Thor waved a hand, trying to pry the Hardcover Book open.
He wasn't in the mood to check what had changed about the mask in his hands. He had to keep an eye on the Evil Spirit and Peggy's internal struggle at all times.
Since Peggy's plan to redirect the danger had failed, the Evil Spirit had probably figured something out. The two were now fighting over control of the body.
He couldn't let his two enemies make peace. He had to add fuel to the fire.
"Senior Sister! What do we do? The Evil Spirit didn't fall for it! Is there any way you can lure it back onto this mask? I promise I'll catch it this time!"
One of Peggy's eyes, whites and all, had turned completely black. Her other eye was still mostly normal, but bloodshot, and it swiveled toward Thor on its own.
"You bastard! I underestimated you!"
Thor didn't give Peggy a chance to say more. He stood up, gripping the mask, and kept taking aim with it.
"Senior Sister, hurry and force the Evil Spirit out! As soon as it comes out, I promise I'll trap it—ugh... I'll stink it to death!"
"Ah!!!!" Peggy's other eye turned ink-black, too. Her expression grew more and more pained, and she had no time to pay Thor any attention.
She pressed both hands against her eyes, as if trying to gouge them out, but in the end, she could only tug at her eyelids.
"Rip—"
Thor couldn't help flinching, nearly losing his composure.
"Senior Sister, hurry and force it out!"
Peggy seemed to have a sudden realization. Her face streaked with blood, she turned to Thor and roared, "Give me that mask! Now, or I'll kill you!"
"Okay," Thor replied at once, throwing the thing in his hand. "Catch, Senior Sister!"
Peggy's vision was all distorted now. She only saw Thor throw something toward her.
"At least this bastard knows what's good for him. I can give him a quick death later."
She reached out and caught a piece of rough leather, much larger than a mask.
"Is this my skin?"
A flicker of suspicion crossed Peggy's mind.
"Quick, Senior Sister! After the Evil Spirit possessed the mask, it changed in an unbelievable way!"
At Thor's urging, Peggy's mind already churned to mush. She had no time to think, and hastily slapped the piece of leather over her face.
But the moment it touched her face, Peggy realized something was wrong.
The Evil Spirit showed no sign of being driven away. Instead, it shrieked and burrowed into her mind.
"Ah!!!"
"Ugh!!!!"
"Eek!!!!"
Peggy's voice kept shifting between shrill and hoarse.
She knew she'd been tricked again. This piece of leather definitely wasn't the skin from her leg.
What's more, the leather seemed to have some kind of confining and concealing property. Once she covered her face with it, the Evil Spirit—which had been trying to leave her body—immediately retreated back inside!
"You!!! Bas!!!!"
Her vocal cords had torn, and she could barely make out any words.
Peggy gave up fighting over control of her head and regained control of her hands, trying to pull the leather off her face.
But just then, Thor, who had been watching from a distance, lunged at her and pinned her to the ground. He clamped both hands over her face, holding the pale-yellow leather against her skin.
That's right, the pale-yellow leather was what Kongsha had lent Thor to mask the scent of corpses.
Thor had only come up with the idea on a whim, just to mess with Peggy. He hadn't expected it to work so well.
In any case, he couldn't let the Evil Spirit leave Peggy's body.
As long as neither of you comes out, you can fight all you want.
"Mm—"
Peggy had completely given up on the Evil Spirit wreaking havoc inside her. The person she hated most now was Thor.
She stretched out her hands like a vengeful ghost, frantically trying to claw at Thor's face. At the same time, she kicked wildly against the ground, trying to throw him off.
But the Evil Spirit inside her kept holding her back, preventing her from using her full strength.
Time passed, and Peggy's struggles grew weaker and weaker until she stopped moving altogether.
Thor didn't release her immediately. Instead, he kept her pinned down for another ten minutes or so.
He felt like he might have flattened her face.
Then Thor began chanting a spell and slowly freed one hand to form a gesture.
