The sun that had been sizzling overhead slipped beyond the mountains, and night fell on Busan.
It was an unsettling night.
The daytime commotion still lingered in Go Gyeongsu’s mind, yet Busan’s night was eerily quiet— and the large full moon hanging in the sky cast an ominously gloomy light.
[FLITTER-FLITTER—]
A white bird flew past the moon.
“Hey, that... is that really a bird?”
The troubleshooters from Wild Guns Security pushed back at Go Gyeongsu’s random remark the moment he opened his mouth.
“Boss, what are you saying?”
“Did you just mistake a seagull?”
“No, I’m sure I saw a bird with four wings. Maybe it was a drone?”
“A drone?”
“Are you sure it was a bird and not a goblin?”
A small stir broke out in the makeshift guard post set up on Cure Medical Care’s research facility grounds.
The Wild Guns Security troubleshooters looked up at the sky with a murmur.
“Nothing there.”
“Maybe you saw wrong?”
Their eyes left the sky and drifted elsewhere.
“...Not a goblin.”
The old man crouched on the bare concrete— Night Owl— answered.
A deflated sigh.
Eyes slid back to Go Gyeongsu.
Jeers followed.
“Come on, boss. You’re jumpy, yeah?”
“Ugh, really. What bird.”
“He’s been getting chewed out nonstop, so maybe he wants to escape reality.”
They cackled and heckled.
Go Gyeongsu forced a wry smile back, relieved his men still had the energy to laugh.
Looked like another all-nighter under the open sky with no roof.
At least it wasn’t cold; still, this kind of shabby treatment in the middle of a city was something he hadn’t endured in a long time.
“So what’s Cure saying?”
“We’re not getting sent out to chase goblins again, are we?”
“They practically had a seizure anytime someone said ‘let’s head toward Songjeong Port.’”
“They got spooked by Yang Seohu.”
His men clamored.
“No. They said forget chasing the goblin— just hold the base today, no matter what.”
“‘Today’? Which ‘today’ are we talking about?”
“Ha!”
As if waiting for that, Go Gyeongsu jabbed a finger at the air and said,
“I asked the same thing; they said we just hold until 06:00 and the mission’s over.”
An awed “oooh.”
From the start, the goal of this contract was [defend the base from the goblin].
They’d failed the secondary objective, [exterminate the goblin], so the payout would shrink— but not bad overall.
“Right— the longer we stay here, who knows what happens.”
“The second the six o’clock bell rings in the morning, we pack up and bolt.”
‘This mission wasn’t supposed to ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) be anywhere near this dangerous...’
Not until Kim Sinhwa made that bizarre declaration.
“Come to Busan in six days.”
“On that day, I will open the lid of the abyss together with Cure Medical Care. From that pitch-black deep, beasts will pour out like swarms of starving locusts.”
Since that day, Busan had gone to hell.
Criminals, cultists, nonhumans, troubleshooters from across the country—
Every flavor of lunatic who wanted in on the chaos had flocked to Busan, and on top of that—
The terrifying Yang Seohu had shown up.
Best plan was to run before that “six days later” date Kim Sinhwa named arrived.
“But chief.”
“What?”
“That six-days-later thing he said— doesn’t that start tomorrow morning? Why are they letting us leave?”
A fair point.
A sensible client wouldn’t send away their available armed personnel right when trouble was expected, right?
“Mm. Who knows? That ‘six days later’ already started. It’s already past midnight.”
Go Gyeongsu felt the strangeness himself; he’d already asked Akiyama a question along the same lines.
‘His answer was a little weird...’
“If we can just get through tonight, that’s enough. With the end of tonight, a beautiful morning— the likes of which we’ve never seen— will begin.”
Akiyama spoke as if everything would end before the night was over.
“Surely not tonight... Kim Sinhwa isn’t going to show, right? We gathered to keep out goblins. We’re not equipped to handle a high-tier wizard.”
That was the question Go Gyeongsu had put to Akiyama then.
Fortunately— Akiyama answered with confident composure.
“No. Kim Sinhwa cannot reach Busan tonight. Absolutely not.”
‘If he’s that certain...’
There must be something in place.
