Chapter 133
Chapter 133
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 133
Chapter Title: Feast of Madness
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“Seriously, that party…… you mean? And it’s happening here? On a spaceship?”
Jang Hyun-deok stared at the massive building in front of him with a baffled expression.
“Spaceship?”
Wondering what nonsense he was spouting, I looked up at the structure.
It was a building designed like three enormous, streamlined domes stuck together.
The metallic silver finish made it gleam, so yeah, it did look like something you could call a spaceship.
“Right.”
“At this hour?”
It was 3 a.m. No time for events or parties.
“I’m telling you, yes.”
“Wearing those masks, weird hanbok, swords at the waist, heading to a party? At this time of night, in a place like…… that? New politics, commissions?”
What commissions?
“Sejong Government Complex. And that’s the Sejong Government Complex Gymnasium.”
“Oh, right. That new government complex—”
I had no idea what he thought he knew, but Jang Hyun-deok nodded confidently and continued.
“—looks like some seriously shady event’s going down, huh? Usually, this setup means a secret party or something.”
“Secret, yeah.”
“And they’re doing it out in the open like that? People in Sejong City blind or what?”
He was looking at the area around the gymnasium entrance.
Streetlights and night lighting were installed nearby, but for some reason, they were all turned off, making it pitch dark.
Peer into that darkness, though, and you’d spot a red carpet laid out, absurd as that sounds.
At the entrance stood a perfectly attired usher in a tuxedo.
“Even with eyes, no one can see this area. At least not tonight.”
“Eh? Why not?”
“If I wasn’t in this car, we couldn’t have even gotten close.”
“Whoa…….”
I pulled Dokgo Gyeom’s invitation from my pocket and showed it to Jang Hyun-deok.
Dokgo Gyeom might be nuts, but he didn’t infuse this invite with mana just to show off.
“The enchantment on this invite…… nah, forget it. It’s basically a high-pass card. We passed the gate without even noticing.”
“Hmm? You switched up midway ’cause you thought I wouldn’t get it? I might’ve understood.”
“……No, I wanted to say high-pass from the start.”
Luckily, Jang Hyun-deok lost interest quick.
“Anyway, this has gotta be one of the weirdest spots I’ve ferried fixers to. Honestly, even…… that black market? Wasn’t this level of quirky taste.”
“If we’re talking danger, this is a hundred times worse than the black market.”
The black market was at least for humans. This was a party for cultists, lunatics, and the abyssal beings that cradled them.
“Alright, chit-chat’s over. Time to get out.”
I pulled my hoodie all the way up and activated the Night Shroud Wingcloak’s cloaking function.
[Shadow Bewitchment]
Bzzzz……
The cloak’s black hems spread wide, turning into black liquid—or shadow itself—engulfing my entire body.
For a moment, I became a faint-edged silhouette of pure darkness.
Then I cast another spell over it.
[Plundered Identity]
Giiiing……
A new form took shape over the hazy outline.
No need for a drastic change in appearance, so it stayed mostly like my old self. Just the mask on my face switched to a totally different design.
A grotesque silver mask mimicking a dead man’s face, like the [Dead Man’s Mask] from the House of Hunger.
Of course, it was just the shape; the real Dead Man’s Mask was still back at the manor, wired as a terminal to control the lich golems.
Jang Hyun-deok, watching the whole process, whistled in admiration.
“So what about me? Hate to head back empty-handed. Should I wait? Waiting time’s billable, though.”
Ah, good, he suggested it first. I’d planned around him sticking around anyway.
“Sounds good. But it’s risky here, so head into the city and kill time.”
“Works for me.”
“But.”
“But?”
“Take Achilles with you. And instructions: Go wherever in Sejong City, but don’t leave the city limits.”
“What happens if I do?”
“The connection snaps, Achilles goes on alert, and snaps your neck.”
Lie. But with this guy’s personality, I had to spell it out or he might wander off.
“……How many km before it cuts?”
“No clue. Depends on my condition and local mana density.”
Moon position, star alignments, humidity, airborne particles, terrain—too many factors.
That’s why in the bunker thick with the Smiler’s mana, I couldn’t hold it at 10 meters, but in open fields, it reached dozens of kilometers.
“Anyway, it’s dangerous here too…… yeah, see those apartments way over there? Park around there. Should reach that far.”
“You sure it’s fine? And this fake dog feels off somehow.”
Achilles in the back seat sat utterly still, unlike usual.
Looked like some modern art piece: trash compacted into a dog shape.
‘Well, it is trash compacted into a dog shape.’
Jang Hyun-deok couldn’t see it, but Achilles was busy crunching complex calculations I’d programmed.
“Running a few spells through Achilles, that’s why.”
“Again with the ‘magic!’ cop-out at the perfect moment.”
“What, you think you’d get it if I explained?”
