Add Fuel to the Fire, Then Add Some More

Thor waved his hand, trying to brush the Hardcover Book aside.

He was in no mood to check what changes had occurred to the mask in his hand; he had to keep a close watch on the internal struggle between the evil spirit and Peggy.

Because Peggy's plan to divert the disaster had failed, the evil spirit must have realized what was happening, leading the two to fight for control of the body.

He couldn't let his two enemies reconcile; he had to add fuel to the fire.

"Senior! What should we do? The evil spirit didn't fall for it! Do you have any way to lure it back onto this mask? I promise I can catch it this time!"

One of Peggy's eyes, including the white, had turned completely black, while the other, still relatively normal, was bloodshot as it turned toward Thor.

"You bastard, I underestimated you!"

Thor didn't give Peggy a chance to continue, standing up while clutching the mask and occasionally making a aiming gesture.

"Senior, hurry and force the evil spirit out! Once it comes out, I guarantee I can trap it—ugh... it'll be choked to death!"

"Ah!!!!" Peggy's other eye also turned ink-black. Her expression grew increasingly painful, and she no longer had the capacity to pay attention to Thor.

She pressed her hands against her eyes, seemingly wanting to gouge them out, but in the end, she could only claw at her eyelids.

"Rip--"

Thor couldn't help but flinch, nearly failing to maintain his act.

"Senior, hurry and force it out!"

Peggy suddenly seemed to have a moment of clarity. With her face covered in blood, she turned her head and roared at Thor: "Give me that mask! Quickly, or I'll kill you!"

"Alright," Thor responded immediately, throwing the item in his hand, "Catch it, Senior!"

Peggy's vision was distorted, and she only saw Thor throw something over.

This guy knows what's good for him. I'll give him a quick death later.

She reached out to catch it, gripping a piece of rough-textured leather that was much larger than the mask.

Is this my skin?

A flash of doubt crossed Peggy's mind.

"Quick, Senior! After the evil spirit possessed the mask, it underwent an incredible transformation!"

Listening to Thor's urging, Peggy, whose brain had already been churned into mush, had no time to think. She hurriedly plastered the leather onto her face.

But as soon as the leather touched her face, Peggy realized something was wrong.

The evil spirit had no intention of being choked away; instead, it screamed and burrowed deeper into her brain.

"Ah!!!"

"Urgh!!!!"

"Eee!!!!"

Peggy's voice shifted constantly between high-pitched shrieks and low, hoarse groans.

She knew she had been tricked again; this leather was definitely not the skin from her leg.

Moreover, this leather seemed to have some kind of containment and masking property. After she covered her face with it, she found that the evil spirit, which had previously intended to leave her body, had immediately shrunk back!

"Bas... tard...!!!!"

Her vocal cords had already torn, and she couldn't even articulate the words clearly.

Peggy gave up on fighting for control of her head and regained control of her hands, trying to rip the leather off her face.

Who would have thought that at this moment, Thor, who had been watching from afar, would immediately pounce, pinning Peggy to the ground and pressing his hands firmly over her face to prevent the pale yellow leather from leaving her skin.

Yes, that pale yellow leather was the one Kongsha had lent Thor to suppress the aura of corpses.

Thor had just had a sudden inspiration to use it to distract Peggy, and he hadn't expected the effect to be so good.

In any case, he couldn't let the evil spirit escape Peggy's body.

As long as neither of you comes out, fight all you want.

"Mmph--"

Peggy had completely abandoned the evil spirit wreaking havoc inside her; she hated Thor more than anything now.

She stretched out her ghost-like hands, desperately trying to claw at Thor's face, while her feet kicked wildly on the ground, trying to throw Thor off.

But the evil spirit inside her kept dragging her down, preventing her from using her full strength.

Time passed bit by bit, and Peggy's struggles grew weaker until there was no movement at all.

Thor didn't let go of Peggy immediately, instead continuing to press down for another ten minutes.

He felt as though he had probably flattened Peggy's face.

