“Priest...? And even Sylpha and the others... Just what is going on...?”
Isha froze, paralyzed by the sudden turn of events.
The rest of us were just as stunned. In that split second of silence, the Wraith—still possessing the Priest—seized its chance.
The Priest’s body lunged forward, catching Isha in a chokehold.
“Guhahahaha! The tables have turned, humans! I’m impressed you saw through my disguise and even shattered my Mantle of Darkness, but this is the end of the line! Don't you dare come any closer! Unless, of course, you don’t care what happens to this woman!”
“P-Priest?! What are you doing?!”
“Shut up! You stay quiet, too!”
The Wraith snarled at the struggling Isha.
“Isha! A monster is possessing the Priest!”
“It’s dangerous to struggle! Stay still!”
“—?!”
Isha’s shoulders shuddered. Her face drained of color, and tears began to well in her eyes.
“Ahhh! Isha-tan is crying... Master Lloyd! We have to save her! Right now! Hurry, please!”
“Wait, wait. No matter how you look at it, the enemy is faster at this range. If we attack carelessly, we might accidentally stab the girl. Moving now is too high-risk.”
“Urgh... T-True...!”
Grimo moved to restrain the frantic Gillian. It was true that taking action in this state was dangerous. However, staring each other down wouldn’t lead to a resolution.
...In that case, I’ll use that.
The moment I twitched my fingertip, the Wraith raised his voice.
“Hey! You, kid! Don't you dare move! I won’t allow you to activate any Spell Formulas, either! The moment I sense you doing anything strange, the woman dies!”
“I won’t. I’m not doing anything.”
—Because it’s already finished.
Suddenly, the ground surged. Massive pillars of stone thrust upward, hoisting both of them into the air.
Earth System Magic: Quaking Fang. Without even understanding what had hit him, the Wraith lost his grip on Isha.
“Wh-Whaaaaa?!”
“Kyaaaaaa?!”
I moved quickly to catch the falling Isha. Good, I managed to save her.
“Are you all right, Isha?”
“Y-Yes... Thank you...!”
Isha clung to me tightly. To be honest, she was a bit heavy.
“I see. Mages typically discharge magic from their hands, so an average opponent will naturally focus their attention there. You moved your fingertip to draw his gaze, and at that exact moment, you activated the Spell Formula from your toes. Magic fired from the point furthest from the hands, launched in an instant through a microscopic Spell Formula Deployment... It’s no wonder that panicked fool didn’t notice.”
“Oooohhh! Isha-tan is so close! That soft sensation, that warmth! I’m so glad to be alive! Haa... Haa...”
Grimo and Gillian were muttering in the background. Ignoring them, I focused on making sure he didn't take another hostage.
“D-Damn you... but if I can just jump into another body... Guhak?! What is this?!”
“It’s a Barrier. It would be a hassle if you ran away.”
The moment I had moved away from Isha, I had already sealed the Priest’s body within a Barrier.
“Impossible... This can't be happening!”
The Wraith pounded against the walls of the Barrier repeatedly, but he lacked the strength to break through. Now then, it was finally time for the interrogation. I wanted to see how other types of magic affected him, not just Holy Magic. After all, I hadn't really been able to test much yet.
“Heh...”
Suddenly, the Wraith let out a defiant smirk.
“Guhahahaha! I surrender. You’re incredibly strong. ...But are you sure about this? Any attack on me will damage the Priest as well! If I die, he dies. You’ll be his murderer! Can you still bring yourself to attack me now?!”
Hmm, he had a point. While Holy Magic isn't supposed to affect the human body, the Priest’s body was clearly showing signs of damage—white smoke was already rising from him.
“Tch, how cowardly...!”
“We can't lay a hand on him like this...”
Sylpha and Ren of the Poison Moth both gritted their teeth. Seeing this, the Wraith let out a triumphant, mocking laugh.
“Fuhahahaha! Now, what’s it going to be?! Are you going to kill me?! I don't mind! Unless, of course, you care what happens to this shell! Hahahaha!”
To me, however, his threat was irrelevant. I had plenty of ways to hurt him without killing him. Besides, I had Healing Magic, so there was no real problem. As I walked toward him, completely unfazed, the Wraith’s expression shifted to one of alarm.
“H-Hey, stay back! You really don't care what happens to this guy?!”
“Heh. There is a way to defeat a monster without harming the host’s body. You must have realized that, haven't you, Lloyd?”
Tao had appeared beside me at some point and gave a sharp wink.
“By flowing Yin and Yang—two clashing types of Ki—so they sandwich the target, they’ll neutralize each other within the body. That lets you destroy the monster inside while keeping the damage to the human body at a minimum. That was your plan, right, Lloyd? I’ll provide the Yang Ki, so you flow the Yin Ki from the opposite side. I’ll match your rhythm, so feel free to go all out.”
I see, so there was a method like that. I hadn't actually intended to do that, but it sounded like an interesting experiment.
“Alright, let’s try it.”
“H-Hey, stop it, you idiots! Let go of me!”
“Give it up, you ghost. ...Lloyd!”
“Yeah, I’m ready.”
Tao and I each grabbed one of the Priest’s hands and began kneading our Ki. I had tried this once back in the sewers; it would probably work something like this.
“Hah!”
I gathered the refined Yin Ki into my palm and sent it flowing into him. Simultaneously, Tao surged her Yang Ki from the other side.
“—Guh?! Gyaaaaaaaaa?!”
A white, misty substance erupted from the Priest’s mouth. That appeared to be the Wraith’s true form. I immediately deployed a Barrier around that specific spot.
“Alright, capture complete.”
The Wraith thrashed within the small cage, but it was a futile effort. My Barriers weren't so flimsy that a common monster could break them.
“And the Priest is... yeah, looks like he’s fine!”
Tao pressed her hand to the Priest’s neck to check his pulse. It seemed we had succeeded. It was a bit of a rush job based on a quick imitation, but I was glad it worked out.
“Hmm, not bad, Lloyd. It looks like you’re making great progress with the way to use Ki I taught you. Such a growth rate is proof that you’re practicing your Kung Fu every day... Wait. I don't think I’ve taught you about Yin and Yang Ki yet... Well, there’s no way you could do it without being taught, so I probably just forgot.”
Tao was muttering to herself, but I was more concerned with whether the Priest would wake up soon. I really wanted to ask him what it felt like to be possessed by a monster. With a sense of excitement, I began applying a restorative spell to wake him up.