Go Gyeongsu was a broker from Paju.
When disputes broke out with major troubleshooters in Paju, gauging what kind of force was required was part of his job.
On his list, Kim Sinhwa was one of the few monster-class troubleshooters filed under [no answer].
What on earth were they going to use to stop Kim Sinhwa?
Thinking that, Go Gyeongsu raised his eyes toward the sky in the direction of Paju.
“Wizard! Not this way!”
Jang Hyundeok’s scream rose from underfoot.
“We left the expressway!”
He was right.
We’d left the Gyeongbu Expressway linking Gyeonggi Province to Busan— and were tearing south at a mad pace.
Balancing on the call van’s roof, I shouted down to Jang Hyundeok,
“I know! Just drive!”
[RRRRRRRRRRUMBLE!!]
A thunderous roar chased us even though we weren’t on a proper road.
“Groarararararara!!”
The monster— shark? crab? octopus?— bellowed.
“Grrrrrk! O master of the silent abyss! Share the great sea’s power with your apostle!”
And Yong-su, shouting from atop the shark-crab-octopus’s head.
[System: The effect of ‘Feast’s Offering’ triggers. An abyssal being shares power with its apostle.]
At Yong-su’s gesture, the Geum River surged as one.
[KRRAAAAAASH!!]
The waters of the Geum shot skyward, then turned into a colossal tidal wave barreling toward us.
“Ah, for—!”
I spun up blue magic circles in every direction and seized control of the wave.
Not easy— since it was powered by mana lent from an abyssal being!
[VIIIIIIIIIN—]
“Graaaah! Damn it! How!”
Yong-su’s cry curdled with grievance.
“I told you, man— try something other than magic!”
[Ice Gorge]
[CRRRRRRRRRRK!!]
The backwashing, tangled wave froze into a glacial canyon made of hundreds of blades.
“Grrgh! You monstrous wizard! Pierce it! Pierce!”
[SHRIIIIIIP!]
I’d already torn off the most dangerous weapon— the crab claws— but the thing still had vicious teeth and brutal octopus arms.
[CRACK-CRACK-CRACK!]
The shark-octopus-crab shattered the ice lances with sweeping tentacles.
“There’s plenty of ice— keep trying to punch through it!”
[Wall of Glacier]
[CRRRRRRUNCH—]
Fresh white glaciers kept heaving up.
With the endless ice towering and blocking off the rear completely, I finally had a moment to think.
‘At this rate, are we in Geumsan?’
A mental map of Korea flickered up.
If the Geum River was to the northwest, we must’ve passed Geumsan already.
Go farther from here and there’s Muju County—
“Hyundeok! Go any farther south from here and we’ll hit the Tongyeong–Daejeon Expressway! Get on that, pass through Jinju, then head for Busan!”
“It’ll take more than two hours! It’s already past midnight!”
“Yeah, well, we’re already late!”
Some days the plan just doesn’t work.
You patch it and bring it home.
[RRRRUMBLE!]
A tremor from beyond the ice.
“Kim Sinhwaaa!”
Yong-su’s roar.
“Ah, hell.”
If it were just Yong-su and that shark-crab-octopus, we wouldn’t be in this mess...
[System: ‘Heightened Vigilance’ activates.]
“Move.”
A small voice from beyond the glaciers. Normally I wouldn’t have heard it, but the expanded sensing from [Heightened Vigilance] carried it to me, crisp and clear.
[SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH-SLASH!!]
The ice— which even the giant shark-crab-octopus’s tentacles couldn’t pierce— sliced away in an instant.
“Aaagh! They’re here! Hyundeok, we’re caught!”
“W-wizard! Please calm down!”
“How am I supposed to calm down!”
“It’s just a dog!”
“Aaaaaaaah!”
[RRRRRRRRRRUMBLE!!]
The glaciers collapsed! Aaaaaaaah!
My senses were razor-honed— for a moment, everything moved in slow motion.
Ice shards spraying everywhere— snow-sparkle glittering in moonlight— huge tentacles bursting through, smashing fragmented ice— and— and— and— and—
And cutting through that beautiful, grotesque scene— a silver-haired woman.
