[‘The One Who Waits Silently’ has appeared before your eyes.]
Stepping on blood-soaked shards, borrowing a corpse’s body, the grotesque being shrouded in blood took a step toward me.
Thunk—
[‘The One Who Waits Silently’’s unique trait ‘Celestial Grace’ activates.]
Though it was the gaunt old man’s foot, the moment he stepped, an absurd roar filled the ward.
[By the effect of ‘Celestial Grace’, madness is forcibly injected into your mind. ‘Madness – Affection for the Great One’ is forcibly injected. Reminder: this being is your friend. You must feel affection for the Great One.]
And another step.
Thoom—
Every being confined in this cramped closed ward screamed at once.
[By the effect of ‘Celestial Grace’, madness is forcibly injected into your mind. ‘Madness – Loyalty to the Great One’ is forcibly injected. Reminder: this being is your master. You must feel loyalty to the Great One.]
And another step.
Thoom—
Half of the humanoid intelligences in the ward immediately vomited blood and died, a quarter of them had their minds utterly broken and could never view the world as before, an eighth shed their former bodies and were reborn in new forms. Yet pity for those who could not receive the abyssal grace of the Great One.
[By the effect of ‘Celestial Grace’, madness is forcibly injected into your mind. ‘Madness – Love for the Great One’ is forcibly injected. Reminder: this being is your lover. You must feel love for the Great One.]
And another step.
Thoom—
Among those the hospital called “unreal entities,” half of those in object form immediately shut down all function; half of the half in living form swore fealty to the Wonderful One, the Marvelous One, the Radiant One, the Wise One, the Beautiful One. Yet pity for those who cannot behold the abyssal grace of the Great One.
[By the effect of ‘Celestial Grace’, madness is forcibly injected into your mind. ‘Madness – Zeal for the Great One’ is forcibly injected. Reminder: this being is your god. You must feel zeal for the Great One.]
And another step—
Crackzzzt!!!
Blue sparks erupted at my temple.
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. All madness in your mind is dispelled.]
“Stop! Do not come closer! Hrk—kuh—”
Bloody saliva dripped from my mouth.
Despite [Abyssal Madness] shielding me from that overwhelming madness and influence, the shock was not fully negated.
I recoiled and glared at it. My stomach twisted—not just my stomach, but my mind and soul contorted entirely.
“How pitiable, how lamentable, how sorrowful. Why do you reject me? I cherish you, I love you so.”
“Love? What bullshit. Don’t come any closer! If you do, I’ll kill myself!”
With anyone else such threats might fail—but to [The One Who Waits Silently], incarnation of [Predator of the Mountain], they would work.
Indeed, it halted without saying a word, its eyes still closed.
Damn. What is this? How did it descend with no ritual, no precedent? No—there must have been a precursor? Impossible. This isn’t Tanhyeon. Did the chaos and massacre here forge the foundation for its descent?
No—it cannot be. This place is even rigged with a jumbled ward and barriers meant to repel abyssal beings.
To descend here without ritual or sacrifice is impossible.
“This is absurd! What did you do, you mad bastard? You’ve broken the game’s ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ rules!”
“Game? Ha—calling it a game is laughable. But I have broken no rule. No deception, no falsehood. I stand here, as I am.”
“Nonsense! Seonbu has no medium trait! There was no buffer ritual for your presence, no sacrifice to empower you! Mere chaos, madness, and the extraordinary horror of a brief moment cannot summon you.”
“Offspring of the feast, I repeat: I exist here without falsehood. Grrrurrr—”
Its body suddenly swelled—damn. What now?!
[Ward of Warding][Tindalos Shell][Sanctified Barrier][Evil Gaze][Prison of Cold Bones][Beacon of Even Branch][Gesture of Protection][Prayer of Guardianship]
It cast multiple defensive spells at once. Crafting those enchantments simultaneously gave me a headache, but I couldn’t discern its aim.
Pffft!
The swelled corpse of Seonbu burst in a grotesque explosion of bloody foam.
My vision, my body, the entire corridor was drenched in horrific red.
[You have witnessed a truly horrific sight: a living being exploding before your eyes. To withstand the mental trauma, perform a Sanity check using your Willpower stat.]
What now? I outgrew hemophobia ages ago.
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking...]
No—this isn’t fear of blood. He forced me into terror.
[Check Failed!]
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. The result of the Sanity check is converted to Success.]
Szzzt!
“What is this? What do you want to do?”
I couldn’t fathom the grotesque display. But it wasn’t over.
