Killing the Possessor - Chapter 97

“Stigmatizing someone who might be innocent, without an ounce of responsibility? Is this truly the choice of us gentlemen and ladies who value honor so much?”

When I invoked honor to rebuke them, sharp reactions predictably followed.

“Miss Camilli, you’re going too far. This isn’t just anything—it involves a possessor. An evil spirit!”

“That’s right. She may be quietly crying now, but who knows when she might suddenly turn and hurt us all!”

While I spoke up, Ailrose, who had been quietly shedding tears, shook her head vehemently. But the atmosphere only grew even more hostile than before.

I really wanted to avoid this, but only one room remained unchecked. The risk was so high that I’d tried to hold on until I was fully prepared.

I glanced at Count Midas. He seemed to be enjoying the conflict, curling his lips as he watched the situation unfold.

Of course, he must be enjoying it. These violent and destructive emotions likely worked to his advantage.

Because his true identity was—

“Yes, an evil spirit. A truly terrifying being.”

I fixed my gaze on the party host, not the nobles opposing me, and continued.

“But what if the very one controlling us right now is that evil spirit?”

“H-How do you mean, Miss Camilli—?”

“I’m saying it might not be Ailrose Feren who’s possessed. It could be someone else.”

The Count’s smug smile twitched once, then vanished in an instant. I kept my eyes on him and asked pointedly,

“Am I wrong, Count Rudolf Midas?”

Rudolf Midas—

The name of the ancestor who took over the body of the great-grandson, Count Luipe Midas, and a high-level evil spirit.

Low-level spirits are unintelligent and have only basic cognition, but high-level spirits are different. Unlike low-level spirits who become possessed involuntarily after a tragic death or long exposure to evil energy, high-level spirits are reborn with new identities after harming many others as low-level spirits.

In other words, they are extraordinarily evil beings.

They are highly intelligent and far more difficult to deal with. Undoubtedly, reforming high-level possessed spirits like the others would be impossible.

“…”

The spirit’s eyes began to darken as it heard its real name. This confirmed my suspicion—the way to provoke spirits here was to find and call their true names.

Though I didn’t have long to indulge in such complacent thoughts.

“Ahhh!”

A man standing nearby recoiled in horror at Rudolf Midas’ changing appearance. His eyes had almost entirely turned to black irises, and translucent black wings sprouted from his back.

Watching the black evil energy flowing through his body, I swallowed hard. I had already committed to this, but could I really handle it?

“Ahhh!”

“It’s an evil spirit! Run!”

As his form transformed so far beyond human recognition, the guests suddenly realized something was terribly wrong and began screaming and fleeing.

Among the panicked crowd, I spotted Ilui, frozen with fear.

Ah, I didn’t expect much, but of course she was like this. She would die if she didn’t run away at the right time.

“Ilui! Get out of here quickly!”

But before I could even shout, the Count spread his wings wide and leapt toward me like a wild beast.

“Ahhh!”

As the evil spirit pounced on me, I collapsed. Fortunately, I reflexively lifted my head and avoided a concussion, but the pain in my back and tailbone was severe.

“Annoying woman, how did you know?”

His arm constricted my neck. My breath was cut off, and my vision began to whiten.

“Ugh…”

“I never heard that the eldest daughter of Mute joined an exorcist group.”

Sometimes civilians not affiliated with the temple take up exorcism as a profession. They’re born with holy power but not enough to meet the official standards, so they usually take that path. Of course, that doesn’t apply to me.

The reason I knew his identity in advance was simple—because I’ve died at his hands. Many times.

It felt like I fired a shotgun over a hundred times in this chapter during the game. I learned from clues at the time that the evil spirit’s real name was ‘Rudolf’.