Chapter 12
Chapter 12
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: Lee Chang-hyuk
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But even this was within expectations, so I just crossed my arms and watched.
Bang! Bang! Rat-a-tat-tat!
Bullets sprayed wildly. A deafening racket.
But the shots he fired hit the ceiling, floor, and walls just like before, embedding harmlessly.
Click! Click!
The empty click of the trigger echoed for a moment before falling silent.
"What... what the hell is that...?"
For the first time, he looked truly shocked, his face twisted in horror. His movements froze.
Of course, a perfect opening! I could’ve dropped him with a spell right then, but... as payment for helping me test my magic, I decided to show a little mercy.
"Sound Distortion, followed by Distortion Field. The first warps your voice, the second bends ranged attacks."
"You... what are you? Who the hell..."
"Can't you tell? I'm a wizard."
"N-no! That's why—a high-rank wizard like you, messing with a nobody like me..."
I'm not exactly high-rank... Well, magic like this is new to him, so I guess that's fair.
But my kindness ends here.
I reached out, summoning a new spell. No more explanations—time to take him down.
"[Lightning]."
Crackle! Zzzap zap zap!
A zero-circle spell. It just generates electricity—normally a few sparks for a mild shock. But...
My overwhelming mana turned the bolt into a Tesla coil's arc, dancing in brilliant fury.
"You crazy fuck!"
Seeing the blazing white lightning, he snapped out of his daze, bared his teeth, and hunkered down.
I was blocking the door. No running.
Alright then.
Let's try to knock him out without killing him...
Crackle-zap!
"Arrrrghhh!"
The searing white electricity slammed into him.
Mid-scream, he poured mana from his entire body in resistance.
He took the pain and damage but held on somehow. Tough bastard. What a constitution. Still...
One more oughta do it.
"Urgh... ngh... you think I'll go down like this?!"
"Nah. Not killing you, so don't die—just come quietly. Easier for everyone."
"Ha! You drag me to those assholes, and what? Death or lab rat!"
"You know it well. Smart guy like you stole from that psycho corp?"
"Better this... than that—die with me, asshole!"
He channeled mana into his arm and hurled the bag.
Hey, easy—that'll—
Crunch!
—break it. The bag shattered.
A milky white, grotesque lump of meat spilled out, fist-sized, like two balled fists mashed together. It writhed in an unnatural rhythm.
In that split second.
My hyper-intellect recalled exactly what it was.
[Black Goat's Fluid].
Fuck! Why the hell now!?
It flowed like slime—sticky, pliable. Lee Chang-hyuk's face filled with confusion at the sight.
"W-what is this?"
"You moron! You pulled that out without knowing what it is?!"
"What?!"
"Chuck it, idiot!"
Shit—too late.
While that dumbass stalled, the white lump rocketed toward his face.
It fused in a flash, engulfing his head.
A gut-wrenching scream erupted from Lee Chang-hyuk.
"Arrrrghhh!"
The flesh merged seamlessly, and everything warped in an instant. The horrific change began.
His body swelled, shredding his clothes.
Human form dissolved as beastly features bloomed.
What should’ve been there crumbled away, smashed to ruin.
What never should’ve been sprouted, swelled, erupted.
Reverse-jointed legs tipped with sturdy hooves.
Brown fur sprouting everywhere, arms elongating to knee-length.
A beast-muzzle stretched long, eerie pupils slit wide horizontally.
A pair of curling horns unfurled.
A grotesque fusion of goat and man's foulest traits.
The sinister, blasphemous shape humanity had long imagined as the devil.
Lee Chang-hyuk had become a half-man, half-beast abomination draped in goat's hide.
One human crushed, reborn as monster. An unpleasant probe wormed into my skull, but it faded fast.
Abyssal madness shielded my mind from the sight.
A half-human beastkin, like mythic satyrs or Satan.
Vassal of a great and supreme outer god.
The doom of any mortal who accepts another realm's "blessing."
No longer human—a monster!
In [Cthulhu World], they're lumped together as [Mutants].
"Didn't wanna die, huh? So you quit being human?"
The "grace" of the abyssal [Black Goat].
True name: [Black Goat of the Woods with a Thousand Young].
King of the Black Forest.
True Mother of the Earth.
Mistress of All Life.
Walker Behind the Veil.
The black goat herding a thousand spawn.
One of the mightiest, most infamous abyssal entities in the Cthulhu mythos.
She's called a goddess of life's creation and growth, but not some nurturing earth mother.