The security guard’s corpse that had been eaten by the creature I crushed three minutes ago now rose with less than a third of its body remaining.
Guts spilled from its abdomen, its skull shattered, left arm and leg gone—it stood.
At its feet, intestines, blood, and flesh shards lay arranged—coincidentally reminiscent of a giant lotus.
The security guard raised one hand slowly. I knew not why, but he closed his eyes and pointed a finger skyward.
The sight was chillingly grotesque and wickedly beautiful.
Speaking through the guard’s dead lips:
“Kim Sinhwa. I have come to offer you a beneficial and auspicious proposal. You will hear my offer and obey it.”
“A proposal?”
“Yes, Kim Sinhwa. Surrender to me, follow my teachings, and serve the blessed role of proclaiming my will to the world.”
A worthless offer.
As with those before him, I replied the same:
“I refuse.”
“Regrettable......”
Pffft!
Blood sprayed in all directions.
What now?
[You have witnessed a truly horrific sight: a living being exploding before your eyes. To withstand the mental trauma, perform a Sanity check using your Willpower stat.]
Well now.
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
Crrck—Crrck—
Ka-wham!
The wall beside the corridor collapsed.
There stood another nameless security guard. I knew not what felled him, but grotesque plants sprouted from his body.
Green vines spiraled from his feet to his head like an aura; a large red flower bloomed atop his scalp like a halo.
And below, the roots spread—coincidentally lotus-shaped.
The scene triggered revulsion and awe in equal measure.
“Kim Sinhwa. I ask again: will you surrender to me and spread my will to the world?”
“I refuse.”
“Very well.”
Pffump!
Plant fragments and blood scattered everywhere.
[You have witnessed a truly horrific sight: a living being exploding before your eyes. To withstand the mental trauma, perform a Sanity check using your Willpower stat.]
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
Another corpse appeared. He was—
“You crazy bastard! Can’t you stop?”
[Karmic Flames]
Flare—
“Kim Sinhwa, it seems my words do not please you.”
“How many times will you repeat this? Stop!”
“If I use humans outside this building, I could do this about 8,349 times. Time is plentiful. I will alter my approach to suit your tastes—rrurrr!”
Pffft!
Blood spattered everywhere.
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
“Ah, so you truly descended honestly, without trickery?”
This is pure force. It invaded via Seonbu’s body, then indiscriminately descended through helpless corpses.
A medium like Jang Hyundeok is rare.
This lunatic, lacking any medium talent, forced entry into others to toy with me.
With no medium talent, [The One Who Waits Silently] can use 0.01% of its power. It cannot withstand its own abyssal presence and suffers backlash, exploding.
‘Then...’
All the talk of half-deaths was mere deception to induce delusion.
I do not know how many corpses lie in this building, but certainly not 8,000 times—maybe twenty? thirty?
“.......”
Can my mind endure this torture?
“Kim Sinhwa, do you know how deeply I bow so that you might understand in a form you can comprehend? How does one speak with an ant?”
“What of it?”
“Very well. Rrrrurrr!”
Pffft!
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
“Help... me!”
A sudden voice. A person in a patient gown flew at me like a puppet on strings, moving grotesquely.
“Ah, damn.”
So all this time, the point was to discern my weakness.
Warddrk—warddrk—
The suspended person’s limbs twisted inhumanly, exceeding joint limits.
“Aaaah! Please! Please!”
Crack!
Every joint broke. Their body jerked like a macabre puppet.
Their ashen face contorted in agony, foaming blood from their mouth. In a faint voice they gasped:
“Please... surrender to that being. Kim Sinhwa! Please, I beg you!”
“I refuse.”
Warddrk—
The head rattled unnaturally; the victim, once agonized, now wore a serene expression and spoke:
“How cruel, Kim Sinhwa. You are the one who killed this soul.”
“What bullshit.”
“Then—rrrurrr—”
Pffft!
The message box reappeared.
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
How many times have I been drenched in blood now?
A laugh escaped me. How many times did it say it could repeat?
“Kim Sinhwa! Please! Surrender to him!”
“I refuse.”
“Hrk—kuk!”
Pffft—
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
“Kim Sinhwa! Please give up! Please!”
“I refuse.”
“Rrrurrr—”
Pffft—
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
“Aaah—rrurrr—please! Please!”
“I refuse.”
Pffft—
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
“I refuse.”
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
“I refuse.”
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
“Stop it!”
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
“Stop!”
[System: By the effect of ‘Fear Injection’, a forced Sanity check is triggered. Checking... Success! You have endured the horrific trauma.]
