Chapter 176
Chapter 176
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Non-Lethal Mode
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Abyssal curses are filling Paju with filthy sludge.
No way am I dunking myself in that.
I activated [Water Walking] and stood on the surface of the water.
“Give him back! Give him back!”
“Don’t interfere with our love!”
“I love you! Lord Hyun-deok! I love you!”
The cultists were fervently proclaiming their love for Jang Hyun-deok, ready to smash anything that got in the way.
“Ah, meddling in someone else’s love life never ends well!”
How do you snap idiots like these out of their frenzy? Simple—douse them with cold water.
[Crashing Waves]
Rumble—
The water surged like it was overflowing. Waves rose from every direction, swallowing up the cultists.
“Go float down the Gongneung Stream and enjoy the view of the Han River!”
The Gongneung Stream cut through Paju and fed into the Han.
Rumble—
“Gyaah!”
“Grraaah!”
“Well, well?”
These weren’t just ordinary cultists.
Some real tough ones were mixed in.
Some with high Strength stats were holding back the waves, others with Agility were leaping over them, some with Vitality were swimming against the current, and there were even a few using shamanism or unidentified abilities to block or deflect them.
“Looks like Huangrim Church goons. Since when were they this strong?”
They seemed in better shape than the spawn of Fomalhaut.
“Get out of the wayyy!”
“You demon!”
“We’ll kill you!”
Cultists charging from all sides.
At least I’d drawn their attention. I glanced up at Jang Hyun-deok for a moment.
“Uwaaah—Wizard! More are coming from that side! That way! That way!”
Looking where Jang Hyun-deok was pointing, even tougher-looking ones were rushing over at near-flying speeds.
I’d floated him in the air since there was nowhere safe on the ground, but had I just turned him into a billboard inviting them all?
No time for complicated thoughts.
Let’s see, non-lethal—non-lethal. I needed spells to safely subdue cultists who were each mid-tier fixer level.
[Sticky Secretion]
[Exhausting Shackles]
[Dizzy Spell]
[Whirlwind Confusion]
Spells I rarely used fired off in rapid succession.
Splatter, gurgle—
“Guhh!”
One trapped and rolling in thick goo, another locked in stamina-draining bonds, some collapsing from severe vertigo, others spinning in place, lost.
Feels like I’m some non-lethal superhero.
‘Tch, at least those guys can take a punch.’
These won’t work on magic-resistant ones—
“That’s why I came prepared!”
[Rope Manipulation]
My backpack burst open, ropes of various lengths flying out in all directions. I’d anticipated a fight like this and brought them along. Ran short, so I’d swept up some rubber hoses from the warehouse too.
Swish—
“Kraaah!”
Cultists bound and sealed by ropes and hoses. I yelled at the immobilized ones.
“Alright, keep moving, don’t stop! Hell training! Hell training!”
[Crashing Waves]
Rumble—Kwaaaah!
Anyone sitting or stopping got swept away. How’s that? Simple pattern, but tough to break, right? Oh, some are brute-forcing it.
I stomped in place, activating a spell. My foot hit water covering the ground, but my mana pierced through, working its miracle below.
[Rolling Quake]
Boom! Rumble!!
“Uwaaah!!”
Listen up—these levels, and I’m already 48.
Max is 100, but most endings are clearable at 60-80.
Of course, routes with real bosses can’t be beaten even at max—but these scrubs? Non-lethal penalty or not, I can handle them.
‘Well, only these scrubs, that is.’
Far off, beyond the Gongneung Stream, ominous shadows lurked. Fourteen of them, all wearing bizarre masks.
They didn’t want to wade into the sludge either, perched on utility poles, streetlights, transmission towers.
‘Not some ‘90s anime, but they’re posing like bosses.’
Each brimmed with potent mana, one especially powerful.
One waved at me. Noticeably big, fine build. And the mask on his face.
‘What the?’
I focused mana into my eyes, scrutinizing him.
Three eyes in awkward positions.
“Ah, damn it. That three-eyed lefty pitcher bastard.”
But unlike the rampaging cultists, they didn’t seem aggressive.
‘Classic—sending minions to fight while watching?’
The vibe was off, though. The three-eyes gestured again.
Pointed a finger at his ear.
“What? You calling me crazy?”
Classic finger gesture?
No, calm down.
Not that? Ear? Ear? What about the ear?
Then three-eyes tossed something at me.
That’s… a headset radio. Listen up?
[Invisible Hand]
I wasn’t slacking, but the situation hadn’t changed. Cultists still swarmed relentlessly.
I slipped on the radio headset.
—Sang-hyun. I’ve missed you. You look quite different from last time.
A voice so beautiful it grated.
“What? Hey, three-eyes. You gave me this just to say hi?”
Three-eyes himself had changed a lot.
I blasted a shockwave to shove back nearby cultists and examined him again.
‘At least five times stronger than before.’
What’d he chow down on? Forbidden sorcery?
Behind him, thirteen lackeys lined up.
Last time, three-eyes was one of them. Now he was playing leader. Must’ve staged a coup, snatched some judge’s relic or whatever.
—I have a proposal. And my name is Hee-in.
“Proposal, Hee-in, whatever. These your kids? Control your minions.”
—Easier said than done. Sudden power surge, you know.
This guy’s pissing me off—what’s he yapping about?
After days of grinding, finally catching a break, now overtime and all-nighters dumped on me—like some corporate drone.
To me, in this state, a rambling convo partner is cruel.
