[Hand of the Destroyer God]
Tzuzuzuzut-
Gong Isu peeled a fragment of his own head off with his left hand.
“Did that actually detach?”
“Yeah. Neat, right?”
‘Neat, right?’ That’s it?
The clock fragment that fell from his head lost its identity in his hand and transformed into a silvery lump of metal.
‘What is that?’
A strange texture—part metal, part clay, an indeterminate two-dimensional crystalline mass.
Gong Isu fiddled with the odd lump for a moment, then transferred it to his right hand.
[Hand of the Creator God]
Tzuzuzuzut-
The silvery clay in his right hand morphed into an ornately designed pocket watch.
“I told you to get ready.”
He’s brusque.
“What time is it now?”
“Six thirty-two.”
“Still daytime....”
It’ll be a while before that thing above the sky disappears.
Click—
Gong Isu snapped the pocket watch closed and hung it at his waist.
Why keep it separate? The one on his head is indented—does it matter?
He stroked both pieces.
[Hand of the Destroyer God]
[Hand of the Creator God]
Tzuzuzuzut-
His head became a large glass orb swirling with light and crackling electricity.
‘Hmm—plasma ball, I think?’
Bzzzzzt!!
Whatever the principle, electric blue sparks began to swarm around the orb.
Ready for battle? Its design looks capable of discharging massive voltage.
“Can we do it now? Right here? And this is my bedroom.”
“Then where? You can’t leave home at this hour!”
He knows that—fresh penalty information I only learned moments ago. Must be from the future.
“You know well. I’m a bit weak during the day—”
If the wall collapses, I’ll lapse into delirium. Even if it doesn’t—I’m terrified!
“—Can we wait twenty minutes for moonrise, then start?”
“No. Don’t push it.”
“Ugh, you’re harsh, senior.”
It is a bit late now. The stench of rot already pervades the air.
A pitch-black smoke has filled the room.
“You’re upset it’s now, but it can’t be helped. There’s a reason it must be this ‘time.’”
“I trust you’ll explain later why you wrecked your poor junior’s humble haven.”
Whirrrr—
I summoned mana and drew all the scattered weapons and artifacts toward me.
“When there’s time, I’ll show you.”
[System: ‘Heightened Vigilance’ activated.]
“Kruririrrik—”
A horrifying sound echoed from beyond spacetime.
The Hounds of Tindalos—sent from the golden prison at Time’s corner to eviscerate time-travelers—began to manifest one by one.
Their number is....
“Huh? Why so many?”
“They come out spaced apart, but when they’re all here, about thirty-odd.”
“Thirty? Really?”
Facing even one was tough—now thirty?
“We have to kill them all?”
“You kill them. I’m tired.”
[Quest Updated]
[
‘/null Head’ is pursued by Hounds of Tindalos. Protect ‘/null Head’ and slay all the Hounds of Tindalos.
Remaining: 0/31
Reward: 1,000,000 XP per hound + vital intel + favor of ‘/null Head.’
Failure: ‘/null Head’ will be disappointed.]
Not the scenario I expected, nor the timing.
‘If that’s the case... I’ll have to absorb the loss.’
I fell silent to revise my plan.
“It’s all karmic debt from Future Sinhwa—junior, suffer for him.”
“Kim Sinhwa, you bastard.”
I donned a different mask, unleashing a green mana glow from the [Mask of Nine Lives].
“Oh, junior. Don’t think I’ll help you.”
“Hmm? Why not?”
“I’ll try, but those dogs—damn, I can’t even say the name—if they’re near me, my power drops to one-tenth. I sometimes go delirious. And unlike you, I can’t overcome it. It’s fixed.”
He’s warning that irrational behavior is possible mid-battle—ask forgiveness in advance.
“We’re on different systems, I see.”
“Different administrators.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You have lots of questions anyway. I’ll answer later in one go. For now—ugh, here they come!”
Pazizizzzt!!
“Kuwerrerrrek!”
A Hound of Tindalos struck by combined necromancy and lightning convulsed grotesquely before flinging itself away.
Whoever named them was clueless—these ‘hounds’ aren’t dogs.
No legs, no leg-like appendages—an alien skeleton moving in ways unlike any vertebrate here.
“Do something—quick!”
Gong Isu’s voice cracked like a scream.
Pazizizzzt!
Scarlet arcs of electricity burst from his orb-head.
Impressive power, but the shock charred my bed instead.
“Ahh! Senior, what are you doing!”
“There was one hiding under the mattress!”
“Kruaaaaak!”
A huge maw burst out from beneath my bed, far larger than a neck or shoulder.
A vortex of abnormal darkness churned in its throat, ringed by insect-leg teeth.
Shwoooosh!
A violet tongue shot out like a harpoon from the darkness’s centre.
“You can’t just torch my bed!”
I lashed out with the [Blade of Flesh] and cast:
[Tangled Fate]
Tzuzuzuzuz-
A space-warping spell that twists the trajectory of an attack.
The tongue aimed at me twisted geometrically and struck another hound targeting Gong Isu.
