Chapter 122
Chapter 122
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 122
Chapter Title: Fervent Devotee of the Terror-Devourer, Aftermath - 2
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While I was struggling to pull my head out of the sand with pitiful grunts.
Suddenly, someone shoved their hand under my skirt and yanked me out with brute force.
They'd jammed their hand in so deep that it wasn't just my skirt—it invaded inside my panties.
The strength of whoever it was bordered on ridiculous.
As they dragged me out, my head popped free from deep in the sand with a squelch.
Before I knew it, I was flying several meters and landed flat on my ass.
"Urk… Ptoo, ptoo, ptoo!"
With my belly full of sand, I hacked and spat relentlessly, trying to clear out those disgusting grains from my mouth.
I roughly brushed the sand off my face and hair, then opened my eyes.
There was Yoo Euisul, looking at me with an expression of utter pity.
"Ah."
"…What are you doing."
"I just paid a heavy price for my blasphemy. Urgh…"
"If you're back to your senses, brief me already. How'd it go? The anomalous phenomenon? The fervent devotee?"
She was as heartless as they come.
I'd just had my head buried deep in the sand moments ago.
Sand had invaded every hole—nostrils, ears, mouth, eyes, you name it.
Apparently, I didn't look pitiful enough, because Yoo Euisul pressed me for answers.
I swallowed my discomfort and replied.
"Both are taken care of."
"You sure?"
"Yeah. The fervent devotee seems definitely scrapped, and the anomalous phenomenon… Ah, to be precise, it wasn't 'resolved' but 'summoning canceled' in the wording."
'Summoning canceled' implied it could be summoned again somehow, right?
I checked the wiki entry once more.
2. Characteristics Time flows differently inside the Sanctum compared to the outside. Huh.
I hadn't known that—time flows differently, huh.
Well, not important right now, so moving on.
…
…
…
A Fervent Devotee can summon the Sanctum by reciting the following incantation. "Hunger is a blessing, and fear is an infinite resource. Thus, it is the grace of the Terror-Devourer." ⟨ Sanctum Summon ⟩
Non-Fervent Devotees can summon it via the following process. 1. Induce a state of hunger. Not just any hunger, but extreme enough to impair brain function. 2. … … … It was the exact same mechanism as the summoning cancellation.
Huh.
So this anomalous phenomenon could be resummoned, meaning there was still a summoning medium somewhere.
As I glanced around suspiciously, Ahn Soohee—who was standing a ways off—picked something up from the sand and called out.
"Jia, were you looking for this, by any chance?"
In Ahn Soohee's hand was a reddish orb that screamed bad vibes just by looking at it.
Urgh.
Even that orb was made of flesh.
It was pulsing exactly like the flesh I'd seen inside.
No doubt about it.
I nodded to Ahn Soohee.
"That's the haunted house trigger. Just to be safe, let me double-check."
I hurried over to her and inspected the flesh orb's info, then continued.
"Yeah, this is it."
Yoo Euisul asked me.
"You sure it's completely safe now?"
"It's like that mad woman's portrait case. As long as you don't force a summon… Yeah, it's safe."
"Any items? Seen any before?"
"Nope, none."
"…"
"…"
Yoo Euisul and Ahn Soohee fell silent for a moment.
I had no idea why.
The anomalous phenomenon was handled, the fervent devotee scrapped—what could've been better?
But neither Yoo Euisul nor Ahn Soohee looked pleased.
"Let's head back to HQ first. Auntie, I'll handle the report, so you focus on getting treated."
"Aw, c'mon, don't be like that. I wanna come along and—"
"Shut up and get treated."
"I'm fine, really? It's not like my arm got blown off—just a little scrape."
"A scrape deep enough to show bone? You got a skull as thick as hers or what?"
Wait, why drag me into this?
I made an indignant face.
Ignoring me, Yoo Euisul and Ahn Soohee kept bickering.
Watching them, I thought.
Hmm.
Yoo Euisul really was just rude on the surface—deep down, she had a good heart.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ In the end, Ahn Soohee couldn't resist Yoo Euisul's half-threats and headed to the hospital instead of Awakener Association HQ.
Reporting the results at HQ fell to me and Yoo Euisul.
We made our way there, flesh orb in hand.
Yoo Euisul explained why Ahn Soohee's mind was still intact.
Her memories of the third terror had been erased.
"Probably 'cause you killed that fervent devotee."
"I didn't kill it."
"You said you did earlier."
"When? I clearly said 'scrapped'."
"Same difference."
"No, it's not."
"…You serious?"
"Yes."
"Noted. Tell me the details when we get there."
This was one of Yoo Euisul's good traits.
She basically had infinite trust in anything I said seriously.
Even if she didn't get it right away.
Anyone else would've snapped back with 'Don't play word games'.
I wasn't sure what Ahn Soohee had seen as her third terror, but with the memories gone, no trauma left either.
But.
