I leave the dance hall and move down the club’s corridor.
Though it’s called a club, its structure isn’t realistic. It’s designed more like a game stage.
As if divided into levels, the club’s interior splits into three main zones.
One. The dance hall where Seocheonseul is rampaging now. Small private rooms also exist within this space.
Two. A separate VIP room.
Normally, you’d fight fake Dueoksini hiding in each room, minor cultists, and zombies created by blood-sucking. You’d gather simple clues, artifacts, or consumables like Nirvana there.
[System: Banquet Sacrifice trait activates.]
Thanks to the Banquet Sacrifice trait—which would usually be a penalty—I don’t need to go there. All the club’s enemies have flooded into the dance hall and joined Seocheonseul’s epic dance party.
“Ehe—hee—yoho! Wind! Gale! Ehe—herua! This is good, this is great!”
I hear Seocheonseul singing beyond the wall. By now she’s probably ground every foe to dust as a dokkaebi-shaped crusher.
“At least I don’t need to conduct any rescues.”
I scan around the VIP room but find nothing of note. I detect a mana-bearing humanoid—likely a surviving member of the Bongilcheon faction.
‘They have abilities, too—so they resisted the net and weren’t rescued.’ Naturally capable, they scattered and hid as soon as Seocheonseul burst in.
“No need to fetch them, though.”
Still, they’re in the way. The dance hall is strangely bloodless, but survivors’ wounds bleed.
As soon as I detect blood, my stomach contracts in horrible pain.
“Ugh—”
Damn, I feel like vomiting. Blood phobia is a real hindrance.
‘Worst phobia ever.’ Or was ichthyophobia worse? Maybe thirteen phobias are worse combined.
But blood phobia restricts my actions at crucial moments and narrows my options.
‘That’s why I lost those Dueoksini earlier.’
I must overcome this phobia quickly. More horrors soaked in blood lie ahead.
“It’s best to clear this while Seocheonseul is here.”
My terror obstructs rational thought and judgment—but not to the point of missing repeated patterns.
Whether guided by that message or the Banquet Sacrifice trait, at the worst moment my blood phobia will manifest horribly.
But it’s already happened three times—and resolved identically each time.
‘If I beat the one who triggers it, it cures me, right?’
Another reason I accepted Seocheonseul’s request: this situation with a surreal ally like her won’t come again soon. It’s ideal to conquer my fear while she’s by my side. Yet...
‘Damn. Easier said than done.’
Who’d slice their own throat gladly even if promised stronger neck muscles? Who’d jump off a building ecstatic just because promised flight power at the last moment?
My mental strength exceeds twenty, and Seocheonseul stands beside me—borrowing authority from Cheonggeumdang and King Mangum’s mandate—but I still can’t enter lightly.
Yet blood spots slowing me down appear before my eyes.
“Bahaha!!”
Seocheonseul’s laughter echoes from the dance hall, followed by an explosion.
She’s truly the wrong character for horror.
[System: A comrade’s heroic actions inspire you with courage.]
“Phew.”
Good. Calm down.
With needless fears suppressed, something new appears.
“Huh? Wait.”
Blood droplets splattered on the floor and walls converge in a clear direction.
A common game cue: visible traces to guide the player’s path.
“Ugh. How did I miss that?”
No—I wasn’t blind. My phobia made me turn away.
These droplets even move slowly—drawn inward toward the club’s deepest zone: the third area. The kitchen, office, and staff rooms gather there.
“Strictly speaking, it’s the kitchen?”
Normally I’d stride confidently, but now... walking toward blood?
It’s as if I’m being told to step on corpses. Instead of stifled nausea, an unbearable itch starts. Beneath my ribs, behind my eyes, inside my skull—it itches.
I scratch my wrist and press forward.
Am I making the right call? My phobia suppresses coherent thought.
“Ah, whatever. If it gets dangerous, surely the great Captain Cheonggeum will help.”
I trust you, King Mangum, Captain Cheonggeum, Cheonggeumdang—fighting!
“Ha—”
A sigh escapes. The kitchen nears.
There are offices and staff rooms, but no need to search other places.
Scriiiitch—crack—groan—from the kitchen comes a horrific sound.
“Ugh.”
My stomach clenches again. Unpleasant pressure builds in my throat. I feel I might vomit.
That sound alone tells me what’s happening in the kitchen—what vision awaits.
Craack—creak—clatter—slurp—slurp—
Bones are being broken—flesh torn—blood drank—
“X-bal, they sure are eating well.”
Blood on the floor and walls crawls toward the kitchen like a mass of red worms. Those terrible fluids slither, writhe, wobble, flail—drawn toward a monstrous eater.
Are the fluids in my veins drawn there too? Going to be devoured. Going to be devoured. Going to be devoured.
My skin itches. My eyes sting. My head spins.
