“Whoooosh!!”
Gongneung Stream is normally a placid waterway, but the relentless downpour had swelled its banks and driven the current into a fierce torrent.
“Whoooosh!!”
A skateboard sliced along the river’s surface in a pose that looked like surfing—though I have no clue how to surf, nor the strength or agility for anything resembling it.
“Mage! Aaaah! Mage!”
With Jang Hyun-deok still clinging to my back, it was even more impossible—except that I’d combined psychokinesis with other spells to create the illusion of surfing.
“Whoooosh!!”
Waves and mini-whirlpools erupted all around—a perilous stretch.
[Leap]
“Whoooosh!!”
I vaulted over a churning patch and simultaneously triggered another spell.
[Eruption]
[Spell Boost: Multi-Cast]
Bang-bang-bang-bang!!
Columns of water spouted from every direction—a rescue spell to save cultists being swept away by the current. The water pillars flung them back onto the riverbank.
“Gyaaaargh!”
Despite rescuing those who’d been helplessly tumbling downstream, they charged me instead of thanking me.
“Give him back! Give us back Hyun-deok-nim!”
“Hyun-deok-nim! Hyun-deok-nim! Hyun-deok-nim!”
Ugh, like zombies—barely saved from drowning, yet sprinting without so much as a gasp.
“Aaaargh! Mage! Why are you saving those maniacs!?” Jang Hyun-deok shouted as I hauled cultists from the water and moved toward the Han River, throngs of them in tow.
“We love you to death!”
“We love you! Please, eat me!”
“Eat me! Eat me!”
I sighed. “They’re begging to be eaten—how about just one bite?”
“Mage! What is wrong with you!?”
—Excuse me, but could you stop Mr. Hyun-deok from yelling into the mic? Honestly, it’s excruciating.
A saccharine voice crackled through the headset. Before I could reply, Jang Hyun-deok roared again.
“Mage! Where are you taking us?”
—I’m curious too. I appreciate you saving our brethren as you move.
“Shut up and stay quiet! This is chaotic enough!”
I’m exhausted beyond belief, and now both sides—
“Stop this, you cultie! Don’t speak to the mage!”
—It seems Mr. Hyun-deok misunderstands. Perhaps clearer instructions would help.
“Mage! Just take off that headset! They’re up to something weird!”
—Maybe say, “Mr. Hyun-deok, stay put.” He might understand that.
“Both of you—shut up! My head hurts!”
My head really did ache. If I didn’t explain, they’d keep talking. So I told them my plan.
“To steal the attention of those cultists madly devoted to Hyun-deok, I need an incredibly potent display of charm.”
“Charm display?” asked Jang Hyun-deok.
“Right—charm display. I’m heading to get the tools for an effective charm display.”
—Interesting phrasing. And you’re rescuing our brethren to gather an audience?
“Something like that.”
If I’m going to put on a show, I need as many spectators as possible.
‘Where are we now?’
I saw the completely flooded Gyoha Sports Park—so northwest of Jangmyeong-san. I could’ve cut straight back to my place, but I didn’t want cultists learning where I lived.
‘Almost there.’
A little further, and I’d rendezvous with my “gear.”
‘There—see the Gokneungcheon Bridge? We’ll meet there.’
My split consciousness thought as if someone else spoke. ‘At this rate, I might really develop multiple personalities.’ Last time, it took much longer.
‘No choice—finish this quickly and merge them.’
‘Okay.’
Gokneungcheon Bridge spans Gongneung Stream north of Jangmyeong-san; it’s the narrowest point between mountain and river. I poured mana into the skateboard and accelerated.
Through the headset came shrieks and explosions—Hyiin’s forces battling the Byakhee I’d unleashed at her.
“Wait, this isn’t just in the headset, is it?” Jang Hyun-deok shouted.
“Mage! Mage! Behind us! Behind!”
—The Dragon-Horses are ignoring us and heading your way.
“...”
I widened my perception and spotted the Byakhee charging in the distance.
“What the—why did they follow us? I told you to hold them off!”
—We’re doing our best!
“Hold them off—huh?”
“Kyaaaargh!!”
One of Hyiin’s acolytes—wearing a six-eyed mask—tried to intervene but was snatched by a Byakhee.
“Aaaargh!”
The Byakhee, though only half Shantak in size, were sly, malicious beasts; some could even use magic. A hornet-like maw split open and—
“Watch out!”
[Metal Skin]
[Spell Boost: Range Increase]
Kraaack!
“Grrrrrr!!”
The six-eyed fanatic’s skin turned to steel. The enraged Byakhee snarled.
[Gravitational Grasp]
“Kyaaaargh!!”
The Byakhee, trapped in a crushing gravity field, plummeted uncontrollably, then “whoosh”—sank beneath Gongneung Stream. I confirmed the kill and spoke into the headset.
“Do better! You’re supposed to be elite cultists!”
—It’s like a pastor fighting angels; not easy.
