Kwajijijik!
A colossal rock mutated into a wedge shape tears apart the body of the last [Geoseon]—purple ichor sprays in all directions.
From the rooftop of an apartment block a short distance away, I look down at the scene while simultaneously extending my senses in all directions to prepare for any new enemies—but there is no reinforcement.
“Is it roughly over?”
There were more of them than I thought.
“Clear time is about thirteen minutes. A new record.”
I’ve never come to this place under these conditions before. Right now, I can wield more power and use more diverse abilities than any character I’ve ever played.
“Could it be that I can actually clear—”
No matter which route or ending I see, might I somehow save this world that was doomed to perish?
No, that’s impossible. Don’t indulge in pointless hopes.
I checked the status of the large magical device clearly visible even from afar, the [Portable Barrier Generator], and moved immediately.
‘Hmm, looks like it’s about time to piss them off.’
If it were [Headfire] or [Predator of the Mountains], they’d have gone berserk long ago, but [Devourer of Fear] is more tenacious.
I explained this to Jang Hyundeok as well: the core of the entire operation is to make these bastards angry.
Murder their medium, destroy their domains, steal their spiritual relics.
Then, after stripping them of any direct influence in the mortal realm—get them enraged.
‘Usually, killing their cherished acolytes or destroying the cult itself is enough.’
Eliminating those with faith is the most certain way.
‘Reputation and belief. Not only do they grant power to these entities—but through certain images or namesakes, new avatars with unique powers can manifest.’
In any case, you take whatever they hold dear, one by one, smuggle it away, destroy it, corrupt it, defile it.
That way, even with traps clearly laid out, they rush straight in. Is it pride they possess as abyssal beings?
And right at that moment.
If I cast a barrier and force them out, I can siphon off the power they manifested to descend.
I’d explained it to Jang Hyundeok once. Come to think of it, his question then comes to mind.
“‘So if we keep repeating this method, can we take them all down?’”
Well, it worked in the game, but what about now?
This world moves according to the patterns I saw in [Cthulhu World], but it’s not exactly the same. These entities think, too, and could devise new countermeasures.
‘In any case, let’s prod them a bit more to see how they’ll respond.’
I raised my head and looked at the spot where the strongest magic in this apartment complex was converging.
“Let’s see, the seventh floor of that building earlier.”
That’s where the bastard playing the cult leader is.
Inside is the mastermind artifact with tremendous power that caused this unprecedented worm incident.
The Red Acolyte brought it here, fully aware his underlings would become worm fodder.
If I try to destroy that—he really won’t be able to hold back.
[Acceleration]
Shuaaaaak—
I know I could move faster by using [Leap], but I couldn’t bring myself to use it. Ah, just thinking about it is already annoying.
“Ah, damn.”
I pushed stronger magic into [Acceleration] and ramped up my speed.
Shuaaaaaak—
In an instant, I arrived at the target building. Inside is the [Egg Sac] that spawns the worms. It’s dormant now, waiting for the blood of the next sacrifice.
“Ugh, what a pain! Why are there so many walls?”
In any case, this is the first floor. I could just traverse the outer wall like before, but I still acted as if consumed by rage and unleashed spells at random.
[Wall of Force]
[Ramming Charge]
[Rupture]
Kwakuagagagagagwang!
Walls and ceiling shatter in an instant. I destroy these bothersome obstacles and advance without hesitation. How’s that? Still standing? Need more shaking?
[Seismic Strike]
Kwarrreurrreung!
I cast that spell thinking the building could collapse for all I care. The half-finished, abandoned apartment begins to sway dangerously.
[System: Exclusive Trait ‘Feast’s Sacrificial Offering’ activated. ‘Abyssal Entity: Devourer of Fear’ is enraged at you.]
Right, here it comes.
Chirrurruk— Chirrurrurruk—
But it’s not the level of rage I wanted. I hear monstrous cries in the distance. Have they summoned more worms? Seems they’ve created a new commander.
[System: ‘Heightened Vigilance’ trait activated.]
Huh?
