Chapter 52
Chapter 52
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 52
Chapter Title: Portrait of the Mad Woman - (Complete)
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I couldn't make sense of it.
According to the wiki, after making eye contact with that Portrait of the Mad Woman...
The hallucinations needed to persist for at least three minutes before the crawling background would escape the painting.
Squirm.
Squirm, squirm.
Why were the crawling tentacles already trying to break free from the painting after just thirty seconds?
It defied the wiki's description entirely.
In other words...
This was an affront to the great Omnia Archive wiki.
And it was a hallucination.
Hmm, looks like the hallucinations have kicked in.
So all I have to do is hold out without losing my mind for the next five minutes, right?
>Easier than I thought.
My mind's still sharp, and the auditory and visual hallucinations are manageable...
"Look at me, look at me, look, look, me, me, look, look at me, meet my eyes, and die, die, die, abyss's darkness, me, me..."
Squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm
Nope, scratch that.
This is not easy at all.
I'm already losing it.
Who's the crazy one here?
The real psycho bitch is right there, inside the painting.
Why does that lunatic have to talk so damn much?
It was deafening enough to rupture eardrums, but the visual assault was on another level too.
The hallucination of the crawling background was so repulsive that it'd be better to watch tactical nuke terror memes on the internet.
Dozens, hundreds of bloodshot eyes bulged from the tentacles.
And from those hundreds of eyes, tears of every color streamed down.
Red.
Blue.
Sky blue.
What is this, a rainbow?
Slash!
Slash!
The tentacles whipped like lashes.
Each swing gouged the earth.
Even knowing it was a hallucination, the fear was just as real.
...No matter how tough my body is, getting hit by those whips wouldn't leave me unscathed.
The whips drew closer.
I urgently asked Yoo Euisul.
"How many seconds?"
"72 seconds. Not even three minutes yet. I don't know what you're seeing, but it's a hallucination. Focus."
Squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm squirm.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
"Thewomanoftherockmadefathershameherselfasinnercomeforthandmeetmygazeandthusthewomanshaltmeetmygazereceivejudgmentforthecrimesthouhastcommittedfacetheresultshumblycomeforthandmeetmygazerepent..."
"Argh, fuck! I can't understand a single word you're saying, you crazy bitch!"
What the hell is this cult prayer bullshit?
And you think you're the only one who prays?
I can worship too.
"Reflecting Myriad Stars, if you have any conscience, refute that mad bitch logically, and please blunt the tentacles she's summoned, and..."
Sure enough.
Kneeling on the dirt and praying devoutly must've done the trick.
My mind felt at ease.
But the hallucinations didn't vanish with prayer.
The tentacles closed in.
Was it the grace of Reflecting Myriad Stars sharpening my mind after the prayer?
Or had my racial trait as a Fervent Devotee, compelled to endlessly pursue knowledge, activated unconsciously?
My brain raced.
Hallucinations...
Counter with hallucinations.
"Reflecting Myriad Stars Shield!"
I'd just blurted out nonsense.
But the Reflecting Myriad Stars Shield from my imagination manifested boldly before my eyes, perfectly blocking the crawling tentacle whips.
This is real.
It has to be the grace of Reflecting Myriad Stars.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Until the crawling background emerged...
Yoo Euisul had nothing to do.
Not that she literally had nothing—she truly had to just stand and wait.
What a waste of time.
So for the three minutes until the crawling background appeared...
"Reflecting Myriad Stars, judge that mad bitch, and..."
She let Lee Jia's prayers serve as BGM and sank into thought.
She had boldly assured her that even if her mind completely shattered, it could be fixed later.
But fully restoring a person's psyche wasn't easy, even with the Awakener Association's items and ability users.
Yoo Euisul was a veteran Awakener entering her tenth year.
After a decade in the field, she knew countless Awakeners.
Among them, more than ten had their minds utterly broken by Anomalous Phenomena.
Of course, what she'd told Lee Jia wasn't false reassurance.
Items that restored sanity existed—that was true.
Awakeners who could heal minds existed—that was true too.
In fact, those dozen or so Awakeners whose minds had collapsed...
Had all fully recovered within three months at most, thanks to items and abilities.
Yoo Euisul was a cold lone wolf who rarely cared about others, so her info was reliable...
