The memory was transmitted in an instant.

I was able to glimpse Kamira’s memories in less than a second.

The memory of when Kamira came here.

The memory of when she discovered the monster.

The memory of when she fought the monster.

And the memory of when she was killed by the monster.

After seeing all those memories, I muttered a curse under my breath.

“Damn it.”

The captain, who had been watching beside me while I received the memories, asked.

“What happened?”

“I just saw Kamira’s memories through the item. How she fought and how she died.”

I pointed my sword again towards the corpse of the monster lying in pieces.

Then I said to the captain and Edbert.

“That monster will rise again. This time in its true form, not the appearance stolen from others.”

Thanks to receiving Kamira’s memories, I could understand.

Kamira had also fought against a phantom possessing a human corpse and had won.

However, the unfortunate accident occurred when she let her guard down in the moment of joy after victory.

After being defeated by Kamira’s hands once, the monster revived in its true form.

It literally came back to life.

In other words, it was futile to try to kill it while it was possessing a human corpse.

Only by attacking when it was in its true form could we properly finish it off.

Fortunately, having received Kamira’s memories, I immediately pointed my sword at the monster, thus avoiding being ambushed from behind by the revived monster.

-Grwooooooo…

Along with a bizarre sound, a misty smoke-like substance began to seep out of the corpse.

That must be the monster’s true body.

As soon as I saw the true body, I shot a sharp cold energy at it, but it was useless.

My attack passed right through that hazy, smoke-like thing and went by.

“The attack…”

The attack doesn’t work.

It seemed to be in a state close to a ‘spirit’, befitting its name as a phantom.

Being such a rare type, little was known about how to exterminate it, so I only knew this one thing.

“We need to find and attack the core that should be embedded somewhere in that thing.”

The captain spoke out loud what I had been thinking in my head.

After telling me that, he seemed uneasy and advised further.

“It looks like attacking other parts will be useless. The attacks will just pass right through. Only attacks aimed at the core will be effective.”

“Yes, I know that well. I’ll take care of it in an instant this time too, so just watch from behind.”

After that, I concentrated.

Since the monster’s core contains stronger magical power than any other part, if done well, it might be possible to detect that magical power and find the location of the core.

But I’m not at a superhuman level of sensitivity, so I couldn’t feel anything.

It seemed like I could vaguely feel strong magical power from the center, but I wasn’t sure.

There was no choice but to blindly launch attacks and hope to hit the core by chance.

Under that judgment, I first shot cold energy three times in succession.

The monster couldn’t dodge as it hadn’t completely emerged from the corpse yet, but there was no need to dodge anyway.

None of the 3 attacks I launched hit the monster’s core.

In the meantime, the monster, having completely emerged, made a “Grrrr-” sound and rushed at me.

“…!”

The hazy form brushed past my body.

It was semi-transparent and so fast that I couldn’t properly see it with my eyes.

Since I couldn’t see it, I couldn’t dodge it either, and a long gash instantly appeared on my forearm.

“Yulia!”

“I’m fine. It’s just a slight scratch.”

I reassured the captain who called out to me in surprise, then shot cold energy again.

This time, twice.

But the sharp cold energy just passed through the monster’s body again this time.

As my attacks so futilely just scratched the air, this time the monster attacked.

It slashed past my body at an invisible speed, just like before.

Rip-

My shirt tore and my left side was cut.

It wasn’t a fatal wound, but if the bleeding continued, I would eventually stagger and lose consciousness.

At that point, I could understand the monster’s intention.

It’s trying to take my body with as little damage as possible.

If it had inflicted a deeper attack, one of my limbs might have been cut off.

Yet, judging from how it kept only inflicting grazing wounds since earlier, it clearly had a different purpose.

The monster was trying to kill me with minimal damage to my body, then make my corpse its own.

Just like it had taken Kamira’s body.

It was an unpleasant feeling, but separately, it was fortunate.

If it had such an intention, it wouldn’t be able to attack me deeply.

Meanwhile, I quickly pondered how to break the monster’s core.

