How to Survive Against Villains Chapter 217

Episode 217 – Spiritual Arts (2)

When I learned Quanru from Gereflam, the training didn’t take place in the real world—it was within Gereflam’s realm.

Natasha called that realm the "House" of a spirit.

"A spirit is either a holess spirit or a spirit with a house—they fall into one of these two categories."

"What’s the difference?"

"Holess spirits gradually lose their presence, and their sense of self fades. The wandering dead in the Ghost Forest are exactly that."

"And the latter?"

"Spirits with a house have a strong sense of self. Gereflam is one of them. You’ve visited his house, haven’t you?"

"That place was way too big to be called a house."

The "house" Natasha referred to was a vast space that resembled the forests where the Giants once road. It was a world constructed from fragnts of Gereflam’s mories.

From her explanation, I had a good idea of what she was getting at.

"So you’re saying Reto has a house, too."

"That’s right. And since he’s far above Gereflam in rank, his house won’t be ordinary either."

Natasha flicked her bracelet, then pointed at my heart.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My heart pulsed at a steady rhythm, sustaining my life.

But this heart wasn’t truly mine.

It belonged to Reto, the undying one—Retonicalus.

"That heart of yours—it has his house inside it."

Just as I had entered Gereflam’s house through the bracelet, she wanted to enter Reto’s house through my heart and establish direct contact with him.

Her initial goal in having train with Gereflam wasn’t just to teach Quanru, but also to familiarize with the world of spirits.

"When you t Gereflam, you must have sensed the energy flowing from him. Follow that sa feeling, and you’ll find Reto."

I quietly listened to her explanation, then asked Reto.

"What do you think?"

[This is the first ti I’ve heard that I have a house.]

"Does that an you don’t have one?"

[Why would soone who seeks death need a house?]

"You’re not just so wandering ghost, are you?"

[Do not compare to the dead.]

"But you don’t have a house?"

[And if I don’t? Does it matter?]

"Well… I do know what it’s like to live in a world where real estate is a nightmare, so I understand the pain of being holess…"

[I do not need a house. I know nothing of it.]

I repeated my conversation with Reto to Natasha, and she furrowed her brows before lightly tapping my forehead with her finger.

"Gereflam didn’t know about his house at first either. He only realized its existence after forming a pact with ."

"Are you saying it’s the sa for Reto?"

"I don’t know. You and Reto don’t share a pact, so it’s different. But for a spirit of his level, a house must exist."

Her deep understanding of spirits was proving to be imnsely helpful in unraveling Reto’s mysteries.

"Every spirit has a purpose—whether it’s resentnt, lingering attachnt, or sothing else entirely. What’s Reto’s purpose again?"

"…Complete death?"

Natasha let out a laugh, as if she’d just heard the most absurd thing.

Then she fixed with a piercing gaze.

Her eyes slowly turned red, and I felt heat rising from the tip of her finger.

"A spirit that failed to achieve complete death and beca a spirit instead? Who the hell would believe that nonsense?"

"It’s the truth."

"Whatever ‘complete death’ is, he’s already failed at it."

"…What?"

Her finger pressed against my forehead, and suddenly, I felt my consciousness plumt.

It wasn’t painful.

It just felt as if my awareness was sinking—being pulled into my heart.

"A spirit’s house is essentially the manifestation of its desire. Gereflam’s desire was to protect his holand, which is why his house took the form of the Giant’s Forest."

My mind started fading into darkness.

I could resist if I wanted to, but I didn’t fight it.

A mont later, Natasha’s eyes flashed as she spoke.

"If his purpose were truly complete death, then there shouldn’t be a house. But I just found it."

She grinned.

"Go tell Reto that he has a house."

And with that, my consciousness blacked out, like a fuse burning out.

When I opened my eyes, I was surrounded by darkness.

Even as I blinked, the pitch-black scenery didn’t change.

I waved my hands in front of , but all I could see was emptiness.

A silent, soundless void.

