“Hrk, gururu- hrk.”
The [Hungry Old Man], no, the Gourmet Expedition cultist Seonbu was spewing blood from his mouth.
Despite taking serious damage from the sudden detonation of the mana stone bomb, he showed no sign of losing fighting spirit. On the contrary, he revealed even more intense rage and exhilaration as he pressed himself flat against the floor.
He thrust his head forward, supporting himself on his thin limbs—beastly. Though he lacked his former bravado, this was even more dangerous.
He’d abandoned any other means of attack in favor of fighting solely with his mouth and teeth.
‘That bastard—whatever I throw at him, he’ll just bite it up and spit it out, right?’
Though I’d once subdued him, the Gourmet Expedition’s powers were always a headache for a mage.
‘And it’s too risky to attack in a way that would damage the building. There’s no choice.’
[Devil’s Grasp]
Kwaaak!
The spell triggered without warning. A massive hand burst from the wall, reaching to envelop him—summoning from the necromancy line that he couldn’t consume.
“Kyaak!”
But whatever he’d swallowed before meeting me gave him astonishing agility. Seonbu sprang up, pushed off the wall, and ricocheted down the corridor behind him.
Bababa-bak! Ta-at!
“Oi now?”
Bouncing from wall to ceiling to floor in all directions, Seonbu in an instant—seized IPE-888, [Eight Arms], loitering in the corridor, tore it apart and began devouring it.
Grrrk-crunch-snap-schlurrrr—
“Hey, eating during a conversation—that’s bad manners, isn’t it?”
“Karruk! Don’t get cocky, Kim Sinhwa!”
The moment his feast ended, his body began to change.
Uddrdrdrk—
Not only did life return to his gaunt frame, but the straitjacket that bound him ripped apart and new arms sprouted. Counting his original limbs, he now had ten arms.
Of course—if you eat arms, arms must grow.
“Though I lost the power I’d amassed over my entire life because of you, this place is overflowing with monsters that will become my new strength!”
He grew stronger the longer things dragged on. That’s his pattern, huh?
“No wonder his digestion and absorption sped up.”
“Kukuku—starvation does wonders, you know. This time, by chewing and swallowing your flesh, I will repay our leader!”
“Wait, hold on. Hold on a second.”
I spread both hands forward and spoke urgently to Seonbu.
“What is it?”
“We’re fighting, fine, but just one question—if I accidentally kill you, I’ll never satisfy my curiosity, will I?”
“Ha! Overconfidence! Do you think I’d squander the last chance our leader granted me?”
“Yeah, you jerk! Our leader’s favor! That’s what I’m curious about. Didn’t you get anything else?”
“What...?”
“What orders or anything? Or support.”
“Support?”
I rubbed my forehead and sighed.
“Haa—looks like you got carried away all on your own.”
“What... Kim Sinhwa, what are you talking about?”
“Honestly... I don’t even know how many times I’ve said it, but I’m Kim Sinhwa—no, scratch that. Just keep calling me Sinhwa.”
“Stop rambling nonsense!”
I recalled the recent attack.
The bizarre behavior Heo Jihyeon exhibited when possessing Jang Hyundeok’s body.
‘At first summoning a homunculus to attack, then suddenly calling spiders... and that strange illusion magic.’
Heo Jihyeon was the spirit that had starved longest in the mansion. Her control over the house was dangerously formidable.
‘She even stole the concealed homunculus from the basement.’
Even without summoning spiders, Heo Jihyeon had plenty of options to attack.
“Why did she call spiders that time?”
“W-what are you saying? Who is Heo Jihyeon to you!?”
“I think it was part of [Predator of the Mountain]’s investigation or testing process, that elephant-headed bastard you serve.”
I was sure.
[Predator of the Mountain] wanted to verify my weaknesses then.
“If you truly acted under [Predator of the Mountain]’s orders, you’d have been given more useful commands or at least some special ability.”
“T-that’s—”
“But you still have only that old predation power. You’re bulking up to kill me for [Predator of the Mountain], but really?”
“S-shut up! Speak so I can understand!”
I scratched my head again.
“In short, you’re not even a recycled villain. You’re just an extra who happened to be here.”
Seonbu wasn’t enlisted by [Predator of the Mountain] as a Gourmet Expedition cultist—he was merely one of the patients locked in the closed ward of Paju Central Hospital.
By sheer coincidence, he fell within [Predator of the Mountain]’s path of attack.
“Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Are you trying to fool me with that poison tongue!?”
Bababa-bak!
Seonbu, poised to lunge at me, bounded back at incredible speed—plunging straight into the wall I’d just created.
[Wall Creation]
Grrrrr—thud!
“Kraak!”
His face turned toward me as he was slammed into the stone barrier.
“Good. Now you can’t run anymore.”
Since I was already wearing a new mask, why not try it out?
I deactivated the reduction magic on [Reckless Destruction]. Considering the length of its horns, it was larger than a backpack. I flipped over the massive mask made of buffalo bone.
Kururrrr—
A jet-black shadow oozed like slime, merging with [Nightveil Mantle] to engulf and swell my body. In an instant, my eye level shot up.
My horn nearly grazed the ceiling. Stretching out my hand, I saw my arms had grown nearly twice as long, equally black.
[An ancient curse-infused mask exudes abyssal ichor that envelops you. The ichor, straddling physical and ethereal states, warps your mind with unmatched ecstasy the moment it touches your skin.]