“Well, at least stall them—don’t get hurt!”
—You worry about us?
My worry wasn’t for their safety, but the backlash they’d cause when crushed like rotten tomatoes!
Just then, another voice surfaced in my mind.
‘Stop playing with that brat! We’re almost there!’
‘Got it. Hide until the Three-Eyes isn’t watching, then come straight back!’
‘I don’t mind, but one of these personalities might object when we merge.’
‘It’s chaos now—worry about it later in bed!’
My vision merged back to one—and I felt a wave of vertigo.
“Ugh—I feel sick.”
“Are you okay, Mage?”
“Don’t know. Anyway, we’re running again—hold tight!”
[Leap]
“Whoooosh!!”
Gokneungcheon Bridge came into view—over half submerged. My gear lay hidden nearby.
“There it is.”
“What is?”
—Your supplies?
I didn’t want Hyiin to spot me. Omitting the subject, I called to the crouching figure beside the bridge.
“Bring that out!”
I extended perception to glance back—
‘Of course.’
Feigning struggle alongside the Byakhee, Hyiin stalked me from a distance. ‘Sneaky devil.’
I activated my prepared spell and told Hyiin:
“I’m changing clothes—look away, fool!”
[Flash]
Fwah! A blinding light erupted like a camera flash, engulfing everything.
Rrrrrrr—
The crouching figure parted its lips, and ‘it’—three ‘its’—sprang forth.
Before the light even faded, I cast in every direction:
[Voice of Dominion]
[L-grade accessory “Mask of Carcosa” innate effect, “Yellow Domination” activates.
// Yellow Domination: Adds [Spell Boost: Fear Injection] to certain spells.]
[System: Hidden Trait “Heir of the Corpse Pile” activates. Aberrant beings that fall before you become subordinates.]
Cultists aren’t aberrant creatures, but the spell would radiate equivalent influence. I unleashed a power that shook heaven and earth:
『Behold, you nearby ones!』
『Hear me, you distant ones!』
『See my presence—and heed it!』
A glare so bright it threatened to burn out retinas. Cultists cowered instinctively, heads bowed. At Yeon’s ears came grotesque, slithering noises:
Shchrrrr— shchrrrr—
Something viscous writhing.
Kshk-kkrrk—
Metal and glass scraping.
Kraaaash!
A massive object crashing into Gongneung Stream.
Driven by terror, curiosity, and obsession with Jang Hyundeok, Yeon barely lifted her head. As her blurred vision cleared, the horrors came into focus: endless rain, the churning reverse-flowing stream, the collapsed bridge—and that—
That massive, hideous shape, born of nightly nightmares, now towering in reality.
“Kyaaaaargh!!” Yeon screamed—because she had a mouth, and screaming was all she could do.
That colossal, blackened, slimy terror: six legs planted on the earth, a huge dorsal fin, hundreds of writhing tentacles. And atop its front was a humanoid torso, wood-carved and expressionless—the true core of the monster. Its four eyes radiated madness and the power of death.
Cultists responded in their own ecstatic extremes: endless screams, directionless pleas of “Save us!”, prayers to the Yellow-Clad King, and manic laughter.
Yeon, a faint smile forming, thought:
‘Ah—’
‘Aahh—’
Why had I mistaken this? This is our King—our true King ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) has come! His form defies description: grotesque, divine, supreme. I have never seen a mightier, more terrifying presence.
『-----!!!』
The monstrous king roared with a voice that drove even the water at our feet to recoil. Raindrops scattered, unwilling to touch him. Cultists realized their command too late:
『Behold, you nearby ones!』
『Hear me, you distant ones!』
『See my presence—and heed it!』
“Aaahhh!! Aaahhh!!”
“King! King!!”
Enthralled, they all bowed, sinking to their knees, plunging their faces into the floodwater in full prostration.
Kim Sinhwa (김신화) muttered under his breath, “What the hell are they doing?”
『Rise, lift your heads, and behold me!』
As they obeyed, heads snapping up in unison—
“Mage! Mage!!”
It was Jang Hyun-deok’s cry, struck by amazement at how his summoner, Kim Sinhwa, had subdued the cultists with a single word. The timing was uncanny.
To the cultists, Jang Hyun-deok’s shout took on a different meaning:
‘Mage?’
‘Hyun-deok-nim, whom we revered as our God, calls this being mage.’
‘He said “mage.”’
‘I understand.’
‘Yes, I understand now.’
‘Hyun —truly wise, the one who recognized our true King first.’
‘Deok —truly virtuous, the one who leads us to meet our true King.’
‘Yes, Hyundeok-nim has shown us.’
‘Our prophet has revealed the King’s name.’
‘Our prophet has unveiled our King!’
Their realizations erupted into a single, thunderous chant:
“[Mage King]!”
“[Mage King]!”
“[Mage King]!”
“[Mage King]! [Mage King] is here!”
“[Mage King], we worship you! [Mage King], we worship you!”