It was nothing like the vibrant forest of Gereflam’s house.

"Is this… Reto’s house?"

I waved my arms again, but there was nothing to grasp.

So I simply walked forward.

100 steps.

200 steps.

1000 steps.

No matter how far I walked, there was no end.

"Reto!!!"

I called his na over and over, but there was no response.

I had no idea how much ti had passed.

Eventually, the very concept of ti started to blur.

And then—

I got tired.

With a sigh, I stopped walking.

Then I got tired of standing.

A mont later, I got tired of sitting.

And soon after, even moving my limbs felt exhausting.

A crushing lethargy washed over .

It filled my mind entirely, drowning out all other thoughts.

I let my limbs go limp.

Even thinking felt like a chore.

Even keeping my eyes open was too much effort.

And then, finally—

I got tired of breathing.

One minute.

Two minutes.

Three minutes.

Five minutes.

I didn’t want to inhale or exhale anymore.

I just wanted to die.

Die…?

"...Hhck!"

Suddenly, I snapped back to awareness.

I tried to move, but my body was completely paralyzed, as if I were trapped in sleep paralysis.

A violent shudder ran through .

I tried to scream, but my throat felt blocked, like sothing was choking from the inside.

"ERR."

Gritting my teeth, I forced my body to twist.

And then—

I let out a deep, gasping breath, as if breaking free from sothing suffocating .

"Kuaaaahhh!"

The mont I scread, my strength returned.

Staggering to my feet, I noticed a faint red glow on my left hand.

The Ring of Desire.

A ring imbued with the will to survive—

It had ignited a spark of life in my mind, pulling back from the brink.

As the fire rekindled inside , my mind cleared.

I had nearly suffocated myself in this place.

Barely any ti had passed, and yet I had almost chosen death.

What the hell is this place?

Even with my Third ntal Barrier, the sheer lethargy here was so overwhelming that it had driven to suicidal thoughts.

This wasn’t just an empty void.

This was Reto’s desire itself.

A place built upon his wish for complete death.

The house of Retonicalus, the Undying One, was a space consud by an overwhelming sense of lethargy and despair—an abyss where the desire for complete death perated everything.

[This is my house?]

"...Reto?"

The mont I acknowledged and understood Reto’s house, his voice echoed faintly through the void, growing clearer by the second.

He seed confused by the very existence of this place.

[I have tried to erase my presence from the world, and yet… my existence remains. So even I still have a house?]

"As long as you exist as a spirit, your house will never disappear. Just because you erase the drawings on a canvas doesn’t an the canvas itself ceases to exist."

[A canvas that remains forever…]

"But where are you right now? I can’t see anything."

[Why would you expect to see anything in a place that belongs to one who has abandoned even his own na?]

"The fact that this house exists ans you are here."

Silence.

I called out to Reto again, but he didn’t respond.

Then, after what felt like deep contemplation, his voice returned.

[I can feel you.]

A tiny ember of life flickering in a barren wasteland.

Though Reto’s realm was infinite, in this vast void of death, I alone carried the warmth of life.

[I will give you my house.]

"...What?"

[You have survived within my house, so you are worthy of owning it. Just as you stripped of the na Retonicalus, help relinquish my house as well.]

Reto’s house was the embodint of his desire for death.

Taking it in would an experiencing that sa suffocating lethargy again—perhaps even an overwhelming urge to end my own life.

Even before I could respond, the space around started distorting.

The darkness began to warp.

"Wait—hold on! What’s happening?!"

[Didn’t you say it yourself? As long as a spirit exists, its house will never disappear.]

If that was true…

The void shrank at an alarming rate.

It looked as if it was being absorbed into .

The infinite space collapsed inward, pulling toward my core.

Within monts, the darkness wrapped around like a cocoon.

[If my house disappears, perhaps I, too, will cease to exist.]

He was handing over his house… in an attempt to die.

"Hey—HEY! You crazy bastard!"

As the darkness engulfed , I could feel Reto’s presence surging into .