"Why are my memories still intact, though? That fake Euisul unnie dying right in front of me is still crystal clear."
"How should I know? This is the first fervent devotee on record—no data means no judgments."
"Urgh…"
"Anyway, you really okay?"
"That's the tenth time you've asked."
So persistent, unlike her.
I'm fine.
Bluntly put, that fake Yoo Euisul's death?
"Felt like watching a slasher flick. Nothing more, nothing less. Might pop into my head later, but something I can just laugh off… That level?"
"You little shit, planning to laugh while I die?"
"That's not what I meant!"
As we bantered with Yoo Euisul, we arrived at Awakener Association HQ.
The moment we got there, we were dragged straight to a conference room.
Kim Junghwan and Scheduled Hwan were already waiting.
Wait a sec.
Thinking about it, these two had similar names—patient zero vibes.
Maybe Kim Junghwan was Scheduled Hwan's secret son or—
…Ah.
Different surnames.
Making stupid thoughts like that—guess today really wore me out.
Come to think of it, I hadn't had a proper sleep in over 30 hours.
No wonder I wasn't in my right mind.
The conference room's stiff atmosphere made my eyes droop the second I stepped in.
But I knew this incident was far from normal, so I reported the results enthusiastically alongside Yoo Euisul.
At least it wasn't in front of a dozen top brass.
Given the sensitivity, it was just the highest-up Scheduled Hwan, plus Kim Junghwan—who could discern truth from lies.
It hit me how crucial Kim Junghwan's role was in the Association.
Without him, everything I said could've been dismissed as bullshit.
"…This is bad."
"Real bad."
"We're fucked."
Scheduled Hwan, Kim Junghwan, Yoo Euisul—in that order.
Now I got why Yoo Euisul and Ahn Soohee had looked so grim earlier.
This situation was the absolute worst-case scenario for the Association.
A new threat called 'Fervent Devotees' popping up? Variable.
The devotee appearing alongside an anomalous phenomenon? Variable.
No items dropping? Variable.
And finally.
Me being a Fervent Devotee? Massive variable.
The whole incident was variables from start to finish—no wonder the Association was stumped.
The Association head, Scheduled Hwan, stroked his goatee thoughtfully.
Then he fixed his gaze on me and spoke.
"Miss Jia. I have a question for you."
"Yes."
"What are Fervent Devotees, and what is their goal?"
"Uh… Well, you see… Hmm…"
"If it's difficult to answer, feel free to decline."
"No, it's not that. It's just… hard to put into words."
I didn't fully know what Fervent Devotees were either.
Reflecting Myriad Stars hadn't explained it to me.
But.
Recalling my chats with the two I'd met so far.
I could sum it up like this.
Fervent Devotees were agents or avatars of gods—Great Beings.
Their purpose and reason for existing: solely to carry out their god's will.
And that will varied by god.
The 'Distorted Constellation' had its devotee create a black hole to warp space.
The 'Terror-Devourer' forced hunger on its devotee to feed on fear.
Reflecting Myriad Stars' case…
Was making me pursue intellectual desires right now.
One clear difference between me and the other devotees.
'Fervent Devotees are curious about other Fervent Devotees'.
'Anum - Jihad' made a deal with me to learn my true name.
'Nameless' threatened me for the same.
Different methods, but both obsessed with my true name.
Probably not their free will—the Great Beings' intent.
Meanwhile.
Reflecting Myriad Stars didn't demand info on other devotees.
If anything, seemed to dislike me encountering them.
A contradiction to 'pursuing intellectual desires'.
"I don't know why. That's why it's ambiguous."
"Hey. You sure you can just blurt that out to us?"
"No idea. But if I wasn't supposed to, Reflecting Myriad Stars would've judged me ages ago."
"…"
Scheduled Hwan seemed lost in thought again after my words.
He stared at me wordlessly.
His eyes seemed gentle.
Or hostile.
Eventually.
Scheduled Hwan grew serious and asked.
"Miss Jia. Are you—"
"Sorry to interrupt."
Who cut him off?
Good lord.
Kim Junghwan.
All eyes turned to him.
Kim Junghwan, sweating a bit, said.
"Miss Jia, you should head home soon."
"Why?"
"You didn't stream today. It's 10 PM now."
"No? I streamed from midnight to 1 AM."
"Miss Jia. It's currently Saturday 10 PM. Not Friday."
"What?"
"Based on what you shared, time flows differently inside that anomalous phenomenon."
At Kim Junghwan's words, I frantically checked my phone's date.
It was true.
Not Friday 10 PM.
Saturday 10 PM.
Meaning.
If I didn't start streaming in two hours.
I might not face the 'Myriad Stars fanart' from the cafe.
But the real Reflecting Myriad Stars one-on-one.
"Shit! I-I-I gotta go!"
I bolted from the conference room without answering Scheduled Hwan, racing home.
Screw answers.
I wasn't getting dragged to the Omnia Archive for a private chat with Reflecting Myriad Stars.