“‘The Wizard King,’ you say?
That’s quite a statement.
Jang Hyundeok, the one who caused all this chaos, looked baffled and blurted out, “Why call him king?”
“I replicated the form by forced invocation, but at least one continuous identity must remain for it to be recognized as a transformation of the same being. Yet among the presented keywords, there’s nothing you could link to the existing faith...”
Explaining it like this only confuses him further.
“They just like kings, that’s all.”
In other words, they perceive me as the incarnation of the Yellow-Clad King. Since they can’t see yellow, they just slapped ‘king’ on me.
I sighed to myself.
‘This isn’t some Bremen Town Musicians performance.’
I never thought I’d use the boat from Insu Village like this.
Though I added special effects with all kinds of magic, in truth it looks like a children’s play.
A bridge made of legionary golems.
The dragon king’s ship as its body.
And to bulk it up, the awakened child of darkness.
By casting shadows over it all, I unified them into one mass, but in the end I’m just standing before a many-legged ship.
“Still, the effect is undeniable.”
It’s Heein.
His voice is as unsettlingly smooth as ever, but there’s a tremor this time. Surprise?
‘Or maybe excitement?’
His emotional state is clear, but the crackling headset audio makes it impossible to know exactly what he’s thinking.
‘But at least he’s not like those instant cultists.’
Indeed, this makeshift spectacle can’t shake the faith of the original cultists. Yet it has thoroughly rattled those indoctrinated on the spot.
“Aah! O Wizard King!”
“O Wizard King! Lead us!”
“Revelation! Show us the way to escape this doomed world!”
“Send us an ark!”
“Deliver us your saving hand!”
Seeing the cultists beseech me makes me sigh. For a time, they’ll obey my orders. They’d walk through hellfire for me.
“Anyway, the charm offensive succeeded.”
But obstacles remain.
“Kyaaaaak!”
From afar, Viyaki are flying in. The child of darkness, waving its tentacles eagerly, grows excited at the sight.
“I’m hungry. I’m hungry. I’m hungry...”
“Wait, if you jump in too, it’ll be chaos. Hold on a bit.”
I soothe the child of darkness.
I have the Successor of the Corpse Pile to enslave eldritch beings.
‘I might be able to subdue the Viyaki if I overdo it...’
But now isn’t the time for that.
I don’t know how Heein plans to intervene—oh, right, isn’t this guy supposed to be working?
“Hey, if you don’t clear them out soon, I’ll assume you can’t fulfill your promise—”
“—I’ll clear them out immediately.”
“Hah, that bastard.”
I had dumped the Viyaki on him as the price for revealing Tanhyeon’s ruins. But Heein, feigning being overwhelmed by the Viyaki, had stealthily approached to spy on me.
The power I summoned has nothing to do with Tanhyeon’s ruins, but he can’t know that.
To please me, he’ll kill angels or whatever I ask.
“Kyaaaak!”
“Rrrrgggh!”
Viyaki shrieks and agonized groans.
KWAANG!
Several explosions in rapid succession.
In an instant, Heein and his thirteen disciples drag the Viyaki out of sight.
‘See? I knew it.’
Anyway, the bothersome Viyaki are gone now—
“All right. Well done. Now finish this.”
Heein’s voice cuts in again. Ugh, stop pestering me!
Wait, “original state”?
“By original state, you mean before they were brainwashed by a heretical cult like you?”
“You force-brainwash people who refuse, then talk about devout faith?”
Tch. I’d love to restore these people to normal, but I can’t.
That ability is extremely rare, and none of my magic or powers include it.
I infused my voice with magic and shouted:
“‘Hear me! I command you—’”
I glanced at the vacant expressions of the cultists awaiting orders. Their faces only annoyed me more.
‘There’s nothing I can do except tweak the brainwashing a bit.’
I yelled something appropriate:
“‘Return home! The god has not descended. Do your work at your own workplace. Do not fall for the deceit of antisocial heresy and cults claiming to be gods or saviors! If you have leftover zeal, volunteer or at least honor your parents at home!’”
“All right, surely.”
I shouted casually, but the authority I borrowed was real.
The Mask of Carcosa granted my proclamation the authority of the Yellow-Clad King. It sounded far more convincing than the scraps of influence left in Jang Hyundeok’s body.
Thus the brainwashed cultists enthusiastically obeyed.
“Waaah! The Wizard King has commanded it!”
“Honor and service!”
“The Wizard King commanded honor and service!”
“Let us eradicate heresy and cults, and honor and serve!”