Wait, the threat indicated by [Heightened Vigilance] isn’t to myself. It’s warning me of danger at another pre-assigned location.
“Aha, I see. This is how it plays out, huh?”
I hurriedly tried to send part of my consciousness to where Jang Hyundeok was, but—
Kwaaaang!
Through windows shattered in the walls, through holes I’d made, tearing through ceiling, walls, and floor—the heads of huge worms, worms, worms, worms, worms, worms, worms thrust in from all directions overhead and sideways.
“Chirrurrururrr!!”
Gaping maws, maws, maws, maws, maws, maws. Inside those mouths, like the jaws of a lamprey, rows upon rows of fangs, fangs, fangs, fangs, fangs, fangs.
The power of [Devourer of Fear] warped reality through the [Egg Sac]. Worms of colossal size—ignoring laws of mass conservation and all such rules—grow at astounding speed!
Kwaaaaang!!
The ceiling collapses.
“Kieek-kieek! Kieek-kieek!”
“Waaah!”
Only then does Jang Hyundeok notice the danger surging toward him and step back.
“Kieek-kieek! Kieek-kieek!”
“Kieek-kieek! Kieek-kieek!”
The lunatics we’d evacuated to the rear now crawl forward, thin worms pouring from their faces, mouths, eyes, and nostrils. With the power of [Devourer of Fear] activated—they’ve spawned replacements for the dead priests, and the torn hive mind has been restored.
“Aaaargh! The ones we knocked down are getting back up!”
“Behind! Behind! There too! We’re surrounded!”
Those subdued by Kim Sinhwa’s assault likewise begin, one by one, to stagger back to their feet.
Kwaaang!
“Snap out of it, you idiots!”
At Yeom Geumja’s bellow, the thugs of the Bongilcheon faction snap to their senses. Sinhwa’s display is still etched in their minds, so they’re not thrown into chaos.
Moreover, the madmen controlled by the worms move in plainly absurd ways. Instead of attacking the thugs standing before them, they dodge or shove them away like irritating obstacles.
Their sole target is that grotesque contraption—the [Portable Barrier Generator]—and Jang Hyundeok standing before it.
“Huh? Are they really all coming only for me?”
Indeed. Their target is only Jang Hyundeok. They seem to know that once he’s subdued, Sinhwa’s plan will be largely undermined.
“Aaaargh— I can’t even use proper magic yet!”
Saying that, Jang Hyundeok pulls a peculiarly shaped mana crystal from his clothes and casts one of the few spells Sinhwa taught him.
[Liberation]
Shuaaaaak!
The soul trapped in the crystal is released, and a chilling “kakakakaka!” laughter erupts.
The laughter is so gut-wrenchingly creepy it drains your strength to hear it, yet Jang Hyundeok has heard it so often it almost feels familiar.
“Auntie! Help me!”
Hearing that, the specter of Heo Ji-hyun shouts mercilessly as if exasperated:
“Got it! Then hurry up!”
Heo Ji-hyun’s specter merges into Jang Hyundeok’s body. Simultaneously, the [Living Altar] trait implanted by the [Yellow-Clad King] activates, bolstering Heo Ji-hyun’s magic while triggering a new, unprecedented trait to produce a fresh effect.
[Psychokinesis]
Although Heo Ji-hyun clearly moves to take control of Jang Hyundeok’s body, that power is instead drawn into the second mana core formed within Hyundeok, doubling in amplification to become Hyundeok’s own power.
In an instant, Heo Ji-hyun loses control over Hyundeok’s body, and now Ji-hyun’s power has become Hyundeok’s.
“Ura-cha-cha! Super-hyper-magical Jang Hyundeok!”
In truth, the only spells Jang Hyundeok can cast are [Liberation] and [Psychokinesis]. From here on, he’s merely manipulating released magic. Yet the [Puppeteer] trait borrowed briefly from Heo Ji-hyun adds new properties to Hyundeok’s mana.
Chyararararrak—
Hundreds of threads emit from Hyundeok’s hands. These are streams ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) of mana imbued with rites of domination, control, and subjugation.