“Uh?”
“Nah, forget it. Drop it! Please, just stop nitpicking!”
“Fine, fine.”
“Anyway, Achilles is busy, so watch your back.”
“Hmm, apartment complex should be safe from trouble.”
“Hmm.”
I said that, but Jang Hyun-deok was a key asset I needed alive. And if the spells Achilles maintained dropped, my whole plan crumbled……
[Protection Ward]
[Faint Presence]
[Ghost Step]
[Tindalos Husk]
I cast them on Jang Hyun-deok and his car. Connections could glitch unexpectedly, so I sacrificed a few high-purity magestones as backup mana batteries.
“Those magestones look super pure. Pricey, right?”
“Poof—there goes all the cash from chasing that bird earlier.”
“Hic?”
Specifically, 120 million. Had to cut Jang Hyun-deok in, so I was already in the red.
Money was piling up anyway; I could always make more.
But a spirit medium with [Living Altar] traits and S-rank artifact-infused lich golems? Those you couldn’t buy.
“See ya later.”
“Hey, hold up.”
“Yeah?”
Time to clear up something I’d been suspicious about.
“Any urban legends or ghost stories tied to Sejong City?”
“Huh? None that I know.”
“Yeah?”
Jang Hyun-deok often dropped weird local legends whenever we headed somewhere. Thought it was just talk at first, but it kept happening—too suspicious.
‘Every time he spouts that crap, some beggar-level bullshit goes down.’
Nothing today, though. Sign no curveballs? Hope so.
Still too early to relax. Maybe conditions just weren’t met.
Jang Hyun-deok’s car sped off right after dropping me.
I walked the red carpet slow, scanning around.
‘Man, their half-assed hiding makes ’em stand out more.’
Sticky gazes from all sides.
Artificial shadows scattered around the massive gymnasium.
High-caliber mana signatures lurking in them.
Some even clung to the roof or walls.
Guards posted to block intruders.
‘Seeing these guys brings back that gamer rage from playthroughs.’
Normally, to crash the event, you’d stealth past ’em—crouching, sneaking.
Step wrong, instant-death trap. Climb the outer wall, fall, splat—dead. Gym’s huge size ate resources, so bugs everywhere.
‘But with the invite, I stroll right in.’
Heh heh heh…… skipping that bullshit already felt good.
At the carpet’s end, an old gent in an impeccably tailored tux checked invitations.
“Need assistance?”
Oops, got lost in thought too long.
The sharp-dressed old man—masquerade doorman—addressed me.
I silently pulled out Dokgo Gyeom’s invite and showed it.
Cute postcard with a purple bear, but looks didn’t matter. Dokgo Gyeom’s mana lingered, ritually infused.
The doorman recognized it and bowed politely.
“Thank you for coming such a long way.”
“Can I go in?”
“Yes, follow the carpet straight ahead.”
“Got it.”
I walked past slow. No tension? Lie. But it went smooth as expected.
‘Alright, cleared so far.’
I’d prepped max after similar trouble at Cheon Geum-dang.
Too tangled with abyssal beings—reeking of too many cults for a single disguise.
[King in Yellow], [He Who Comes from the Dark], [Living Flame]……
Night Shroud Wingcloak fixed that.
Shallow illusion like [Plundered Identity] wouldn’t cut it, but the cloak’s [Shadow Bewitchment] gave killer buffs.
‘No L-rank artifact or abyssal being’s piercing my identity.’
Even if they did, so what?
My mana core held a shard of [He Who Comes from the Dark]. Close enough ties to the House of Hunger to bluff.
So I masked other auras, amplifying just that one.
‘This disguise should hold.’
No way they’d post randos with this event’s sensitivity. Even the handpicked doorman missed it.
Inside the gymnasium, the path split two ways.
One straight to the front door.
The other up stairs.
Guide? A woman in a tux appeared, sweeping back her flowing hair with an annoyed drawl.
“Welcome. Please confirm where from and who you are.”
Weird speech pattern. Overdone roleplay.
Made sense—special night. Chapter’s main villain, mid-boss tier goons all gathered.
I’d run into these types all day. Quick intros, quirky flair, then gone forever after.
“Delegate from the House of Hunger.”
“House of Hunger…….”
She flipped papers, checked something, continued.
“Your name?”
“Heo Sang-hyeon.”
Still that half-assed slur at the end.
She glanced up from her papers.
Brief silence.
“Confirmed, thank you. Head straight ahead.”
No issues, as expected.
Aren’t masks for hiding identities? Why names?
‘Eh, Dokgo Gyeom’s whims anyway.’
Nutter’s party—nitpick details, I just get tired.
Anyway, first floor?
Delegates—direct disciples—ground level.
Judges—VIPs—up to second.
Creaaaaak……
The heavy door swung open, revealing the feast of madness prepared for the cultists.