I Save The World In A Doomsday Text Game

Chapter 244-1: True Form of the Calamity Mage, Filth Purification Rebirth (1)

[“Go now! Find Yoichi at the foot of the No-Illusions Shrine!”]

[Do you wish to flee the Iya Palace alone?]

The Ninja Master’s assassination skills were beyond reproach, already honed to a level approaching the divine.

But expecting an assassin specializing in stealth kills to face three powerful shikigami head-on… just thinking about it felt cruel.

“If I run off now, won’t I just be throwing away a powerful ally from the story?”

The Ninja Master had slain the Vice Palace Master with a single stroke, decapitating them and leaving Lin Xun without the chance to claim a strong onmyoji shell.

But this Palace Master before him was clearly an even greater existence than that old woman.

If he could bring down this boss and seize the shell, wouldn’t that be even better?

[You loudly refused, declaring that you could never abandon the teacher of your closest friend and flee alone. Though you were a foreigner, you still knew of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust, of loyalty to Heaven, Earth, sovereign, kin, and teacher. If you escaped by yourself, how could you face your dear friend again?]

[At your words, the Ninja Master, who had just leapt forward, froze mid-motion. He pressed down the brim of his straw hat. In his old, raspy voice, there was a hint of gritted teeth…][“Just go! I have my own way to escape this place!”]

[Do you wish to flee the Iya Palace alone?]

“Gah?”

“So I’m just a burden again?”

The mage shell was every bit the glass cannon. From the Ninja Master’s perspective, having the foreign mage withdraw while he created a distraction really was the best tactical choice.

But it was rare to have such a powerful ally by his side to take on a boss, running away now felt like such a waste.

Lin Xun hesitated. If he insisted on fighting the boss, he couldn’t be sure what odds the Ninja Master had of surviving the battle.

If he retreated now, trying to slay the Palace Master later would become nearly impossible.

But soon he didn’t need to debate it any longer…

[The Fire-Worshipping Palace Master of Iya Palace burst into loud laughter, praising the moving little drama you two were putting on. But today… neither of you will leave alive!]

[He formed seals and recited an incantation. Countless precious hidden spell materials dissolved, and all along the high walls surrounding the palace compound, enormous blood-red tadpole-script runes flared to life…]

[In the blink of an eye, a Barrier Formation: Absolute Barrier Seal of the Ten Directions rose from the walls, enclosing the entire Iya Palace compound!]

[The golden barrier shone solid and impregnable, the densely packed crimson tadpole-script runes flashing and rippling.]

[Such a vast, magnificent barrier allowed nothing in from without and nothing out from within. Unless the caster was slain, even godlike power could not break free!]

[The three massive shikigami slowly advanced on you and the Ninja Master, the pressure they exuded so oppressive that an ordinary person would have collapsed.]

[The young Palace Master smiled as though everything was firmly under control. In a softer tone, he began to persuade you instead…]

[All the onmyoji of Iya Palace were already dead, nothing could be changed. But you two were capable individuals. If you chose to struggle pointlessly and throw your lives away here, how foolish that would be.]

[Why not swear an oath to the Ancient Heavenly Enma and pledge your loyalty? In that case, he would spare your lives.]

[The Ninja Master suddenly spoke up in a loud voice, “The Iya Palace Master had secretly been draining the life force of innocent women, harming countless innocents, all for the selfish desire to restore his youth and gain eternal life.”]

[Moreover, he harbored treasonous ambitions, conspiring in secret with the Lord of the Tenshukaku to seize Thousand Orchid City as a base from which to march on Kyoto Imperial Palace…]

[With every sentence the Ninja Master spoke, the Palace Master’s expression darkened further. By the end, murderous intent was blazing in his eyes. He immediately began forming seals and chanting, driving the three colossal shikigami forward to attack!]

[The Ninja Master turned back to you and instructed, “You deal with that demon shikigami. The other two yokai shikigami are mine!”]

[With that, he vanished in an instant.]

Lin Xun drew a deep breath, opened his inventory, and clicked on the Brass Whistle!

The Valkyrie’s summoning relic was still in the hands of his Chunin shell, he couldn’t risk exposing his identity here.

Otherwise, even if they killed the Palace Master, the whole rescue mission for the Senior Sister would be ruined.

[With a crisp whistle, the savage, menacing Corrupted Three-Headed Lion bared its fangs.]

[You issued the mount command and hauled yourself up by its bristly ochre mane, straddling its back.]

[The Iya Palace Master eyed the Three-Headed Lion with curiosity, puzzled by the unfamiliar creature, he had never seen such a shikigami before.]

[He drove the three shikigami to attack you. As the towering monsters closed in, you could only order your mount to retreat, buying yourself time to cast spells.]

[Just then, twin streaks of cold sword light flashed past, carving huge wounds in the two yokai shikigami.]

[The Ninja Master reappeared, drawing those two away.]

[Only the demon shikigami named Rasasha continued pursuing you…]

[The Iya Palace Master crossed his arms, making no attempt to enhance the shikigami with talismans, simply letting you split them apart.]

[You directed the Three-Headed Lion to flee in wide arcs, raising your hand as two Stored Spell Treasure Rings began to gleam brightly…]

[…]

There was no denying that the Ninja Master’s tactics were spot on.

Compared to yokai shikigami, demon-type shikigami were far more resistant to physical attacks, while their resistance to magic was relatively lower.

Having the foreign mage deal with the demon shikigami allowed him to play to his greatest strengths.

Relying on the Three-Headed Lion’s speed, Lin Xun became a mobile artillery battery, kiting his target.

Rasasha was shockingly fast, often closing in to strike at the Three-Headed Lion.

But every time, its blows were forced to pass through the Knowledge Barrier first, by the time they landed, much of their power had been blunted.

And his loyal mount raised its three heads proudly, blocking every lethal strike meant for Lin Xun.

It possessed an almost bug-like undying regenerative ability: when one of the Three-Headed Lion’s heads was smashed apart, before long a brand new one would grow in its place, fully restored.

Rasasha continued to inflict damage upon the Three-Headed Lion, but the mage shell remained relatively safe.

Lin Xun let out a sigh of relief and began chanting to cast his ultimate spell, Falling Starlight…

[Your situation here was still manageable, but when you looked toward the Ninja Master’s side, your heart filled with worry…]

[Though the two yokai could not pierce the Ninja Master’s stealth technique, they were able to unleash large-area damaging yokai arts.]

[If the foreign mage weren’t here, the Ninja Master could have simply slipped away unnoticed.]

[But because he needed to keep both yokai shikigami occupied so they wouldn’t attack you, he was forced to swing the Dragon Sword again and again.]

[Each time he struck, his stealth was revealed, those were the moments he was in the greatest danger.]

[The Ninja Master looked as if he were dancing on the edge of a blade, perilous in the extreme, barely managing to hold his ground.]

[If he slipped up even once and was struck by a yokai art, his aged, frail body would never survive it.]

“Damn it, what am I supposed to do about this?”

Lin Xun could only pray silently that the Ninja Master would hold out a little longer. Once he had finished off Rasasha, he’d be able to help.

But he seemed to have forgotten one thing, the Iya Palace Master had still yet to act.