“Kieek-kieek! Kieek-kieek!”
“Kieek-kieek! Kieek-kieek!”
The frenzied lunatics, charging without hesitation, become entangled in the mana threads Hyundeok weaves and halt their advance.
Hyundeok still can’t unleash more power than this, but it’s enough. Sinhwa has already informed Yeom Geumja of the plan.
“Grab them! Push those bastards back!”
“Waaaargh!”
Pa-ji-ji-ji-jik! Pa-ji-ji-jik! Tsu-juj! Pa-ja-ja-ja-jak!
From the mana-crystal guns held by the Bongilcheon thugs, electric-blue discharges set to converge forward spurt out instead of bullets.
“Shock Cannon! Forward!”
“Here we go!”
“Aaaaaah!”
Bang! Kwaaaang!
What’s released this time isn’t a bullet but a barrier of compressed air.
Yeom Geumja recalls what Sinhwa told her:
‘Right around here. From there to here. I’ve laid a magic circle on the ground. Within this area, these guns will release nonlethal magic instead of bullets. Since we’re rescuing them, try to subdue them without killing.’
“Destroyer, you creepy bastard, you knew this would happen again, huh.”
Murmuring that, Yeom Geumja commands the Bongilcheon thugs to surround Jang Hyundeok.
“Wow! Ma’am! Thank you! I knew you’d help!”
“Shut up! I—”
Yeom Geumja was about to say more, but—
Kwaaaaang!
Startled by the tremendous shockwave and roar, she falls silent.
“Huh— that, that?”
The massive apartment block splits in half—and a gigantic worm—shoots skyward. It’s not that the enormous worm has freed itself from its long bondage to the earth and mastered flight.
It’s as if the worm has been flung away by some colossal force.
Kwaaaang!
And another one.
Kwaaaang!!
“Waaaah! All of you, get the hell out of here!”
Sinhwa’s roar reverberates like thunder.
Urrrreerrrrung—
A storm cloud gathering at incredible speed. Yeom Geumja looks at the cloud and thinks, That— that can’t be?
[Fission Thunderstorm]
Kwaaaaang!!
Fire and lightning engulf the entire apartment complex.
Strengthened by [Sonic Impact], Sinhwa’s cry erupts once more:
“Hey, send more worms! Whatever you send, I’ll smash it all to pieces!”
With that, [Devourer of Fear] has exhausted every card it prepared. As Sinhwa declared, cornered [Devourer of Fear] resorts to desperate measures.
The sky warps and the earth melts away.
“What, what is that? What is happening!?”
A tremendous presence originating from the abyss approaches to overturn this parched land.
“Waaah! Wizard, are you okay?”
“Ah, got it!”
Hyundeok rushes toward the third platform—
“Uh, uh, where’s left again?”
“Here! Here is left!”
Yeom Geumja’s shout.
Drurururuk!
Soon, with tremendous force, a barrier enveloping the entire apartment complex is erected, and Kim Sinhwa unleashes the spell she prepared.
[Forced Eviction: Devourer of Fear]
The aftermath speaks for itself in its cleanliness. Sinhwa ultimately resolves the situation and recovers the [Egg Sac] imbued with the power of [Devourer of Fear].
Thus, there are now three abyssal entities stripped of power by Kim Sinhwa.
[Devourer of Fear] tried to switch patterns, but Sinhwa—or rather, the Feast’s Sacrificial Offering—neatly maneuvered it back into the same pattern.
What do you think?
[Predator: Hungry.]
I’m glad it pleases you.
Just in case, may I ask: are you willing to change the course?
Like [Mask], or [Flame], and [Darkness].
[Predator: Hungry.]
Very well. In that case...
[Blood: No!]
[Predator: Hungry.]
[Blood: Speak.]
[Predator: Hungry.]
Understood.
Some have expressed concern over similar patterns repeating, but since the Feast’s Sacrificial Offering also wants to face all five of you, we’ll proceed this time as is.
