Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: Shadows of Insoo Village (8)
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A faint song filtered through Little Red's mind, reaching me indirectly. It was undoubtedly beautiful, but to a human like me, it felt chilling and alien enough to send shivers down my spine.
It seemed to sound different to the people of the sea, though.
Something strange happened to the deep sea hybrids gathered in the warehouse.
A brief silence.
『H- OO- H- OO- OOO-』
"Grulk, I can hear the waves."
"Gruk, gruk. This nostalgic feeling..."
Then came the murmurs.
"It's coming. Gruk, grulk. I have to go."
"Grulk, to the great Dragon King's sea..."
"Ooh... grrulk, grr..."
"Gruk, gruk, grukgrr..."
The tone stirred their instincts as deep sea folk, drawing them in.
"Grulk, grulk."
"Gruk, gruk. Grulk."
No more human words were audible. They forgot human speech, emitting only grotesque throat noises as they wandered forward with vacant expressions.
Following the song of the waves that called them, trailing the red beast wielding Dagon's magic, they moved slowly.
"Someone needs to open the door for them."
They had probably even forgotten how to open a door. No need to hide anymore. I approached the warehouse and opened the door for them.
Drurruk-
『OOO- OO- H- 』
"Grulk- grulk-"
"Grrul- gruk- grulk-"
"Gruk - gruk- gruk-"
No different from a pack of summer frogs. They kept walking through the open door.
"Good, Little Red. Fly off to some distant dump."
No, that's too complicated.
"Little Red, follow the moon and fly away."
I couldn't see the moon, but Little Red instinctively sensed the lunar essence.
Fwoosh-
Deep sea hybrids croaking like frogs as they walked, and Little Red flying after the moon.
I watched them vanish into the fog, then severed my connection with Little Red.
"It won't last long."
Blinking my left eye repeatedly to adjust to my returning vision, I entered the warehouse.
"Hmm, impressive."
A massive galleon.
It had a different majesty up close than through Little Red's eyes. They'd built something utterly ridiculous.
This ship was made based on deep sea knowledge, clearly for ritualistic purposes.
"From the looks of it, it's connected to the local ley lines."
That explained the polluted natural surroundings. Rotting humidity and Dagon's magic played a part, but this ship was sucking up all the earth's energy nearby. Was that why the water outside the village had dried up?
Extending my senses, I detected an enormous quantity of magic stones inside the ship. The power source? The ship itself was valuable, but pulling out those magic stones would net a fortune.
"I have plenty of magic stones myself."
The ones I'd collected were all stored inside Dolly. The ones from Cheongho's air defense bunker and... those taken from that bone guy.
That skeleton in the starving mansion. What was his name? Damn.
My forgotten memories and unforgotten ones were swapping places.
When did this start? Just saying Dagon's name cause this?
No, not there. A bit earlier.
'Was it the seizure I had after seeing that thing on the village outskirts?'
Yeah. That's when the amnesia symptoms shifted.
My head filled with pitch-black, greedy seawater.
That was the image that came to mind when I first noticed the memory loss.
Continuing the metaphor, my head now was...
'Seething, churning seawater in total chaos.'
The newly triggered turmoil had stirred the once-calm sea.
Memories sunk in the black depths rose to the surface, mixing with current ones.
But the swirling water swallowed others.
'What happens if this worsens?'
Kim Shin-hwa forgetting everything outside Insoo Village? Or something even more horrific?
Either way, time was short.
I had to fix this before forgetting something crucial.
"No time for other thoughts."
Memories were fading faster. But new ones were surfacing too.
'The worst scenario during the ritual would be that... right?'
'I can overcome that using the ship the deep sea folk made for Dagon.'
'But to use the ship, I need to prepare things in advance...'
'Hmm, future Kim Shin-hwa will figure it out as a pro.'
Past Kim Shin-hwa's intentions resurfaced.
"Seriously, how do you make such a half-baked plan?"
If the lost memories didn't resurface at the right time.
Or if I'd been too late and forgotten more, it would've been impossible.
I could even forget I'm a wizard.
Well, no choice back then.
Past Kim Shin-hwa was in a similar spot.
Clinging to fading memories, doing the best preparations possible.
"Guess I have to do the same."
I cast magic toward the ship.
[Perception]
Third activation.
Casting this left me defenseless. Even now, memories slipped away bit by bit.
First, pour all my magic into this massive galleon made for Dagon.
Pachijijizik!!
Kwarururung!!
Huge reaction. The fog would obscure it somewhat, but no hiding this.
'Parts past Kim Shin-hwa didn't predict or got wrong...'
My karma, so I fix it. I revised past Kim Shin-hwa's plan and added new strategies.
Honestly, even more unstable than past Kim Shin-hwa's...
"Well, future Kim Shin-hwa will handle it like a pro."
Like past Kim Shin-hwa left me notes, I had to leave messages for future me.
Pachijizik!!
