The Devil's Cage

Although Kieran was unsure about what had happened to allow Gilfren Hatch to possess Fenkes, there was one thing he was sure of.

Gilfren Hatch was in spectre form. A one-of-a-kind spectre form.

No matter how unique he was though, this did not change his attributes as a spirit monster.

Before Kieran had returned to [The Shaman’s Partner] universe, he had prepared beforehand in order to be able to face spirits and spectres.

He had acquired [Holy Water VIII] and two types of [Bullets of Blessing].

The use of [Holy Water VIII] could allow Kieran to get away easily, but considering the suddenness of Gilfren Hatch’s appearance, what he wanted was not just to get away from him.

Kieran wanted to kill Gilfren Hatch again.

That raging thought filled his mind all of a sudden. He knew that even if he got away this time, Gilfren Hatch would continue to pursue him.

If Kieran used his [Holy Water VIII] to get away, he would still eventually get caught and he would have exhausted all his tricks against Gilfren Hatch.

Still, rather than letting Gilfren Hatch corner him into a dead end and allowing himself to get caught without a fight, Kieran would take that risk.

When his decision was made, he pretended to be scared and panicked, and acted like he was struggling harder.

"Are you surprised I’m still alive? Did you think you could uncover the ancient secret of Alcatraz that easily? Only I have truly inherited the ancestor’s honor and can open the Gate of Life and Death! You are merely a key, and you deserve to suffer until you die!"

Gilfren Hatch in spectre form was enjoying Kieran’s helpless struggle and scared expression, his pitch-black grip injecting negative energy into Kieran’s body and devouring his life energy.

Kieran’s vision was spammed by notifications that his HP was continuously decreasing.

When the negative energy reached a certain level, the lethal energy burst out of his body.

Kieran’s healthy-colored skin turned pale within a second, and his life energy flickered a like a dim candle flame.

[Corrosive Negative Energy: Target inflicts 30 Damage to your HP…]

[HP lower than 30%: Heavily Wounded Status…]

[Negative Energy Contamination: You have been categorized as human, All attributes -3, You will undergo an authentication every 100 seconds, An authentication failure will result in a Strength -1 penalty, There will be three authentications, If you fail three times, you will suffer Lethal Damage…]

The notifications reminded Kieran that he was in grave danger, but he did not seem concerned by it.

He kept up his mindless struggle, sure that he would not die just like that.

Not as long as Gilfren Hatch needed him to open the bronze coffin.

He would only enter a condition that did not allow him to resist anymore, just like the [Heavily Wounded] and the [Negative Energy Contamination]. This was exactly what Gilfren Hatch had anticipated.

With the two debuffs, Kieran did not need to pretend anymore. His strength had weakened a lot.

Spectre Gilfren Hatch let out a sharp, eerie laugh when he saw Kieran’s pathetic state.

"Believe me, this is only the beginning!"

The spectre’s eyes were grudgeful, and his venomous gaze threatened Kieran.

However, all he did was grab Kieran by the neck and swim upwards without any further action.

It was just as Kieran had predicted. Before he opened the bronze coffin, he would suffer through pain and torture, but he would not die.

While Spectre Gilfren Hatch was swimming upwards with him, his body was exposed to Kieran.

Although extremely weakened, Kieran smirked slightly.

It was the opportunity he had been waiting for.

His hands were hanging down from his shoulders and wobbling along with the water current as if they had lost their mobility.

Suddenly, two tubes of 10 ml potions with a faint glow appeared in his hands.

Spectre Gilfren Hatch, who had reached the surface, sensed something unusual and turned back instinctively to take a look.

Kieran raised his right hand suddenly and…

The two tubes of [Holy Water VIII] were smeared all over the spectre’s face.

"Argghhhh!" Gilfren Hatch let out an agonizing scream.

[Holy Water VIII: Inflicts 300 Damage to Target HP, Authentication passed, Lethal Attack detected, 300 True Damage inflicted to Target HP…]

[Holy Water VIII: Inflicts 300 Damage to Target HP, Authentication passed, Lethal Attack detected, 300 True Damage inflicted to Target HP, Target is Lethally Wounded…]

[Lethal Attack: Unable to defend oneself with equipment or immunity to skills.]

[Holy Water VIII: Purified Negative Energy Contamination!]

...

As the faintly glowing [Holy Water VIII] came into contact with Gilfren Hatch’s face, there was a white explosion.

The white fumes and flames engulfed Spectre Gilfren Hatch and Kieran in a second.

Kieran was not harmed at all by the explosion though. He even purified his [Negative Energy Contamination] debuff.

The white explosions forced Gilfren Hatch into a [Lethally Wounded] status, but this was not the end.

Kieran had already simulated the situation over 10 times in his mind.

The moment the white flames burst out, Kieran’s left hand had already taken hold of the [Python-W2], which was loaded with [Bullets of Blessing], and forced it onto Gilfren Hatch’s body, firing repeatedly.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The firearm had regained its explosive attack when they’d reached the surface.

[Shooting, Bullets of Blessing: Inflicts 100 Damage to Target HP, Target has Strong Force Field Barrier, Authenticated higher than Armor Penetration Lvl 1, Resisted 200 Damage, 0 True Damage inflicted to Target…]

[Shooting, Bullets of Blessing: Inflicts 100 Damage to Target HP, Target has Strong Force Field Barrier, Authenticated higher than Armor Penetration Lvl 1, Resisted 200 Damage, 0 True Damage inflicted to Target…]

...

Everything was negated by the Force Field Barrier.

However, after five hits, the barrier had weakened to the verge of crumbling.

Bang!

As the last shot was fired, the weakened Force Field Barrier reached its limit and crumbled into pieces with a loud bang from the [Python-W2].

[Bullets of Blessing] were shot into Gilfren Hatch’s body without any hindrance.

[Shooting, Bullets of Blessing: Inflicts 100 Damage to Target HP, Target has Immune Lethal Damage Skill, High Dead-Man’s Skin, Resisted 100 Damage; Bullets of Blessing, Extra 100 Damage to Negative Energy Being, Authentication failed, Lethal Attack revoked, 100 True Damage inflicted to Target HP…]

...

The shot awakened Spectre Gilfren Hatch from the comatose state caused by the [Lethally Wounded] status.

His pitch-black venomous gaze stared right inside Kieran’s eyes.

His mental state had entered a frenzied rampage because of the influence of the negative energy.

"YOU WILL DIE WITH ME!" he screamed.

The pitch-black body of the spectre exploded and shrouded Kieran and the space around him in an instant.

The sky and the sea were tainted black by the mist.

The mist looked twisted as it distorted space and strangled Kieran like a python.

The tremendous power almost suffocated Kieran, but when he saw the orange glow around Fenkes’ body, he used his unusual strength and got his hands on the loot, even under the pressure of the black mist.

The mist dragged Kieran back into the sea as he got hold of the glowing orange item.

Translator's Thoughts

Dess Dess

Some how Gilfren Hatch here is a little bit weaker than his previous forms.