She's the monster who birthed countless horrors. Her empowered fluids remake humans with new flesh—and power.
Lee Chang-hyuk's transformation? The "blessing" of Shub-Niggurath, goddess of madness and abundance.
In plain terms: her fluids turn people into monsters.
"Grraaaaaah!"
The newly monstrous Lee Chang-hyuk bellowed.
Now a hulking brute over two meters tall, he pawed the ground, horns lowered. Oh? Round two?
He kicked off, charging.
Boom!!
Hooves cratered the floor as he launched. A direct hit would've pulped a human body like tissue.
[Protection Ward]
[Spell Enhancement: Maximize]
[Spell Enhancement: Multiple Cast]
Three wards stacked firm, but the impact hammered through.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
I felt them buckling. The outer one shattered outright.
'Can I even handle this at my level?'
Level 10 now. Mutants start at 30-plus to even scrap with.
Smart move: run, assess. But crisis sharpened my mind instead.
'Feels doable.'
My magic defies level caps anyway. Perfect test run.
Mana surged into the straining wards as I prepped fresh spells.
[Fireball]
Fwoosh! Kabloom!
A blazing orb detonated point-blank. Lee Chang-hyuk rocketed backward.
Scorching waves rolled in. My [Fire Resistance] shrugged it off, but the mask...
I patted it—dented from the flash heat. Damn it!
Mask scratched worse than a guy mutating before my eyes. Pulse spiked.
Still just nerves—no madness trigger yet.
"Grrrrrr...."
Fur charred black across his body, but he wasn't slowed.
'Fire resist already?'
Fine—plenty of other elements.
[Breath of Ra]
Yellow acidic mist lanced out.
Arms shielded his face, but flesh tore and bled in seconds.
"Graaaak!"
Flesh sloughing off in agony, yet his fight raged on.
Beast-brain now, wilder than ever.
He snatched the nearby bed and flung it at me.
Sight blocked for a beat. A bed? What're you gonna do, tuck me in?
[Mana Bolt]
[Spell Enhancement: Multiple Cast]
Glowing orbs materialized around me.
Mini magic circles hovered on my palms, aiding the multi-cast math.
Basic spell—fantasy games' "Magic Missile" tier.
Weak solo, but thirty? Game-changer.
Pew-pew-pew-pew-pew!
Like unleashing an MLRS barrage. Light trails streaked everywhere.
Kablooey-kablooey-kablooey!
The airborne bed shredded mid-flight; survivors pelted him.
"Grweeeeeek!"
[Create: Pure Water]
[Torrent]
Mana abundance turns parlor tricks lethal.
Water erupted omnidirectionally, blasting him with crushing pressure.
Sploooosh-boom!
Arms up in guard, but they wrenched aside instantly.
Horns snapped under the jet; room fixtures exploded.
Screams silenced, Lee Chang-hyuk tumbled like driftwood, slammed into the wall by raging waves.
Thud! Craaack!
His bulk plus deluge split the motel’s outer wall.
"Huh?"
Knew the place was a dump, but this?
Crunch! Rumble!! Boom!!
Wall caved—no contest. Night sky yawned open.
Debris, floodwaters, and the massive goat-thing cascaded onto Paju's main drag.
"Eeeeek!"
"Hiii!"
"Why the street-side wall?"
Peering out: pandemonium.
Pale, frozen stares. Face-clawing frenzy. Head-clutching shrieks. Asphalt-head-rubbing. Blind wall-crashing dashes. Sudden puking crouches. Random pistol sprays.
Paju's night strip drowned in brainless madness and formless chaos.
I'd aimed to wrap this quiet.
"Whoops. Didn't peg the wall for a weak point."
Human minds are fragile.
Extrareality slams them with trauma.
Dark, heavy—scalding yet icy—bores inward.
Nauseating, repulsive, vile sludge invades the skull.
Alien solidity, grotesque horror gnaws frail brains.
Skin-itch from inside. Eye-sting behind the orb. Skull-tickle within.
Overwhelmed, psyches spawn protective delusions.
Even in a world of freaky psychics, shady wizards, mutant freaks—this happens.
Transcendents' foul auras batter souls, forcing "enlightenment."
That black-goat-spawned mutant? Its mere presence shatters minds.
—Grraaaaaah!!
Crash! Boom-boom-boom!
Deafening roar outside. Huh? Still kicking?
Spell-battered and broken-willed, Lee Chang-hyuk unleashed a mana-charged bellow and bolted down the alley.
Beast-shaped now, but radiating fear of me.
Fine—go out in style.