“Kurrurrrluk!”
A bizarre path, yet the hounds possess [Omnidirectional Vision].
Shrrrrreeek!
Without warning—like shifting their body-coordinates occupying space—they evaded.
These hounds have [Gravity Negation] and [Inertia Negation].
Our physics hardly bind them.
Whirrrrr!
The now-aimless tongue skimmed the floor and was sliced away like soft pudding.
[Dimensional Corrosion].
Touched portions aren’t torn or shattered—they’re ‘erased’ from spacetime in a surreal fashion.
A forbidden attack.
Shrrrrreeek!
Ghastly appendages burst from floor and walls.
The one cooked earlier by lightning rejoined unscathed.
Their abilities alone induce headaches—and they also have [Physical Damage Immunity] and [Ultra-Regeneration].
Insane, unfathomable monsters.
I, unaffected by [Abyssal Madness], can cope—but normally you’d factor in madness and delirium triggers.
“Kruoaaaaek!”
“Kieeeek!”
Not even five minutes in, thirteen Hounds of Tindalos stand revealed.
When all thirty-one appear, they’ll fill my room even if they sit quietly.
“It’s getting cramped!”
I need a wider battlefield.
But outdoors is dangerous—scattering them is bad, and the cat sent by the Cat Kingdom’s Sovereign might get hurt.
Regretfully, I cast inward:
[Chain Lightning]
[Spell Boost: Chain Explosion]
KRAAANNG!!
“Ahh!”
Jang Hyundeok woke with a start from the sudden blast.
After overnight and into morning duty, he still lay in bed—
“What the!? What’s happening!?”
He sat up, but the darkness remained.
“Oh, I was sleeping with a blindfold.”
He lifted a hand to remove it, but a serpent-like tentacle snatched his hand.
“Argh!”
“Hyundeok—it’s me!”
[Sound Distortion]
I cast a spell to block all sounds but my voice from reaching him and continued:
“Whoa—scared you, didn’t I? But what are you doing? Let me take off that blindfold for a sec.”
“No! Don’t remove it!”
“No—blindfold—”
Hyundeok chuckled at the rhyme.
“Funny? No, wait—argh! Get away! Hey, Hyundeok, something’s gone wrong. I recommend keeping that blindfold on.”
“Aha, got it. Some experiment failed?”
“Yep. That exact situation.”
“But in my room? Huh...? Whoa, there’s massive mana flux everywhere. Feels ominous.”
He hunched, uneasy.
“You heard the explosion? There’s a hole in the wall. I’m talking from the corridor. Senior! Do something about the floor!”
Despite doubts, the word “senior” seized his attention.
“Oh! Senior, you’re here? About what we talked earlier?”
“That’s right—you came, exalted Gong Isu.”
Hyundeok, still blindfolded, felt around.
“Uh—where «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» are you?”
“There—no, let me make my voice localize.”
I adjusted [Sound Distortion] so Hyundeok could hear Gong Isu’s voice.
“Junior! Forget that—fix this first! Aah!”
Gong Isu’s scream rang out a little distance away.
“Oh, what a fine voice. Hello!”
“Do I have to talk to him too? Oh—so you’re Hyundeok? I’m Gong Isu, senior to Sinhwa. Over to you, junior!”
“Got you! Nice, senior!”
Though he didn’t know what was exchanged or caught, Hyundeok smiled politely.
“Haha, pleasure. You two seem up to something fun. Hey, Mage—still wearing that blindfold?”
“Junior! How about this!”
“Oh, senior! Are you insane? What am I supposed to do with this slide? Hyundeok, don’t stand there—come this way.”
“Get down here, you dumb junior! And the corridor’s—now you get it?”
“Oh, right! Genius, genius Gong Isu! Red!”
Something yanked at Hyundeok’s lapel.
“Huh? Red?”
“Krriiiik—”
“You follow Red’s lead! Go to the attic!”
“Eh? Oh! Is this some surprise? My birthday’s not for a while.”
“Surprise? You can look forward to it. Sanghyun’s not part of this! Those things are immune to physical attacks—use necromancy!”
“Junior, wouldn’t it be better to explain the situation to him?”
Realizing the surprise was off, Hyundeok waved his hand urgently:
“No! Wait! I can do it! Fine, Red, let’s go!”
Guided by Red, Hyundeok marched boldly toward the attic.
Of course, right beside him....
Flaming Hounds of Tindalos swooped, the second-floor floor collapsed, arcs of lightning struck, Sinhwa’s illusions swirled, the broken floor urgently reformed, ice walls shot up, Heo Sanghyun wielded a staff of kin-forged bone, Gong Isu was briefly trapped in a wall, Sinhwa mocked him, Fireball spells detonated, enraged Gong Isu shattered walls, spectral golems poured forth, wraiths shrieked, walls reassembled, “By the proxy of the Golden General!” rang out, Doldoli bit a Hound of Tindalos—and chaos reigned.
Thanks to that, Hyundeok nearly died thirty-seven times but reached the attic unscathed.
