Chapter 82

"Father...? And even Silfa and the others... What's going on...?"

Isha stiffens at the sudden situation.

It's the same for us. In that brief moment, the possessed Father took advantage of the gap.

The Father's body leaped and pinned Isha in a headlock.

"Hahaha! The tables have turned, humans! I'm surprised you figured out my true identity and even broke through the cloak of darkness, but that's as far as it goes! Don't come near me! Unless you don't care what happens to this girl, that is!"

"Father! What are you doing!?"

"Shut up! You be quiet too!"

The Father yells at the struggling Isha.

"Isha! The Father is possessed by a monster!"

"It's dangerous if you struggle! Stay still!"

"!?"

Isha shudders, her face pale, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Oh! Isha is crying so much... Lord Lloyd! We have to help her! Right now! Come on, quickly!"

"Hold on, hold on. Even if we want to, the enemy is faster at this distance. We might accidentally hurt the girl in the process. Moving in this situation is risky."

"Damn... You're right..."

Grimo restrains the panicking Jillian.

Indeed, moving in this situation is dangerous.

But just standing here won't solve anything.

...Then I'll use that.

As I twitch my fingers, the Father's voice grows harsh.

"Hey! You brat! Not only will I not allow you to move, but I won't let you activate any spells either! If I feel anything strange, I'll kill the girl!"

"I won't. I won't do anything."

--Because it's already over.

Suddenly, stones shoot up from the ground, lifting both bodies into the air.

Earth magic 'Seiza'. The Father, not knowing what happened, released Isha.

"What, what!?"

"Kyaaaaa!?"

I catch the flying Isha.

Good, I managed to save her.

"Are you okay? Isha"

"Yes... Thank you...!"

Isha clings to me tightly.

She's a bit heavy.

"I see. Mages generally cast spells with their hands. An opponent would naturally focus on that. So you moved your fingers to draw attention, and activated the spell from the tips of your toes at that moment. A spell cast from the farthest point from your hands, in an instant, and with a minimal spell formation. It's no wonder the panicked one didn't notice."

"Ooooh! Isha is so close! The soft touch and warmth! I'm glad to be alive! Haa! Haa!"

Grimo and Jillian mutter.

More importantly, we need to make sure no one else is taken hostage.

"You... But if I possess another person... Gah!? What is this!?"

"It's a barrier. It would be troublesome if you escaped."

The moment I let go of Isha, I had already sealed the Father's body with a barrier.

"Impossible... Impossible...!"

The Father pounds on the barrier, but it doesn't seem to have the power to break it.

Well, it's finally time for the interrogation.

I'd also like to see how other spells affect him, since we didn't get to test them much.

"Ku..."

Suddenly, the Father smirks.

"Hahaha! You got me. You're quite strong. ...But is it okay? An attack on the possessed me is also damage to the Father! If I die, he dies too. You'll be the one who killed him! Can you still attack me!?"

Hmm, now that you mention it, that's true.

Sacred magic shouldn't affect the human body, yet white smoke is rising from the Father's body, evidence of the damage.

"Damn, how despicable...!"

"There's nothing we can do...!"

Seeing Silfa and Ren grit their teeth, the Father laughs triumphantly.

"Hahaha! So what will you do!? Kill me!? It's fine with me? If you don't care what happens to his body, that's a different story! Hahaha!"

But that's irrelevant to me.

There are plenty of ways to hurt him without killing him.

I have healing magic, so it's not a problem at all.

Seeing me approach without flinching, the Father's face changes.

"Hey, don't come near. Do you not care what happens to him!?"

"Hmm, there's a way to defeat the monster without harming the Father's body. You're quick, Lloyd."

Tao, who had appeared beside me, winks.

"Yin and Yang, the two opposing 'Qi' can be channeled to neutralize inside the body, minimizing the impact on the human body while defeating the monster inside... Lloyd, you were going to do that, right? I'll channel the Yang 'Qi', and you channel the Yin 'Qi' from the opposite side. I'll sync it, so go all out."

I see, there's such a method.

I didn't intend to do that, but it sounds interesting.

Let's give it a try.

"Hey, stop it, you idiot! Let go!"

"Give up, spirit. ...Lloyd!"

"Okay, I got it."

Tao and I take the Father's right and left hands, respectively, and channel 'Qi'.

We tried this once in the sewers. It should be something like this.

"Hmm!"

I gather the Yin 'Qi' in my palm and channel it.

At the same time, Tao channels the Yang 'Qi'.

"Guh!? Gyaahhhh!?"

A white mist-like substance emerges from the Father's mouth.

That seems to be the spirit's true form.

I immediately expand a barrier around that area.

"Good, capture complete."

The struggling spirit's thrashing is futile.

My barrier isn't that weak to be broken by a regular monster.

"The Father... Hmm, seems fine!"

Tao places her hand on the Father's neck to check his pulse.

It seems we succeeded. It worked out well, even though it was a trial and error.

"Hmm, you're doing well, Lloyd. You seem to be learning the 'Qi' techniques I taught you smoothly. This growth rate is proof that you practice every day... Hmm? But I don't think I taught you about Yin and Yang 'Qi' yet... Well, it's impossible to do it without being taught, so I probably just forgot."

Tao mutters, but more importantly, why isn't the Father waking up?

I'd like to hear what it feels like to be possessed by a spirit.

I excitedly try to revive the Father.