Killing the Possessor - Chapter 100

“…0.”

The number of deer heads in the bedroom was zero.

Click. The lock opened.

“Damn, it worked!”

I was so happy that I let a curse slip out while basking in a dopamine rush.

But just as I was about to relax, the sight inside the empty safe gave me a shocking greeting.

“…Huh?”

Why was it empty? There should have been something here.

“Looking for this?”

A cold voice sounded close behind me. Goosebumps ran down my spine and my whole body hairs stood on end.

Holding my breath, I shifted my gaze to the floor just outside the desk.

Bright brown shoes, dark blue suit pants, and…

My gaze slowly rose until it finally landed on the smiling face of a man.

“Peek-a-boo.”

Rudolf Midas, whose body had been grotesquely burnt by holy water, was grinning from ear to ear. Seeing the golden watch on his finger, my resolve completely collapsed.

To completely defeat a high-level evil spirit, you have to dispose of the item where it first took root—either by burning it with holy power or, failing that, dousing it with holy water.

For Rudolf Midas, that was the wristwatch he wore every day in life—the foolish heirlooms passed down even to his grandson.

I should have dealt with it before he found me. It seemed he knew I had entered the study and took it with him in advance. How frustrating for things to get this tangled.

Ah, I’m screwed. Completely screwed.

It’s over. I’m dead for sure now.

“Move!”

But unlike the rational part of me that wanted to raise a white flag fast, my survival instinct forced out the activation phrase for my artifact.

However, before the magic could fully envelop its body, the experienced evil spirit raised a massive wing and struck both the desk and me, dispelling the spell.

“Ugh!”

The elegant mahogany desk was instantly split in two, sending shards flying. Thanks to the magic acting as a shield, I avoided being cut in half, but my state as I flew out into the hallway was grim.

Cough, cough!

As I coughed painfully, heavy footsteps drew closer. The Count strolled in leisurely, like a lion leisurely approaching wounded prey, chuckling.

“You foolish lady, what skill do you have to meddle when you’re not even a professional exorcist?”

“…”

“I don’t know how you knew my identity, but if you’d stayed put, none of this would have happened to either of us.”

His long, sharp claws roughly lifted my chin. I must have cracked a rib because even that small movement made it hard to breathe. Seeing his face twisted and partly crushed made my stomach churn.

“I never wanted your soul, but before I leave this place, I’ll at least eat you to feel better.”

“…”

“Do you really have to go? I can’t help you.”

Before coming here, Bali had advised me to reconsider. She was the only one who managed to avoid entanglement with Count Midas—because she knew his true identity as a reader of the novel.

“High-level evil spirits are tricky even for priests. If you touch them wrong, you really die.”

But I had no choice.

“If I don’t go, I’ll really die.”

“…”

“You know what situation I’m in. I can’t miss the chapter that appears in the original story.”

Bali said the risk was too high and that since this wasn’t truly a battle against a possessed person, she couldn’t send any agents from Hongik Ingan. But she packed me with holy water and various high-level magic artifacts I could never have obtained on my own, wishing me good luck.

But in the end, here I was—about to die.

Just as he was about to grasp my long fingers around my resigned head—

“Camilli!”

A powerful force bounced Rudolf Midas away.