A forced contact.

Rumble—

"What the hell is this?!"

Natasha’s eyes darted around the shaking cave, her face twisted in shock.

She had just finished linking Arthur’s consciousness to Reto’s heart and was about to exhale in relief when—

Not even five seconds had passed before sothing went wrong.

The ground beneath them trembled violently.

And the epicenter was right beneath Arthur’s feet.

Realizing the danger, Natasha imdiately kicked Karl awake.

"Hey! Stop playing dead!"

"The cave is collapsing!"

"Uagh?! Are you serious?!"

"...How long have you been awake?"

"You just noticed?"

A brief but tense mont of mutual suspicion passed between them.

Then—

"What’s going on?"

A familiar voice interrupted.

"E-Elder!"

The ground cracked open, and from the rising dust, Elder deia erged, staff in hand.

Sensing the ominous shift in energy, she had rushed over.

At the center of it all—

Arthur stood, eyes closed, emanating an eerie presence.

"A-Arthur…?"

His body twitched, and slowly, his arms began to move.

Karl instinctively took a step toward him—

Then imdiately froze.

His eyes widened, and he slowly stepped back.

Arthur’s pupils had turned a deep, blood-red.

"W-What the hell?! What’s wrong with his eyes?!"

Sothing was seriously off.

As Karl hesitated, deia and Natasha also noticed the abnormality and braced themselves.

They observed Arthur’s condition carefully before muttering under their breath.

"...Did he get devoured by the spirit?"

"Let’s wait. It might just be a temporary effect."

Realistically, Arthur had always been in danger of being overtaken by Reto.

But from what they had seen, the host and the spirit shared a bond built on deep trust.

This could be nothing more than a passing phenonon caused by their contact ritual.

Natasha decided to wait.

Then—

[The air is cold.]

"...Shit."

The mont Arthur’s lips moved, Natasha cursed and imdiately channeled Spiritual Arts into her fists.

The spirit of Gereflam surged around her hands, burning red.

This wasn’t a human voice.

This was a thought transmission—an ability only spirits possessed.

It could only an one thing.

Arthur had been overtaken by Reto.

"Where’s Arthur? Why is it you who woke up?"

Natasha demanded, her face contorted in a fierce glare.

But Reto ignored her and glanced around.

deia.

Natasha.

Karl.

Unlike the tense witches, Karl seed surprisingly calm.

His instincts told him that whatever had taken over Arthur… wasn’t a threat to him.

[........]

Reto lifted Arthur’s hand and examined it.

The sensation of warmth spread through his fingertips.

A feeling long forgotten.

The soft texture of living flesh.

The scent of life.

The clarity of a voice that resonated through the air.

Unlike the gray, lifeless void he had always known—this world was full of color.

For a spirit, this was an irresistible temptation.

And yet—

[Arthur will awaken soon.]

Even as he experienced the blessing of the living, Reto felt… nothing.

The mont his spirit overtook Arthur’s body, Arthur’s consciousness reacted.

[Third ntal Barrier]

A massive wall ford within his mind, dragging Reto back into the depths of unconsciousness.

A faint golden radiance—Sacred Power—fueled the wall’s strength.

As his connection to the physical world faded, Reto turned his thoughts to his host.

Arthur Clayton.

He had relinquished his house to this boy.

But rather than disappearing, he found himself unaffected.

Because even without his house—

Arthur himself had now beco his house.

A new ho.

And perhaps…

[A new desire.]

Even as he was pulled back into the depths of Arthur’s mind—

Reto smiled.

Slowly, the crimson hue in Arthur’s eyes began to fade.

At the sa ti, a translucent golden aura enveloped his body like a protective shield.

Seeing this, Natasha exhaled and withdrew her power.

"...You never stop exceeding expectations, do you? You damn freak."

The faint, golden phantasmal energy that surrounded Arthur—

It was the mont of Reto’s manifestation.

The mont Spiritual Arts had been completed.