Chapter 140
Chapter 140
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 140
Chapter Title: Dokgo Gyeom
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So, after all that time we'd spent together through thick and thin, my mask was flying through the sky.
That means right now, what's on my face? Is my face exposed? Out of these hundreds of masks, is mine bare?
[You realize that there's nothing on your face. Your uncovered face is unbearably horrific and chilling. The madness lurking within you awakens, twisting your mind. Delirium is about to set in.]
No wonder those tentacles and weapons are drifting toward me so slowly.
You bastards, you think I'm just going to take this? I have to move somehow, or at least cast a spell to block them... But my body's moving awfully slow too. Come to think of it, what's going on here?
[System: Attempting resistance to delirium via Mental Strength stat.]
Ah, I get it now. This must be that thing where the world goes slow-motion right before you die. Even memories of my childhood are starting to flash by.
Nostalgic childhood memories. A playground full of colorful rides. My mother's voice calling from afar. Yeongcheol! Yeongcheol! Time to eat! Aw, Mom, just a little longer!
Wait, hold on.
My name isn't Yeongcheol. Who's Yeongcheol? Do I really have to die watching someone else's life flash before my eyes?!
[Mental Strength check...]
I'm dead! This time I'm really dead!
Whoa! Damn it! Is this how I go out!? Ah, Jang Hyeondeok! You should've warned me with some fun folktale from Sejong City!
[...Success.]
"I'm alive!"
Time, which had been crawling along, suddenly snaps back to normal speed.
Tentacles charging from all sides, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, tentacles, masks, masks, masks, masks, masks, masks, masks, masks, masks—calm down!
Technically, my face still has [Plundered Identity] and [Shadow Allure], so you could say I'm wearing a magical mask in a sense. That might be why I didn't go completely insane, but if you could just rationalize it away like that, it wouldn't be madness.
"My mask! Where's my mask!"
BOOM!
I must have triggered something.
My mind's so scattered I don't even know what spell I cast.
An explosion rips through, sending the surrounding cultists flying. Lucky I didn't go into delirium.
Difference between delirium and plain madness? In delirium, I can't control my own actions. Right now? I can control them... up to a point.
"Give me back my mask!"
It's just like when my rat phobia kicked in. I avoided delirium then too, so I could still fight, but my hatred and fear of rats were maxed out.
[Chains of Dominion]
Clink clink clink!
I leap into the air toward the severed head that smacked my face—the one-eyed mask from the Huanglin Church—and hurl my Chains of Dominion.
CRUNCH!
Can't control the force. Way too much physical power got thrown in. The severed head with the one-eyed mask shatters, brains, skull fragments, eyeballs, and all spraying everywhere. Ugh, it's a dead guy's head anyway, but still feels kinda bad.
Clink clink clink!
But the mask survived. Cracked and blood-soaked, filthy as hell, but I slap it right onto my face.
Squelch.
Sticky fluids, the stench of blood, bits of flesh still clinging to the inside.
The moment the mask covers my face, an overwhelming rush of pleasure hits me. At the same time, I realize just how far gone I am. Damn it. What the hell am I doing!
"It's all that guy's fault?"
There, in the distance—the three-eyed mask guy. No, but seriously, isn't that too much? Strategist type, squinting character, and now long-range DPS too?
And what's with that? Left-handed pitcher? Hey, must be nice having all those talents in one body. Why not split yourself up into pieces and share? Want me to help?
I dodge the swarming mutants and cultists, landing way back.
"Damn it, where's my mask?"
Not this fake one still dripping blood! My Carcosa mask!
Like a kid at a school festival spotting his mom's face in the crowd, I scan for my mask at top speed.
"There it is!"
I pour mana into the debris piled at my feet.
[Gravity Field]
Whiiiirrr!!!
Debris shoots into the sky, defying physics.
"Argh! Dodge!"
"Run!"
The cultists figure out what I'm doing and start screaming and fleeing. I swing my arms, hurling the debris at the three-eyed bastard.
KABOOM!!
And between him and me are all those pesky mutants. Take it full-on, you lot!
The mutants swept up in the massive debris get pulverized on the spot, hurtling toward three-eyes along with the chunks.
KRAKOOM!!
Three-eyes doesn't even scream before getting buried under debris and mutant corpses—
'—not dead, huh. Tough bastard.'
Mana's weakened, but he's still alive. Hopefully, this is the last I see of him after today.
I tweak part of the gravity field to pluck the Carcosa mask from the debris.
Try to put it back on... but I can't! The strap for my head snapped.
The mask itself is fine, but no way to wear it right now.
"Damn it!"
In the end, I stuff the Carcosa mask into my robes and check the gallery. Dokgo Gyeom's got some judge by the collar. Nominally equals, but Dokgo Gyeom's laying into the guy with heated fury.
Is that the bastard who magicked me earlier? Yeah, hit him harder!
"Anyway, no more hiding now."
"This timing's perfect."
Thanks to Dokgo Gyeom, no judges are watching this way. Time to show my true colors.
I activate one of my prepped markings.
[Chains of Dominion]
Clink clink clink!
The chains snake through the debris on the floor, moving stealthily.
First target: that monster hunter collapsed on the ground.
The guy who was out cold rises as commanded from before.
He raises his hands, performing the impossible miracle.
[Crown of the Earth]
RUMBLE RUMBLE!!
A massive shockwave and violent earthquake. Eons of geological history compress into seconds.
CRASH CRASH CRASH!!
The polished marble floor cracks, blade-like stone pillars thrusting skyward. I pour in more mana.
Way more than intended, and bigger!