A swordswoman with a spell on each blade— in either hand—
A master of transcendent caliber—
And, well, a grandma with an awesome pet!
“Grah-haaah!”
Alongside the twin-sword grandma, “a quadrupedal beast of awful form; an uncanny monster that emits death-light from its eyes and vomits despair from its mouth; and a carnivore that has long lived alongside humankind. Scientific name: Canis lupus familiaris.” blasted a thunderous roar as it appeared.
“Aaaaaaah!”
I screamed.
[You behold the form of the Conqueror’s comrade-in-arms, dear friend— and pet, Jjokko. Even among the giant dogs known as Great Danes, its aberrantly massive frame pricks your phobia.]
Height from toes to shoulder: about 1.5 meters.
Might not seem too odd with a ten-meter shark-octopus-crab standing nearby, but to me, it was a perfect nightmare.
[‘Madness — Dog Phobia’ manifests.]
“Sinhwa! If it repeats this short, you won’t last!” “Run! You idiot!”
The instant my mental state wobbled, the other personalities in my head popped out and yanked control of my mouth.
[System: You test your Mind stat to resist delirium. Mind check...]
“Hold! You’re living in my head on rent!”
[Success]
“Yeah! Rent collected!”
“Wizard! Get a grip!”
Even when delirium or a phobia cleared, my split personalities didn’t disappear— they only multiplied.
This multiplicity might not be a byproduct of madness. To counter a phobia artificially induced to trigger attacks...
“I’m doing my best too!”
...it might be a defense mechanism my brain created.
“No! Not that— there’s more!”
“What?”
More? What?
[System: ‘Heightened Vigilance’ activates.]
“Up ahead...”
“Wahahahahahahaha—”
Before Jang Hyundeok could finish, laughter rolled from the front.
“Sis! Sis! You’re still active, I knew it! Hya!”
“Hihihihihing!”
Another proof that this [Cthulhu World] was out of its mind showed up.
Kid the Gunman— a pro bounty hunter from the Hunters’ Mutual Aid Association who’d been hounding me— came thundering in on a great black horse.
“We’re screwed.”
[BANG! BANG! BANG!]
Kid’s revolver barked.
[Warp Field]
I blew the rounds aside with magic and looked at the dashing, mutton-chopped old lunatic in classic cowboy getup.
“As expected, bullets don’t faze you! What a fine quarry!”
I’d checked his data before we left.
Even in this [Cthulhu World], he had a supernatural power.
“Good! Let’s go! It’s hunting time! Graaaaaaah!!”
Kid spread his arms and let out a beast’s howl.
Hair flooded over his body as he swelled in an instant.
His muzzle, claws, and teeth all lengthened.
“Awoooooooo!!”
Warped into a grotesque blend of dog (Kid would insist “wolf,” I’m sure) and man, Kid spurred the giant black horse into a charge.
Beastification— animal morphing.
He wasn’t the only NPC with that power, sure— but why, why now!
[System: ‘Heightened Vigilance’ activates.]
“Hiiiii-yap!”
A new enemy burst out before the madness could even bloom.
“What now?!”
A yakuza-ninja-cultist suddenly sprang from the woods!
We’d definitely dropped the ninja earlier, but the one who appeared now had a rather special friend along.
“Kiba! Tsume! Hige! Go!”
“Woof! Woof! Woof!”
Ninja dogs sprinted in, each with a katana clamped in its jaws.
Kiba, Tsume, Hige— “fang, claw, whiskers”— sounded like names, and from the vibe, that’s exactly what they were.
They were going “woof-woof,” but to me it translated as “Kim Sinhwa, hurry up and kill yourself!”
[‘Madness — Dog Phobia’ manifests.]
Strength drained from my limbs.
“Hyundeok... goodbye. I guess I die now. I wanted to grant your wish before I go, at least...”
Yeah. If I just let go, this hell ends.
Goodbye, filthy world.
So this is how I leave it...
“Wizard, get down here and sit in the passenger seat!”
“What?”
What was he saying now?
“I’ll figure something out— just hurry!”
[System: You test your Mind stat to resist delirium. Mind check... Success!]