With fervor, they chanted “Honor and service!” or “Wizard King!” as they dispersed.
A disgruntled groan from Heein over the headset.
“Even if these people turn to religion again, they won’t join a heretical cult like yours.”
Heein could re-brainwash them if he wanted, but it’d be a lot of work.
“If you’re making a new religion, I’d suggest naming it Confucianism.”
Heein fell silent for a while, then said:
“All right, I’ll tell you.”
There’s nothing more to loot from those ruins. Of course, Tanhyeon’s nature means new things could appear, or old things change—but if something new surfaced, it’d bring even greater danger.
‘Eat the ruins and die screaming.’
With that in mind, I revealed the place we had visited together.
“Wow, how do you remember it all?”
Jang Hyundeok, eavesdropping, exclaimed. Apparently he’d already forgotten the way.
“That wasn’t part of our deal.”
We’d formed a short-term alliance for mutual benefit: I’d reveal the ruins’ location; he’d handle the Viyaki.
He’s already trying to shift his assigned task.
“All right. Our temporary alliance ends here. So—”
Heein, who had dragged the Viyaki out of sight, still isn’t visible.
But that only means he’s invisible.
“If you come any closer, I’ll consider it hostile and attack.”
He was creeping closer while hidden. I channeled my magic and displayed hostility. The child of darkness sensed it and rose—chatter chatter—its hundreds of mouths grinding their teeth.
“Do you really think that? If you’re so sure, take one more step.”
“All right. Now get lost.”
“....”
His name caught me off guard. Oh right, he still thinks I’m Super Rookie Heo Sang-hyun.
But Heein chose to interpret my silence differently and continued on his own.
“Creepy talk. If you’d watched me since the Masquerade, you’d know what principles I act on. By those principles, you’d end up among the cultists who resent me.”
“So?”
Ah, I get it.
‘This guy has no intention of being the backbone of the winning team.’
He’s a traitor by nature. As long as he could become leader of his circle, he’d watch the whole team fall apart and happily agree.
Not someone to trust as a friend or comrade, but if someone like him joins the enemy—good.
‘The difficulty is about to spike anyway. This is perfect.’
I forced a friendly tone as I replied:
“Fine, you’re interesting.”
“All right, I’ll extend our temporary alliance a bit. But—”
“Yes, two things I want to tell you.”
“First, my name isn’t Heo Sang-hyun. Remember it well: my name is Kim Sinhwa.”
I revealed my name to prevent any risk to Super Rookie Heo Sang-hyun.
“No. Just like you holding someone else’s relic.”
“My attack from last time wasn’t resolved.”
A magic bolt—
Fwoooosh—
The bolt flew straight to where Heein stood—
KWAANG!
It struck him. His mask flew off into the sky. I immediately extended my telekinesis to pull it back.
Heein, now unmasked, brushed his disheveled hair back with one hand.
He likely felt no pain; I tuned it to remove only the mask.
‘Honestly, I’d like to beat him properly, but I’m afraid he might break.’
Tall, broad-shouldered, fair skin, kind eyes with a hint of a smile.
He looks like the guy everyone would call “church boy.” With that voice, he’s a con artist’s dream.
I held up the mask and said:
“This is a fine mask. That near-death experience of yours is settled with this.”
“Go to Tanhyeon and pick up a new mask.”
Heein stood silently for a moment, then smiled and said:
“Temporary allies.”
With that, Heein departed.
I removed my headset and threw it into the Gongneung Stream.
“That guy really is a total psycho.”
“Waaaah! Wizard, you did it! It’s all resolved!”
“Hyundeok.”
“Yes?”
“You too get hit once!”
Smack!
“Ooof—why did I get hit?”
“Just annoyed by your perfect health. Glad you’re alive.”
“Sob... I knew you’d come. Thank you so much.”
“You did well.”
“You should go home now, Wizard. I need to get home and wash up.”
“Where are you going?”
“Huh? Of course home.”
“I heard from Tudor that you were tracked from your home?”
“Oh, yes. It was terrible. I accidentally gave them my address...”
“Even if those brainwashed ones knew, that three-eyed guy also knows your address—are you going back there?”
“Huh?”
Jang Hyundeok looked dazed.
“Stay at my place for a while.”
“What? No way!”
“It’s just got empty rooms. Don’t worry.”
“No! How can I live in that haunted theme park house!?”
“Then suit yourself. Do you really think I’ll solve it next time for only ten million won?”
Hyundeok’s face drained of color.