[Attempting Willpower check to resist the ‘Berserker’s Curse’ generated by the mask... Failure.]
Failing this check would condemn me to live as a mindless monster, unable to remove the mask until death.
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Willpower check result is converted to success.]
“That was easy.”
[S-grade accessory ‘Reckless Destruction’ unique ability ‘Thirst for Violence’ activates.
// Thirst for Violence: For N minutes, Strength, Constitution, and Agility stats +5(+N). Additionally, attack power increases and understanding of melee combat skyrockets. (N is randomly chosen ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) from 1–10.)]
[Performing Luck check to determine N.]
[Check complete N=3]
“Three minutes? Unlucky.”
To make up the difference, I cast boon spells.
[Bull’s Momentum]
[Lion’s Courage]
[Bear’s Resolve]
Even without the Berserker’s Curse, it feels incredible. So this is what ‘being healthy’ feels like? Curtain-call types must live like this all the time.
I slowly approached the cornered Seonbu.
“Oh? Oh-oh? Oh-oh-oh? Uaaaah!”
He pounded at the newly formed wall, but only dented it slightly.
“Here we go. No mercy this time.”
Quadrrdrk-warddrdrk—
Thud! Krazzz!
Uudrdrk-pzzzt—
Kwaaaang!
Blood and stone fragments exploded in all directions.
“Whoops whoops whoops—”
I’d accidentally shattered the wall too.
It wasn’t much of a fight. Seonbu collapsed the moment I gripped him.
So boring. Is that it?
I glanced once at the remains of Seonbu under the rubble, then turned away.
“Krrrrrrrrr!”
What now?
A six-legged beast with a huge maw stared at me, growling—a monster large enough to fill the corridor.
I vaguely recall seeing something like this on the patient roster... What was its name? Does it matter?
Ah—Seonbu must have been heading to devour that next. If he’d absorbed it, I couldn’t have handled him so easily.
“Krrrrrrrrr!”
As I approached, the creature spat out the corpse it held in its jaws and opened its snout, revealing palm-sized fangs.
Blood pooled on the floor.
Security guards’ bodies. Even without Seonbu, most of the ‘patients’ imprisoned here were dangerous monsters. Better to kill them. Let’s kill them. I felt an inexplicable exhilaration coursing through me. My fingertips tingled—longing to grasp something more solid.
“Alright. Come here too. My three minutes aren’t over yet.”
“Krrr—”
The beast hesitated, edging backward.
“Hey, why run? Come here.”
[Leap]
Kwaaang!
I converted the leap spell into forward thrust and lunged in one bound. Kraak! Blood jets flying in all directions.
Quadrrdrk! Huh? This one’s tough.
[Haste]
[Blind Strike]
[Stone Skin]
[Dragon Claw]
Quadrrdrk-uudrdrk-pagagak—
Warddrk-shhhh—pudrdrk—
Kraak! Kwadrk! Zzzrrrk!
Thud!
The creature finally lost its shape and collapsed. I couldn’t recall its original form.
Drip—
Something wet touched my horn.
Looking up, droplets of blood—once sprayed to the ceiling—fell again, one after another.
Not just the ceiling. Everywhere: on my body, my horn, my head, my face—drenched in blood.
What a wonderful feeling—
[Thirst for Violence effect has ended. Cooldown: 86,400 seconds]
“Ugh—whoops whoops.”
My vision plunged. The shadow that had wrapped me seeped back into the mask, returning me to the small, fragile Kim Sinhwa clad in buffalo bone—cumbersome once more.
Still soaked in monster blood.
“Ugh—”
What... did I just do?
The mask’s curse seemed nullified, though?
“Ah—damn, is this what my friends in my head were talking about?”
I’d briefly lost control of my body. Damn, so that’s how it was— the blood-mad Kim Sinhwa that wanted to seize my body.
Krrr—clack-clack-clack—thud-thud-thud—
I wanted a moment to think, but my commotion and the scent of blood drew other ‘patients’ running.
“This development is... a bit much, isn’t it?”
I turned back to the creature flattened under the rubble—what had once been Seonbu. What exactly did [Predator of the Mountain] intend? Surely that wasn’t the end.
“Later, I should have a chat with my friends in my head.”
“Kim Sinhwa, could you introduce me to these friends of yours as well?”
“.......”
What now?
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Feast’s Sacrifice’ activates.]
Blood dripped in unison from the ceiling. It covered my body and pooled on the floor, then, as if drawn by powerful gravity, it surged in one direction. Even droplets clinging to me shot off sideways.
Schlurrrr—schlurrrp—
Absorbing all that blood was... the completely crushed corpse of Seonbu.
Uuddrdrk—uuddrdrk—
Seonbu’s ten grotesquely twisted arms began to move.
Several of the newly sprouted arms seized the head that had been driven into his chest and tore it out.
Zzzrrrk—
“How pitiable, Seonbu. Your body is far too weak to serve the grand cause.”
With a mournful expression, tears welled in Seonbu’s eyes.
No—something had forcibly possessed Seonbu’s body and was speaking through his mouth.
“Kim Sinhwa. I paid a long and heavy price in time and sacrifice for this meeting.”
Those ten grotesquely twisted arms.
One of them held the severed head.
And at his feet lay the scattered fragments of the stone wall—’coincidentally’ arranged like lotus petals.
No matter what words I choose, I cannot describe that form. Yet it was undeniably beautiful and fiendish.