RUMBLE!!
Giant pillars erupt around him. Not just one or two—the Crown of the Earth forms in full.
Unignorable chaos. The judges finally look over, aghast.
"What the—?!"
"Why's that guy using something like that?!"
Judges aren't blind. I had to strike when their attention was split to hide that I'm the one casting.
And the second.
Clink clink!!
Where's it extending? Ah, there.
Wolf-mask shaman. Just because you're a [Wanderer of the Winds] cultist doesn't mean you only handle ice and cold, right?
I force the wolf-mask's body into a dance. Form: plague. And countless death-brethren.
[Insect Storm]
[Spell Enhancement: Deadly Poison]
Bzzzz...
Bzzzzzzzz...
A colossal swarm pours from his ragged sleeves.
Not just "a lot." Every bug in this space summoned. Enough to blanket the entire vast hall in black horror, spreading at insane speed.
"Still not enough. More!"
I dump excess mana, spawning even more bugs.
Bzzzzzzzz...
"What is this? What's happening?!"
Ah, cheap witch. You've got your role too. But why are you still awake?
Crackle!
"Kyaa!"
I zap her with lightning while she's off-guard, knocking her out. Can't control the conscious. Her body soon sprouts massive thorn-vines.
CRUNCH!!
Cracks spiderweb across the entire venue. Part of the gallery collapses, raining down.
Next spell. Chef, mind handling the fire?
[Hellfire]
[Spell Enhancement: Deadly Poison]
WHOOSH!!!
Fire was already burning, but this is next level. Flames spread at ferocious speed, birthing pitch-black smoke laced with lethal toxin.
"What the hell's going on?!"
"Something's wrong! Someone's interfering!"
"Who is it? Our guys are using weird powers!"
Finally, a few judges leap from the gallery.
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions everywhere. Real monsters charging with varied powers.
[Thunder Field]
CRACKLE CRACKLE!!!
"Urk! Who is it!?"
"Too much interference! Those bugs! They're burning and flying!"
Rocks, thorns, bugs, poison, fire, smoke, now lightning.
Layered barriers. Even judges can't break through easily.
And even if they do, can they find me?
Oh, right—Akhilles! How much longer you gonna stall?
I send out another tendril of awareness and sight.
"Where are you now? Ah, got it? Good! Drop 'em!"
CRASH!
It's beyond a masquerade now—a total mess. Already max chaos, but a massive, ominous roar drowns it all.
KABOOM! BOOM! KRAAAK!!
Location: the ceiling.
"Ceiling! Look!"
"The ceiling's collapsing!"
The ceiling shatters. Structural beams turn to huge debris, pouring down.
CRASH CRASH CRASH!
Avalanche of rubble and collapse.
"Dodge!" "Run!" "Help!" "Get lost!" "Move!" "What is this!?"
But it's not over. The culprits who wrecked the ceiling come crashing in.
"Argh! What are those!? What the hell!?"
Dozens of massive horror-birds, shantaks.
"KYAAAHHH!!!"
"KWEEEERK!!"
"KYARRRRK!!"
Perfect. Done.
Just grab the box and bail, and today's agenda is cleared.
"Over 30 at least."
Missed a few, but plenty. One alone spans floor to ceiling.
"KYAHAHA!!"
"KEEEEERK!"
Absurd sight.
Over 30 colossal shantaks crammed in a human-made structure, writhing and tangling.
The scene alone is mythic shock—no, awe-inspiring. Living storm of wings, feathers, and madness.
"Impossible!"
"Escape! Can't stop this!"
"Block them!"
"Why didn't anyone foresee this!?"
Great mood. Even the judges who were enjoying the show can't process the shift, plunged into chaos.
[An astonishing spectacle. You've gathered shantaks scattered across Paju and herded them into the masquerade hall. You've deliberately inserted yourself into the center of awareness. You've seized everyone's gaze in the hall, and while unnoticed, spread your influence to nullify their senses. Even the masquerade's vaunted judges have been perfectly fooled.]
Message window. Been quiet, now yapping away.
"Don't block my view, get lost!"
Rumble!
I gather the grudges of circling specters and smack the message window.
[But your mind faces this horrific spectacle you've created...]
[System: 'Abyssal Madness' trait activates. Nullifies fear effect.]
Crackle!
Horrific spectacle my ass. Looks exciting to me.
"It's Dokgo Gyeom! Dokgo Gyeom trapped us!"
"What?!"
"How else did we miss these monsters!"
Yeah, good. Divide, fight, suspect.
Crack! Crash crackle!!
Walls crack, ceiling crumbles.
RUMBLE!!
Thunderous roar. The whole building starts collapsing.
"You idiots!!!"
But Dokgo Gyeom's bellow drowns it.
"What the—!"
Rumble!!
Just said "thunderous," right?
Real thunder erupts from Dokgo Gyeom's hand. He grabs the head of a massive charging shantak.
"Gyaaa! GYYYAAA!!"
Dokgo Gyeom's only a fifth its size.
The huge shantak thrashes wildly, but can't escape his claw-grip.
"Judges? Pumped you up a bit and you strut around! Freaking out over this crap!?"
Crunch crunch!
He rips it apart with both hands—shantak head splits in two.
Spluuurt!
Blood cascades like a waterfall.
From the shattered skull, a brain bigger than Dokgo Gyeom spills out.
Drenched head to toe in blood and brains, he's pure demon.
"Whoever ruined my festival—you dog! I'll catch and kill you! No, not enough! I'll pull out what's in your skull and make you live forever!"
Guy with lots of Mi-go pals can make threats like that.