When he was ready, he abruptly lifted the pale-yellow leather and unleashed Strike Undead at Peggy's face!
Peggy's corpse twitched, but nothing else happened.
Her face was blue and purple, her mouth gaping wide. Deep marks from fingers covered her face and neck.
It was impossible to tell whether the Evil Spirit had killed her or Thor had strangled her.
But if Peggy and the Evil Spirit hadn't been wearing each other down, Thor wouldn't have stood a chance of killing her.
Thor didn't dare relax. He cast Strike Undead at Peggy's face again.
Two spells was his limit for now.
Thor climbed off Peggy, panting hard.
"...Hm?"
A faint groan sounded behind him. Thor jumped and whipped around.
Senior Byron, who hadn't appeared for a long time, stood in the doorway, looking somewhat bewildered as he took in the scene.
"Senior?" Thor was utterly drained, and he had barely any Magic Power left. All he could do was stand there, chest heaving, hands trembling.
Byron strode inside and shut the door behind him. He came over to Thor, grabbed his arm, and pulled him behind himself.
His mouth moved, producing a series of short, indistinct notes. Then he pointed at Peggy on the ground.
She suddenly sprang up and lunged at Byron with her mouth wide open, but a strand of black light shot from his fingertip and struck her.
Peggy's body and soul both wailed.
Her grotesque appearance rapidly rotted away, and she collapsed halfway through, becoming a dried corpse.
Even so, at the last moment, she—or rather, the Evil Spirit inside her—managed to launch an attack.
A gust from her swinging hands cut across Byron like knives, leaving deep gashes that exposed bone.
In an instant, he was drenched in blood.
But that was all. Peggy's decaying body could no longer move, and the Shadow Monster that had taken shape as the Evil Spirit vanished and dispersed, leaving only a wisp of black smoke.
With trembling hands, Thor took out the Intimidation Mask he had just obtained. Fighting his revulsion, he put it on and looked around.
When he saw Peggy die, he had hit her with Strike Undead twice more, but he'd still let his guard down. If Senior Byron hadn't noticed that the Evil Spirit was still there, Thor might not have escaped disaster.
Now Thor couldn't see the Shadow Monster anywhere.
Senior Byron's final strike had finally eliminated every hidden danger.
Before he could bring himself to vomit, Thor hurriedly took off the mask and wrapped it in the pale-yellow leather that could erase its scent.
The wounds on Byron's body were gradually healing.
So this was the power of a Level 2 Apprentice.
And yet even someone as powerful as Senior Byron still couldn't become a Level 3 Apprentice before turning thirty.
Thor's heart sank as he clearly realized how difficult it was to become a Wizard.
But he didn't stay gloomy for long. He walked over and asked, as if only just realizing it, "Senior, what brings you here?"
Byron turned around and looked at Thor with an incredibly complicated expression.
He began to speak.
No—it was the wounds on his body that were speaking.
A chorus of sounds rang out, as if many people were talking at once.
"I saw your note, but I was at a critical point in my attempt to advance to Level 3 at the time. That's why I only came to find you today."
"Senior, you're a Level 3 Apprentice now?" Thor grinned, showing a row of pearly white teeth.
He was genuinely happy for Byron.
"Not yet, but I should be able to advance sometime this month. Enough about that. Why are you here? This isn't a fight you should have been involved in."
Thor smiled bitterly. "I was dragged into the excitement, too."
He briefly explained how the whole scheme and counterattack had unfolded.
"You... you really surprised me. Maybe even if I hadn't stepped in just now, you could have handled that severely wounded Evil Spirit yourself."
Byron's voice began to grow fainter as the wounds on his body neared complete healing.
He looked at Peggy's unrecognizable body on the ground and shook his head. "I was the one who found Peggy to take over my work. I didn't expect her to die after only ten-odd days."
Thor's heart tightened. "Senior, were you close to her?"
Byron shook his head. "Apprentices only trade favors. Peggy and I had no real relationship. But Thor... I owe you."
Before you continue