If I reach the kitchen and face that being—will I tear my skin, gouge my eyes, smash my skull—to pour out this loathsome liquid? Yes—please eat it all, swallow it to erase it.
Did I come here hoping for that?
Yes. It’s all a lie.
I’ve seen corpses drained to dry husks—and from the first sight, I was captivated by that exquisite form. Yes. I came here to become that.
Take these vile fluids from me.
I’d rather be a bloodless, will-less, selfless monster—no concept of “I.”
I don’t need blood. Drink it all and end it.
The blood continues forward. And Kim Sinhwa—no, I—take each step after it.
Are these really my thoughts? Or the ravings ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) of a madman in my mind? Did I come here of my own will and judgment?
Strange. Why hasn’t madness triggered? Or has it already? The message window says nothing—no status check. Am I insane now? Was there an unnoticed system trigger? Or is this my own madness, unrelated to the system? Why am I thinking this? My body moves beyond my will. Are these thoughts truly mine? Am I really Kim Sinhwa?
Just ahead lies the kitchen.
There, that one awaits—the envoy who will solve my problem.
Kwaaaang!
A wall collapses as a hideous monster leaps out.
[L-rank accessory “Mask of Carcosa” unique function, “Dreamlike Blur” activates.
// Dreamlike Blur: automatically casts ‘Blink.’]
Beyond my control, I teleport ten paces behind.
[Blink complete. Cooldown: 864,000 seconds.]
A lively voice forcibly cuts the dread.
“Kim Seobang, grab it! That’s a real Dueoksini!”
The grotesque figure stands before me.
People joked it was alien, but a true Dueoksini truly looks extraterrestrial: gaunt limbs, long hands brushing the knees, eyes filling half its face.
“Kya-haaaak!”
The real Dueoksini emits a chilling roar—though mangled in battle, still fearsome. Seocheonseul, charging from the dance hall, must have been knocked through the wall to arrive here.
The Dueoksini clasps both hands into a complex seal and exhales flames with a hiss.
Frrrrrr—
“Nilrihil—nilniri—eolssoo, good!”
Spinning the Geumgang Staff, Seocheonseul disperses the fire and follows with an uppercut to the Dueoksini’s jaw.
Kwaaaang!
“Krrraaek!”
[System: A comrade’s heroic actions inspire you with courage.]
“Bahaha! Caught you at last, you fiend! You didn’t expect I’d have a comrade here!”
But I don’t think I helped.
“Grrr—Captain Cheonggeum!”
The so-called true Dueoksini is indeed fierce. Breaking through the ceiling, it scuttles above with rapid footfalls and shouts,
“You’ve fallen into my trap! I have comrades here too!”
“Let’s see this comrade then. The Kim Seobang I brought is truly a terrible, relentless villain! In over fifteen centuries I’ve never seen a fiercer foe!”
Absurd praise.
“Captain Cheonggeum, that isn’t praise.”
“I said I don’t much like Kim Seobang! Of course it’s not praise.”
“Hah—.”
I sense mana concentrating above.
“Watch out for it! Unlike the fake Dueoksini, it can use sorcery!”
“I know!”
Kwaaang!
A hole in the ceiling bursts open, and flames pour down. I simultaneously cast my prepared spell.
[Lightning Fang]
A bolt crawls through the ceiling breach, striking the hidden Dueoksini.
“Krrrrraaaak!”
Sturdy. Should I fire a stronger spell?
“Well done, Kim Seobang!”
Kwaaang!
Seocheonseul smashes the ceiling with her staff.
Right—if its body’s tough, no need to hesitate.
[System: Enhanced Vigilance trait activates.]
The Dueoksini’s comrade emerges.
It’s the kitchen. The very being collecting the blood appears.
I reflexively cast a spell.
[Black Flame]
[Spell Augment: Maximized]
[Spell Augment: Toxic]
Kuarrrr—
Jet-black flames launch toward the kitchen entrance.
“Damn.”
I’m so focused on the kitchen’s blood that I cast the spell imperfectly. This isn’t the power I intended!
I expected it to be blocked, but the foe concealed in the kitchen warded off my flawed magic in an absurd way.
“Hahh—.”
The creature inhaled the toxic, vengeful black flame as if it were air.
“Kuhm—gah—ugh!”
Dark flame seeps from its mouth.
“This is spicy. Hey, chef, is your seasoning too heavy?”
It towers nearly three meters tall. Its arms are as thick as an average person’s waist; its fingers as thick as a wrist, tearing off and eating what it holds.
With a maw large enough to swallow a human head effortlessly—it devours a blood-soaked Dueoksini, which was once human.
Crack—crunch—
The Gourmet Expedition Corps’ adjudicator speaks in a jocular tone.
“Oh dear, shouldn’t be eating this, but I can’t stop myself.”