Good. Preparations on the ship done.
'Used ability on too big a thing. Almost out of magic.'
[System: Enhanced Vigilance activates.]
'Damn, someone's coming.'
I spun around, watching the warehouse door. Through the writhing gray fog, someone approached.
Any good ideas?
Something I have... Ah, this I definitely won't lose.
Squeezing out my remaining magic, I began a very complex measure.
"Gruk, kid. You're going too far."
The deep sea throat rumble mixed with grating metal voice.
Worst case. The village head. Or in a way, best case.
"Didn't I tell you not to leave the house?"
"Wow, what a ship."
I turned to face him.
The village head rolled his eyes briefly, then spoke grumpily.
"Gurulk- While I was getting food, you turned the village upside down."
"Tch, misunderstanding."
I twisted the corner of my mouth visible under the mask into a smile.
Not ready yet.
Need to stall. In that sense, the village head was perfect. Probably the most conversational deep sea hybrid in the village.
"Misunderstanding. You outsider might not get it, but this is important faith to us villagers."
"Faith. Doesn't seem like the whole village agrees with you."
"Villagers? Heh heh... Funny talk. To you, we're livestock like your cows and pigs."
What the hell is this guy saying? Can't stand hearing that.
"Village head, that analogy makes you born from a cow or pig's belly."
"Shut up! I've shed homo sapiens to be reborn as the great deep sea race ruling this Earth!"
Ah, pissed him off. Good, my prep's done.
Time to get to the point.
"Anyway, separate from my dislike of your faith, fulfilling the contract is another matter. How about it? Business with the livestock?"
The village head glared, grinding his teeth. Glare all you want? He couldn't attack me anyway.
Needs me for tomorrow's Dragon King rite? Not doing it?
"Kid."
"Yes."
"You said you came at Yongsu's request and intro from beyond the barrier?"
That the setup? Don't know Yongsu, but I recall that part.
"Yes. Said you'd share the right to pray to the Dragon King with those helping the ritual here?"
"For wishes. True. Before, a few like you came over the barrier with offerings."
My words seemed correct, but he smirked slyly, saying something odd.
'Feels like someone said that to me before?'
Don't remember who, but it soured my mood, vaguely recalled.
"Hmm, prepping some profound, cool line? What's the point?"
"Profound and cool? Heh heh, good phrasing. Yeah, profound and cool words for you."
He paused, then continued.
"Know what happened to the outsiders before you who got wish rights here in Insoo Village?"
Don't remember. Classic tale, though.
"Ah, got it. They all died eventually. 'You too!' screech, right?"
The old man grimaced briefly at my words, then answered.
"No, they all got their wishes. Different wishes brought them, but the final one was the same."
"What?"
"To become part of this village and live eternally."
Deep sea folk had no lifespan concept.
Unless killed, they grew endlessly, eating more, getting bigger.
Meant gaining immortality's blessing by becoming deep sea folk.
"Hmm. Think I'll be different."
Live forever as a frog? No sane human choice.
But the village head said firmly.
"No, not different at all. And that mask you're wearing. You've used it diligently. Good job. Very good."
The mask I'm wearing now? Suddenly, past Kim Shin-hwa's message surfaced.
'6. Keep wearing the mask. Important ritual for outsider shaman to blend with villagers.'
And Kim Shin-hwa 6 didn't get the game system, looped the same place, went mad, died.
As realization dawned, strange words poured from the village head's mouth.
"E Khomo mhai, cka po'e hiruru hriu o kawa! Iä! Iä! Dagon! Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!"
Damn, using a spell? But I had no stamina or magic to counter.
[System: Penalty trait 'Feast's Sacrifice' effect activates.]
[The mask you're wearing receives the deep sea's blessing.]
"Ah, now I get it."
A wall of nonsense appeared before my eyes.
[The mask modeled after deep sea folk gains new power. You cannot remove this mask. You don't want to. Desire to become one with the villagers, to join the deep sea folk, begins embedding in your mind. Your psyche sinks into the beautiful deep sea, the ocean. Deeper into the water, deeper. Deeper, deeper. Become deep sea folk and live eternally.]
Felt like being sucked into murky ocean depths.
This too, prepared by past Kim Shin-hwa...
* * *
Kim Shin-hwa collapsed without resistance.
"Think you're clever, brat from beyond the barrier."
The village head grumbled as he approached the fallen Kim Shin-hwa.
That instant.
Pachizik!
Blue sparks flew around Kim Shin-hwa's temple.
"Ugh!?"
First such reaction. Had his always-successful brainwashing spell failed?
"Grr... What was that?"
Truly the most eerie one yet. The village head kept vigilant, watching the fallen Kim Shin-hwa.
But that was it.
No further odd signs from Kim Shin-hwa.
"Well. How could a mere human wizard block the Dragon King's power."
Never heard of such magic. The village head grumbled, smirking triumphantly.