The Mighty Mage-Chapter 440: Poison

Gu Jin’s eyes twitched, but she didn’t panic.

"Who said I need it to go near you?" she murmured softly, her lips curving into a smirk.

Lamashtu’s crimson eyes narrowed.

BOOM!

The jade bottle exploded in mid-air, releasing a thick purple mist that spread rapidly.

"Poison? Again?" Lamashtu scoffed, waving his hand to disperse the mist.

But this time...

The mist didn’t disappear.

Instead, it clung to him like a shadow, swirling around him and seeping into his skin.

Lamashtu’s eyes widened, his expression turning serious.

"What... is this?" he growled, feeling an unfamiliar chill crawling up his body.

Gu Jin crossed her arms and tilted her head slightly.

"Soul-Devouring Mist." Her voice was calm but filled with confidence.

Soul-Devouring Mist was a type of deadly poison that didn’t just harm the body — it attacked the soul directly.

Once it entered someone’s body, it would cling to their soul like a leech, slowly eating away at their strength.

Lamashtu’s face darkened.

"Impossible!" he hissed, trying to push the mist away with his aura. But the mist clung tighter, like a parasite latching onto its host.

Gu Jin’s eyes gleamed coldly.

"Even for a parasite like you, this mist is deadly," she said softly.

Lamashtu clenched his jaw, trying to suppress the mist’s effects, but his movements were slower now.

"Damn you!" he spat, his voice filled with rage.

Gu Jin didn’t answer, instead, she summoned her skeleton warriors.

100’s of skeleton warriors emerged, their greenish skin making them look like undead creatures.

Their hollow eyes glowed with eerie light, and they stood tall, ready for battle.

Lamashtu’s crimson eyes flickered with disgust.

"Undead?" he sneered, his voice dripping with disdain. "How low have you fallen, Gu Jin?"

Gu Jin’s lips curled into a faint smirk.

"Low?" she said softly, her tone calm.

"I don’t mind getting my hands dirty if it means killing parasites like you."

Lamashtu lunged at her, moving like a shadow, but Gu Jin was ready.

"Shield!" she commanded.

One of her skeleton warriors slammed its bony hands into the ground.

BOOM!

A thick earth wall erupted between Gu Jin and Lamashtu, blocking his attack.

"Not bad," Lamashtu growled, his crimson eyes glowing with fury.

But before he could react—

"Dark Bind!"

Another skeleton warrior raised its hand, and dark tendrils shot out from the ground, wrapping around Lamashtu’s legs.

"Ugh!" Lamashtu grunted, his movements slowing as the tendrils tightened.

Gu Jin’s eyes flashed coldly.

"Burn."

Her third skeleton warrior lifted its hand, and dark flames erupted from the ground, surrounding Lamashtu.

Fwoosh!

Black and purple flames danced around him, flickering dangerously.

Lamashtu’s eyes widened in shock.

"Dark fire?" he hissed, his voice filled with disbelief.

Gu Jin’s heart pounded, but she kept her expression calm.

"He can’t know it’s me..." she thought.

The dark flames were her own, but she was careful to make it seem like her skeleton warriors were controlling them.

Lamashtu’s aura flared as he tried to shake off the tendrils and flames.

"Get off me!" he roared, his power exploding outward.

BOOM!

The force shattered the tendrils and extinguished the flames.

Gu Jin’s eyes narrowed.

"Even weakened, he’s still this strong..."

She didn’t waste time.

"Attack!" she ordered, and her skeleton warriors charged at Lamashtu.

One swung a sword glowing with dark energy, while another raised spikes from the earth beneath Lamashtu’s feet.

CLANG!

Lamashtu dodged the sword but barely avoided the spikes, his movements growing slower as the Soul-Devouring Mist continued eating at his soul.

"Enough!" he roared, his crimson aura surging as he released a powerful blast of energy.

BOOM!

The shockwave sent Gu Jin flying back.

"Ugh!" Gu Jin gritted her teeth as she hit the ground, coughing up a bit of blood.

Her skeleton warriors were shattered, their bodies crumbling into dust.

Lamashtu stood tall, his expression twisted with fury and pain.

"You... think with your mere cultivation you would be able to defeat me?" he growled, his voice shaking with rage.

Gu Jin wiped the blood from her lips, her eyes sharp and cold.

"If it works..." she murmured softly.

Lamashtu’s crimson eyes glowed brighter, but his aura was flickering, his strength weakening.

