindly explained to the ghostly creature.
“First, you ignored my warning.”
“Second, you insulted my family.”
And thirdly,
“You made me angry.”
As soon as I finished explaining, I ruthlessly slammed down my fist enveloped in orange light.
About a minute later, the white mask, believed to be the ghost’s main body, was shattered into pieces.
The white mask, which had been gradually cracking under the relentless barrage of punches, screamed its death cry and turned to smoke as I delivered the final blow.
It seemed as if it had been forcibly sent to nirvana.
I gasped for breath and stood up from my spot.
The hallway bore the marks of the intense battle.
As I was wondering how to clean up, a familiar voice came from the other end of the hallway.
“Kim Yu-seong!”
The people rushing towards me, calling my name, were Senior Fuma and others from the Fuma Ninja Clan I had seen at the maid cafe before.
Hyoneko, seemingly summoned by Senior Fuma, was startled to see the aftermath of the battle.
“What’s this tremendous negative energy?”
Then, Senior Fuma said with a serious expression,
“It’s probably the same kind of yokai that placed a barrier outside the school.”
A yokai? Was it different from a ghost?
As I stood awkwardly listening to their conversation, Ms. Mizuki, who had been hiding in the duty room, timidly poked her head out.
“K-Kim Yu-seong? Is it all over?”
“Ah, yes. You can come out now, Teacher.”
Then Ms. Mizuki cautiously stepped out of the duty room, still clutching her smartphone and playing the hymn.
Ms. Mizuki, seeing Senior Fuma and the people of the Fuma Ninja Clan in ninja attire, asked with a suspicious look,
“Who are these people?”
Senior Fuma replied,
“They are my relatives. Originally, I came alone, but it seemed there was a fairly strong yokai in the school, so I called for backup.”
Hyoneko, who was behind, asked,
“So where is this problematic yokai? The barrier was so strong, we only just managed to break through.”
Hearing that, I unconsciously turned my gaze.
“Well… I’ve already caught it.”
The Fuma Ninja Clan people were taken aback.
“What? How?! You didn’t even have any exorcism tools, did you?”
Senior Fuma then murmured with a look of realization,
“Indeed, you really did it.”
“Yes.”
As we exchanged words only we understood, the Fuma Ninja Clan people behind us asked for an explanation about what had actually happened.
Turning around, Senior Fuma said,
“This guy is the ‘Diamond Yaksha.’”
The Fuma Ninja Clan people immediately showed a look of understanding.
“Could it be… The one who defeated Ivan?”
“If that’s the case, it’s believable.”
…It felt like I’d become a known figure among these underworld people without even realizing it.
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