Chapter 84: The Power of Talismans

"Breath of the Sun, Style Twelve — Flame Dance!" Because he was in a hurry, Hachiman Hikigaya didn't consider the burden on his body at all. With a single move, he unleashed the strongest technique of the Breath of the Sun. The dazzling sunlight shone for the first time in this dark space. Seeing the sudden bright light, the seven malevolent spirits who had been charging froze, their momentum instantly halted. Seizing the opportunity, Hachiman charged straight into the group of spirits, then with another spin attack brought all the spirits into his range of attack. "!!!" The three-headed spirit was both shocked and furious at Hachiman's boldness. Originally, after pulling Hachiman into this world against the rules, it believed that the combined power of the surrounding six general-grade spirits would be enough to handle him. But unexpectedly, this human was reckless enough to pass through all their spirits at once! The other six general-grade spirits shared the three-headed spirit's thoughts. Since they happened to be nearby, they immediately teleported over after sensing the three-headed spirit's call for help. But to their surprise, the human in front of them actually dared to look down on them like this! Filled with anger, the seven spirits each unleashed their most skilled techniques simultaneously to attack Hachiman. Watching this dangerous scene from afar, Miko Yotsuya, who was just background, suddenly felt a lump in her throat. "Flames consuming the body..." Facing attacks from all seven spirits, Hachiman expressionlessly applied a just-purchased spell to his spirit-slaying sword. Immediately, a ghostly flame appeared on the originally blue blade. Under the spin attack, the fire—powerful enough to make any spirit suffer greatly—successfully coated the bodies of all seven spirits. "Roar!!!" At the moment the flames touched them, the spirits' faces twisted in pain. Their attack frequency against Hachiman also became disorganized. Hachiman immediately focused on the one spirit that was closer than the others due to the ghostly flames. Taking a deep breath, he instantly slashed out seven sword energies aimed at all the spirits. As expected, the sword energies caused no damage; the general-grade spirits easily blocked the attacks. But that was enough. While the spirits dealt with the sword energies, Hachiman closed in on the targeted spirit. Activating the Sword Technique Mother's Rosario! An eleven-hit combo struck precisely on the face and body of this unknown general-grade spirit, forcing it to retreat continuously with no chance to resist. When the combo ended, Hachiman added a sweeping slash and cut off the unlucky spirit's neck, immediately hearing the sound notification of 3,000 spirit coins being credited. "......" Silence suddenly fell in the private room. The remaining six spirits, including the three-headed one who pulled Hachiman here, experienced subtle changes in mindset after witnessing a peer instantly killed by Hachiman. Especially the five spirits who came to help now regretted their enthusiasm to assist. But since they had already come, fleeing was impossible. If the six spirits fought together, they might still kill this human. But if they chose to run, their bosses would definitely not forgive them! Having made up their minds, the six spirits began circling around Hachiman. Hachiman had no intention of letting them confuse him; after swiftly killing one spirit and sensing fear in the others, he decisively launched another attack toward one spirit. Learning from their comrade's lesson, the second unlucky spirit dared not confront Hachiman head-on. Seeing Hachiman charge at it, it turned and began circling with him. The other spirits followed closely, launching attacks trying to block Hachiman's pursuit. Thus, Miko witnessed a strange sight. One spirit desperately fled in front, Hachiman chased behind wielding his sword, and five spirits timidly attacked from behind... "Spirit Flow!" Seeing he was about to lose the fleeing spirit, Hachiman decisively raised his hand and unleashed an attack at the five spirits behind. "?" Caught off guard, one spirit couldn't dodge and was directly hit in the face by the powerful Spiritual Flow. Before it could react, Hachiman appeared in front of it, raising his spirit-slaying sword... "Congratulations, host has successfully defeated one general-grade spirit, gained 3,000 spirit coins!" Watching the spirit beneath him dissolve into black smoke, Hachiman shook his head helplessly. Not even defending against a counterattack—no wonder it died second. Another 3,000 spirit coins earned, Hachiman squinted as he checked his stats. Name: Hachiman Hikigaya Age: 17 Occupation: Exorcist Spiritual Power: 70/120 (basic cultivation method) Skills: Spiritual Flow (Beginner), Mother's Rosario (Intermediate), Breath of the Sun (Advanced), Shield (Intermediate), Flames Consuming the Body Equipment: Advanced Spirit-Slaying Sword, Gatling Gun (infinite ammo), High-Concentration Incendiary Bombs (4), High-Explosive Grenades (3) Spirit Coins: 11,000 ......... "I have to keep all of them alive..." Glancing at his spirit coin balance and the five spirits opposite whose faces clearly showed fear after their comrades' deaths, Hachiman made a decision. As a mage Exorcist, not using talismans seemed very rude. So even though the talisman compendium in the shop cost 10,000 spirit coins, Hachiman bought it without hesitation. After purchase success, Hachiman suddenly felt many new pieces of knowledge about making and using various talismans enter his mind. But he didn't care about those right now. Flicking his fingers like a magician, five talismans with the red character 定 (meaning "bind") and one talisman with the character 疾 ("speed") suddenly appeared in Hachiman's hand. Time to test them... Staring at the talismans, Hachiman silently recited and stuck the speed talisman on himself. Then he charged toward the five spirits. Hachiman's body left an afterimage in place, a gust of wind swept past the five spirits who were frozen in place. "Amazing!" Watching the talisman burn out automatically on himself, Hachiman turned around satisfied and looked at the five spirits stuck in place by the binding talismans on their foreheads. He silently raised his Demon-slaying sword...