"Master, he’s almost out of energy," the space whispered in her mind.

Gu Jin’s eyes flashed.

"Then I need to finish this now."

She gritted her teeth, her mind racing.

"I can’t use my full power. If anyone finds out I have dark fire... I’ll be hunted."

But if she didn’t...

Lamashtu might recover.

"Fine..." she murmured softly.

Gu Jin’s hand hovered over her chest, and her fingers brushed against a hidden talisman.

"Just one move..." she whispered.

Dark fire and chaos energy swirled inside her, eager to be released.

Lamashtu’s expression twisted, sensing the change in her aura.

"What are you—"

"Shadow Inferno!"

Gu Jin slammed her palm into the ground, and a massive burst of dark fire and chaos erupted from beneath Lamashtu.

BOOOOM!

The flames roared like a hungry beast, engulfing Lamashtu.

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Lamashtu screamed, his voice filled with agony as the flames tore through his body and soul.

Gu Jin’s vision blurred slightly as the power drained her, but she didn’t stop.

"Stay down..." she muttered, her eyes cold and unforgiving.

When the flames finally died down...

Lamashtu was kneeling, his body charred and his aura barely holding on.

But his crimson eyes still burned with hatred.

"Gu Jin..." he hissed, his voice weak but filled with venom.

Gu Jin’s expression hardened.

"Time to end this."

She lifted her hand, preparing for one final strike—

But then—

"Hehehe... not yet..."

A sinister laugh echoed through the air.

Gu Jin’s eyes widened.

"What?!"

Lamashtu’s body began to dissolve into a mass of black parasites, slithering and crawling in all directions.

"Damn it!" Gu Jin muttered, realizing too late.

Lamashtu’s voice echoed through the air, his laughter growing fainter.

"You can’t kill me that easily... Gu Jin..."

Gu Jin didn’t give up and tried to spread her dark fire in all directions but it only hit a few of the pieces and the rest all successfully escaped.

"Master! Why are you letting him go?!" the space shouted in her head, panic clear in its voice.

Gu Jin wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth, her lips curling into a faint, tired smile.

"He won’t tell anyone..." she murmured softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"But... what if he does?!" the space asked, still anxious.

Gu Jin’s eyes gleamed coldly.

"If he reveals that I have the dark fire..." she paused, her fingers brushing lightly over her chest where the burning energy still lingered. "The government will protect me."

"Protect you?" the space sounded confused.

Gu Jin leaned back, resting against a broken pillar. Her breathing was steady now, though her body felt weak.

"Dark fire users rarely exist. Even on an international level. If the government knew about the existence of a dark fire user, then they would find a way to lure me into the military, so that they can use me. However, if I refuse..."

Gu Jin’s eyes grew colder, her expression unreadable.

"If I refuse..." she murmured softly, her voice barely above a whisper.

Her fingers brushed lightly against her chest, where the burning energy of the dark fire still pulsed.

"The government won’t let me go that easily."

The space was quiet for a moment before whispering, "You mean... they’ll try to control you?"

Gu Jin’s lips curled into a faint, bitter smile.

"Not just control..." she said softly, her eyes narrowing.

"They’ll watch me... study me... and if they can’t use me..."

Her gaze darkened, a sharp glint flashing in her eyes.

"They’ll kill me."

The space trembled slightly, sensing the weight of her words.

"But... wouldn’t they be afraid of losing control over the dark fire?"

Unlike 3 years ago, when Gu Jin hardly had an understanding of the dark fire element, she knew many things.

One such fact was that...dark fire element does die with a user. It will either self-detonate the user or transform into a small ball of dark blue flame and start to destroy the surroundings.

Gu Jin’s eyes gleamed with cold understanding.

"That’s exactly why they won’t take the risk."

She leaned her head back against the broken pillar, her body still aching from the fight.

"If I become a threat they can’t control..."

"They’ll rather eliminate me than let the dark fire run wild."

The space fell silent, the weight of Gu Jin’s words sinking in.

"Then... what will you do about Lamashtu, Master?" it finally asked softly.

"First I will need to inform Long Yifan...he might become the next target of Lamashtu’s attack." Gu Jin answered.

She took out her phone and realized that Master Qiao had sent a lot of messages to her.

"Gu Jin have you reached the array? Did you find anything? Don’t do anything dangerous for that boy! He is not worth it!"

"Hello?"

"Gu Jin, are you there? Are you in some kind of trouble? "

"If you don’t reply I will depart for Fujio City right away!"