Afterward, Thor chanted a spell and slowly freed one hand to perform a gesture.

Fully prepared, he suddenly ripped away the pale yellow leather and unleashed a Strike Undead onto Peggy's face!

Peggy's corpse twitched once, but there was no other reaction.

Her complexion was purple-black, her mouth hung wide open, and there were deep finger marks on her face and neck.

He didn't know if she had been killed by the evil spirit or strangled to death by Thor.

But if Peggy and the evil spirit hadn't been wearing each other down, Thor wouldn't have had even a half-percent chance of killing her.

Thor didn't dare to relax, continuing to cast Strike Undead on Peggy's face.

Two spells were his current limit.

Thor panted heavily as he crawled off Peggy's body.

"...Hmm?"

A soft hum sounded from behind him, startling Thor so much that he spun around abruptly.

Byron, who hadn't appeared in a long time, stood at the doorway, looking at the scene inside with a dazed expression.

"Senior?" Thor was completely drained, his mana nearly exhausted, and he could only stand in place, his chest heaving and his hands trembling.

Byron strode in, closed the door behind him, and came to Thor's side, grabbing Thor's arm to pull him behind his back.

His mouth moved, emitting a series of short, indistinct musical notes, before he pointed at Peggy on the floor.

The latter suddenly leaped up from the ground, opening her wide mouth to charge at Byron, but she was struck by a black line emitted from his fingertip.

Peggy's body and soul wailed in unison.

Her hideous exterior rapidly decayed, and she collapsed halfway, turning into a withered corpse.

But even so, she—or rather, the evil spirit within her—launched one final attack at the last moment.

The gale whipped up by her hands was like a blade, carving deep, bone-reaching wounds into Byron's body.

He was instantly drenched in blood.

But that was the end of it; Peggy's decaying body could no longer move, and the black shadow formed by the evil spirit dissipated, leaving behind only a wisp of black smoke.

Thor, with trembling hands, took out the newly acquired Intimidation Mask and, fighting back his nausea, put it on to observe.

He had seen Peggy die and had followed up with two Strike Undead spells, but he had still been careless; if Senior Byron hadn't noticed the evil spirit was still present, he might not have escaped disaster.

Now, Thor didn't see any black shadows anywhere.

Senior Byron's final strike had finally eliminated all hidden dangers.

Before he could throw up, Thor hurriedly put away the mask and wrapped it in the pale yellow leather that could mask its aura.

Meanwhile, the wounds on Byron's body were gradually healing.

A Level 2 apprentice was this powerful.

Yet, even someone as formidable as Senior Byron still couldn't become a Level 3 apprentice before the age of thirty.

Thor's heart sank as he clearly realized how difficult it was to become a wizard.

But he didn't stay down for long; he walked over and asked as if only just realizing it, "Senior, why are you here?"

Byron turned around, looking at Thor with an incredibly complex expression.

He began to speak.

No, it was the wounds on his body that were speaking.

The resonance was constant, as if many people were talking at the same time.

"I saw your note, but I was at a critical period of advancing to Level 3, so I only came to find you today."

"Senior, are you a Level 3 apprentice now?" Thor grinned, revealing his white teeth.

He was genuinely happy for Byron.

"Not yet, but there shouldn't be any problem completing the advancement within this month. Never mind that, why are you here? This isn't a battle you should be involved in."

Thor gave a bitter smile. "I was forced into this mess as well."

He briefly recounted the entire process of the trap and the counter-kill.

"You... truly exceeded my expectations. Perhaps even if I hadn't intervened, you could have dealt with that heavily wounded evil spirit."

Byron's voice began to fade as his wounds were nearly healed.

He looked at the unrecognizable Peggy on the ground and shook his head. "I was the one who originally asked Peggy to take over my work. I didn't expect her to die after only doing it for a dozen days or so."

Thor's heart tightened. "Senior, were you close to her?"

Byron shook his head. "Between apprentices, there are only exchanges of interest. I had no relationship with her, but Thor... I owe you one."