Let’s stop launching cold energy one or two shots at a time like before. The chances of hitting by luck seem slim. Rather, I should unleash attacks that spread over a wide area, even if they have less destructive power.

Cold energy concentrated and launched has the best destructive power, but it’s just a waste of energy if it doesn’t hit the core.

I shot numerous ice shards at the monster, created by swinging my sword horizontally like before.

Pa-ba-bak-!

About seven of the shards that were shot hit the monster’s body.

All of them just passed through the monster futilely this time too, but it seemed to be more effective than the previous attack method.

Seeing as the monster started to show its anger.

-Grrrrrrrrrr…

Along with an eerie sound, the monster’s hazy body began to tremble.

Probably one or two of the ice shards I launched had grazed near its core.

It seemed quite angry because of that.

I crouched down as much as possible to minimize damage, and immediately after, the monster charged at me.

“…Ugh!”

Unlike before when it just grazed past me,

The monster didn’t just pass by but spun around me like a whirlwind.

Rip, rip.

The sound of clothes and flesh being torn kept coming.

The outer part of my thigh was torn off, and soon after, wounds appeared on my earlobe and lower back.

The monster was attacking me like that, circling around me like a cat playing with a mouse, but fortunately, it wasn’t a meaningless sacrifice.

My senses have become clearer than before.

I muttered in my mind amidst the monster’s swirling attacks.

Literally, being in such close contact with the monster made its magical power feel more distinct.

To the extent that I could vaguely tell where the core was.

Just as I was about to attack in that direction, the monster withdrew from me.

“Yulia! I’ll take it on from now, go to a safe place-!”

“No.”

I firmly stopped the captain who looked like he was about to rush towards me.

Trying to keep my mind clear despite my blurred vision from continued bleeding, I said.

“I now know how to deal with it.”

“What do you mean you know? How can you deal with a monster that attacks don’t even hit!”

“One time is enough. If I can’t take down the monster after one exchange, then help me at that point.”

“…”

The captain seemed to hesitate for a moment, but eventually took a step back.

It seemed he decided to respect my wishes.

I stared at the monster in front of me again, barely supporting my body with my sword.

It kept making strange noises.

It was such a bizarre sound that it was difficult to compare to other sounds, but for some reason, I suddenly thought it sounded like laughter.

Like the laughter of a predator rejoicing over its dying prey.

“…”

I waited for it to come while firmly holding onto my scattering consciousness.

I didn’t have to wait long.

The monster, emboldened by seeing me in tatters before its attacks, rushed at me impatiently.

Grwooooooo-!

Like before, it spun around me in circles, attacking from multiple angles.

Its attacks were persistent and fierce, as if determined to finish it this time.

The tip of my ear was torn off, and my index finger was cut so deeply it dangled.

The terrible pain kept clouding my mind, but the more it did, I concentrated.

To find the core, the central point where its life was condensed, in that fierce whirlwind surrounding me.

“…”

Just as blood flowing from the wound above my eyebrow pooled in one eye, obstructing my vision, I finally sensed it.

I silently raised my sword and thrust the tip precisely in the direction where I felt the core.

With a crack, the sound of something breaking, the monster’s form scattered in the air.

If there are a hundred people, there exist a hundred different kinds of love.

Because the way of loving is different for each person, what is love for someone might not be for another, and conversely, what is love for that person might not be for someone else.

Therefore, it’s difficult for me to definitively say this or that about something so abstract, but I could be certain of this one thing.

If the same person watches over and takes care of me every time I faint, that is undoubtedly and certainly love.

“Whenever I faint and wake up, the captain is always watching over me. Did you stay by my side and take care of me this time too?”

The first thing I saw when I woke up after fainting from the monster’s attack was the captain’s face again.

It seemed he had moved me to the village after I fainted and continued to care for me.

To my question asked as soon as I woke up, he responded somewhat crookedly for some reason.

“Of course I watched over you. Who else, some other man?”

Translation complete. 100% of original text translated.