“Quit beating around the bush and get to the point. And if after I listen, you go ‘Tch, can’t reason with him. Die!’—don’t waste my time, just come at me yourself with a squeal.”
Laughter from the radio—not mocking or arrogant, just bright and cheerful. At this point, even pisses me off less.
—As you wish, straight to it.
“Good. Direct. Good.”
I said that while repelling a charging cultist.
—Jang Hyun-deok, was it? Whatever his real name, what did you feed him?
“Feed him?”
—Some of our faithful mistake him for our lord.
“Didn’t feed him anything. You spiking the church grub?”
—Can’t say we didn’t, but unrelated here.
“Then why’s a normal guy…”
Wait. Sudden power surge?
Sudden surge, plus.
For a ragtag force, strong composition, times.
Strong but zero self-awareness, divide.
Minus the part where they’re useless at key moments.
“You bastard, you used a grimoire to brainwash them?”
—Frankly, Jang Hyun-deok was a proselytizing target too.
“Showed him the book?”
—Proselytizing method.
“Ah, got it.”
Huangrim Church has a unique grimoire other cults lack.
[The King in Yellow]. This wicked tome infused with an abyssal entity’s power is a potent conduit that brainwashes minds.
And this rain pouring over Paju.
Laced with abyssal power. Perfect for rituals, spells, magic going haywire or exploding stronger than expected.
Puzzle pieces falling into place.
“Hey, hold up. Lemme check one thing.”
[Rope Manipulation]
Whip—
“Kraaah!”
One cultist roped and dragged before me.
“Let go! I am the offering to our lord Hyun-deok! I will become one with him! You demon can’t stop me! Lord Hyun-deok! Hyun-deok! Look at me! Eat me!”
No joke.
Reminded me of what [The Smiling One] did with Cheong-ho last time. Eat his brain.
But that was possessing Cheong-ho’s body to take me. Their desire was different.
Merge with god, become god yourself. One way to survive this doomed world.
I grabbed the ranting cultist’s face and roared.
“Shut up! Look straight into my eyes!”
[Voice of Dominion]
[L-Grade Accessory ‘Carcosa’s Mask’ unique function, ‘Yellow Dominion’ activates.
// Yellow Dominion: Adds ‘Spell Enhancement: Fear Infusion’ effect to certain spells.]
“Uwaaah! Uwaaah!!”
The cultist paled and convulsed.
『Behold, who stands before you?』
“Ah, aaaah! Aaaah!! My blind eyes and deaf ears failed me! Lord! You are my true lord!”
『I command you, you fool! Go home, wipe your feet, and sleep!』
“Yes! Yes!”
The cultist bolted off yelling that.
So that’s it.
While I’m near, my presence suppresses it, but traces of [The King in Yellow] linger in Jang Hyun-deok’s body and soul.
Without me, it turns into pheromones luring cultists, amplified by the grimoire and this rain.
‘And those brainwashed to absolute loyalty to [The King in Yellow]? This rain from the sky flipped their brains too.’
I turned toward Hee-in.
That’s why high-ranking cultists with genuine faith, not brainwashing, aren’t freaking out.
—What was that? What did you do?
“What else? Stuffed a different idea into your instant cultist’s head.”
—How…
This guy’s dangerous.
Better to draw his interest to me than Jang Hyun-deok.
So I said something intriguingly ominous on purpose.
“Found an interesting ruin in Tanhyeon.”
—Ah, I see. The mask from there too?
Hee-in tossed it out like he knew.
[Carcosa’s Mask] is a relic infused with the King in Yellow’s power.
Hard to imagine [The King in Yellow] possessing a scrub like Jang Hyun-deok.
So he’d assume the thing I picked up in Tanhyeon caused it.
“Yeah. Listen good, I’ll even tell you exactly where in Tanhyeon.”
—Excellent. What do I do?
“Block those flying in from over there.”
—Pardon?
“Kyahaahaah!!”
Some cultists swept by the current had awakened special powers.
Massive hornets incoming.
No—up close, not hornets at all.
Bat wings, vicious scales, grotesque flying body.
Less insect, more reptilian horror.
Byakhee.
Kin summoned by [The King in Yellow], surreal dragon-steeds that swim the cosmos.
They were coming.
Not many. Seven?
—Sorry, but can we switch roles? Fighting the dragon-steeds is religiously tricky.
“Nope.”
Fighting Byakhee beats dealing with crazy cultists any day.
“You block them, I’ll clean up all your minions.”
—Understood.
A bizarre alliance formed.
I pulled Jang Hyun-deok down from the sky.
“Uwaaaah—Wizard! Wizard!”
“Jeez, why’re you still awake instead of passing out?”
“I can hear everything so clearly! The world’s super vivid!”
What the hell did this guy take?
“Kyahaahaah!”
“Lord Hyun-deok! Hyun-deok! Why won’t you accept us!”
“Lord Hyun-deok! Hyun-deok! I love you! Love you!”
Cultists, caked in mud, rainwater, filth, charging desperately.
Seeing them, Jang Hyun-deok freaked and clung to my back.
“Uwaaah! Wizard! Them! What do we do!? What!?”
“Let go, man! You got a solution?”
“N-No! Don’t let go of me, Wizard!”
“Hey, you’re taller than me! Stand on your own feet!”
I’d cast Water Walking on him, so no drowning risk, but Jang Hyun-deok wouldn’t let go.
Whatever, more contact area’s better.
“Anyway, point is, make something they wanna worship more than Jang Hyun-deok, right?”
Extension of what I did earlier.
I had something more direct than the lingering scent in Jang Hyun-deok’s body.