'Scheduled Hwan, that old monster, went completely insane once too. Items and abilities can restore the mind—that much is certain.'
This wasn't hearsay.
She'd witnessed it herself.
She'd seen Scheduled Hwan's mind crumble in real time.
And a month later, she'd seen it restored.
So, when weighing if restoring a mind was possible or not, the answer was possible.
Based on past cases, 100% possible.
The problem was...
That rude pink-haired big-tits brat.
Lee Jia's complicated circumstances.
Yoo Euisul was one of the few who knew Lee Jia's unspeakable secret.
She had to stream at least once a day.
And analyze Anomalous Phenomena and items at least once a month.
Failing these duties...
Killed her. Or rather, "disposed" her, from what she'd heard.
Same difference.
This was confirmed by Kim Junghwan, whose ability discerned truth from lies.
Recovery times varied, but minimum one month, up to three.
'It took exactly one month for that monster uncle's mind to recover... So for her, at least two months.'
Tricky.
Streaming? Fine.
She wasn't a cam streamer; she was a VTuber using an avatar.
Yoo Euisul could just log into her account and boot up a one-minute silent stream.
...Whether her god would accept such a cheap workaround was questionable.
But better than nothing.
Streaming aside.
The real issue was using her ability on Anomalous Phenomena and items monthly.
No workaround for that.
Conclusion:
1. Lee Jia's mind will shatter—her wiki doesn't lie.
2. Fail to restore it within two months, she dies.
Two months, not one—this month's duty just done.
Two months.
Mobilize her network fully? Worth a shot.
...She had no real network, though.
No connections, but power? Yes.
Pressure Scheduled Hwan and the Association with her influence, rally all mental healing items and ability users.
Cure her in two months.
If not, make it happen.
Yoo Euisul's motto.
Reckless without a plan.
But that mindset made her the top Awakener.
Thus...
For the first time in ages, Yoo Euisul felt anxiety.
A novel emotion for her.
How long since she'd worried for someone else? Even she wondered.
>But then...
Something unexpected happened.
By the wiki's info...
Lee Jia's mind should've been crumbling by now.
"Reflecting Myriad Stars Shield! Holy barrier, power of mirrors! Reflect, rainbow reflect, whatever, noob reflect!"
Why was her mind still intact?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Three minutes passed.
As if she'd been waiting, Yoo Euisul began slicing the tentacles with flashy swordplay.
This was no hallucination—real phenomenon.
Around four minutes thirty seconds...
"Look at... me... look... me..."
The auditory hallucinations noticeably weakened.
My summoned Reflecting Myriad Stars Shield had faded to invisibility, so the visuals had weakened too.
In other words...
Those tentacles Yoo Euisul was slashing were real.
Five minutes.
Exactly five...
"GyaAAAAAHH!"
I screamed at the top of my lungs.
And for good reason.
"Tentacle! A fucking massive tentacle appeared AAAHHH!"
An absurdly gigantic tentacle burst from the portrait.
So huge it blotted the sky, eclipsing the moonlight.
Last gasp?
"Th-this isn't a hallucination, right?"
Hallucinations had weakened, so no—but I wanted it to be.
It was that terrifyingly enormous.
The tentacle reached for me.
"Uh."
Then...
Yoo Euisul replied.
Slash!
With that sound, the building-sized tentacle split perfectly in half.
Yoo Euisul sheathed her sword, Iron Sword No. 3, and said calmly.
"Not a hallucination."
>
>
>...
...
>...
>...
With that massive tentacle felled, no more crawling background escaped the painting.
As the wiki described.
The Portrait of the Mad Woman had become a beautiful woman's portrait.
Thus...
The Anomalous Phenomenon was resolved.
Temporarily, not permanently.
But resolved nonetheless.
Twenty minutes walk to Association HQ, eight if running.
Limit: thirty minutes.
Plenty of time.
Per Yoo Euisul, opaque cloths abounded there.
We prioritized recovering the painting over the item, heading back.
Ah.
First...
"...What are you doing?"
"Gratitude prayer."
Got to do what needs doing.
Don't doubt it.
Okay, I doubted a bit.
But today, it feels like true grace was bestowed.
I genuinely feel thankful.
Myriad amen.