Chapter 177
Chapter 177
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 177
Chapter Title: Charisma Unleashed
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Splash!!
Gongneung Stream was originally a gently flowing brook.
But relentless downpours had swollen its waters to a terrifying level, turning it into a raging torrent.
Splash!!
A skateboard skimmed along the surface of the rampaging Gongneung Stream.
It looked just like surfing.
Of course, I had no idea how to surf. I didn't even have the strength or agility for anything remotely like it.
"Wizard! Ughhh! Wizard!"
Especially not with Jang Hyun-deok clinging to my back.
I'd just woven together a bunch of spells, including telekinesis, to fake a surfing setup.
Splaash!!
Waves and eddies popped up here and there. Dangerous stretch.
[Leap]
Splash!!
I vaulted over the hazard while activating a new spell.
[Eruption]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-Cast]
Boom boom boom boom!!
Water pillars shot up all around.
Spells to rescue the cultists who'd been swept away by the Gongneung Stream.
The cultists were flung out of the river along with the geysers.
"Gyaahhh!"
I'd saved the bastards from certain death, but instead of thanks, they charged at me screaming.
"Give him back!! Give us Hyun-deok!!"
"Hyun-deok! Hyun-deok! Hyun-deok! Hyun-deok!"
Jeez, they were like zombies. They'd nearly drowned a second ago, but here they were sprinting without even catching their breath.
"Uwaaah! Wizard! Why are you saving those guys!?"
I was scooping up the drowning cultists while heading toward the Han River.
With a massive horde of cultists trailing behind me.
"I love you to death!"
"I love you! Please eat me!"
"Eat me! Eat me!"
I sighed and said,
"They're begging you to eat them. How about a bite?"
"Wizard! What are you even talking about!?"
- Excuse me, but could you keep Hyun-deok from yelling into the mic? It's honestly a bit much.
An annoyingly sultry voice came through the headset.
Before I could respond, Jang Hyun-deok yelled again.
"Wizard! Where the hell are we going?"
- I'm curious about that too. We're grateful you're saving our brothers from the cult.
"I'm dizzy enough as it is—shut up and stay still!"
I was exhausted enough without these two—
"Yeah! You cult freak! I don't know what you're saying, but don't talk to the Wizard!"
- It seems Hyun-deok's misunderstanding, so maybe explain in more detail.
"Wizard! Just take off that headset! They're definitely up to something shady!"
- How about saying, 'Jang Hyun-deok, stay quiet'? That might get through to him.
"Both of you! Shut up! My head hurts!"
It really did.
If I didn't explain, they'd keep yapping. So I told them both my goal.
"To steal the attention of those cultist pals showering Jang Hyun-deok with excessive love, I'm gonna need some serious charisma radiating."
"Charisma radiating?"
"Yeah, charisma radiating. I'm heading to grab a tool that'll make it super effective."
- Interesting phrasing. And you're saving our brothers to gather an audience for the show?
"Something like that."
If you're gonna do it, might as well do it with the biggest crowd possible.
'Where are we now, anyway?'
I spotted the completely submerged Gyoha Sports Park.
That put us northwest of Jangmyeongsan.
Heading straight for Jangmyeongsan would've been simpler, but I didn't want to expose my home to the cultists.
'Almost there?'
A bit further, and I'd link up with my 'preparations.'
'Yeah, almost. See the Gokneung Bridge? Meet there.'
The thought flowed in like someone else speaking.
'I might actually end up with multiple personalities at this rate.'
My split consciousness was already developing its own personality. Way faster than last time.
'Can't be helped. Let's wrap it up quick and merge.'
'Alright.'
Gokneung Bridge was one of the spans crossing Gongneung Stream.
It sat north of Jangmyeongsan, where the stream came closest to the mountain.
I poured mana into the skateboard beneath my feet and accelerated.
A screeching "Kyaaah!" and explosion boomed through the headset.
The noise of Byakhees handed off to Hei-in, and her minions struggling to hold them back.
"Wait, that doesn't sound like it's just coming through the headset?"
"Wizard! Wizard! Behind us! Behind us!"
- The Byakhees are ignoring us and flying straight that way.
"......"
I expanded my senses, widening my field of view. Far off, Byakhees were incoming.
"What the? Why'd they follow us here? Block them."
- We're trying our best.
"Block? What do you mean blo—"
"Kyaaahhh!!"
One of Hei-in's minions, the six-eyed mask guy, moved clumsily and got snatched by a Byakhee.
"Uwaaah!"
Byakhees were half the size of Shantaks, but cunning, evil monsters. Some were smart enough to cast spells.
The wasp-like Byakhee's maw split sideways. Any second now it'd—
"Hey, watch out!"
[Metal Skin]
[Spell Enhancement: Range Increase]
Crunch!
"Grrrlll!!"
The six-eyes guy's skin turned literally steel-hard. The Byakhee, chomping rock, growled in fury.
[Grasp of Gravity]
"Kyaaahhh!!"
Caught in the gravity field, the Byakhee plummeted helplessly, splashing into the Gongneung Stream below.
I confirmed the kill, then told Hei-in,
"Put some effort into it! You're elite cultists, aren't you?"
- It's like a pastor fighting angels. Not easy.
"Then at least buy time! Don't get hurt!"
- To think you'd worry about us like this......
I wasn't worried about you lot—it was the fallout from you all getting squished like overripe tomatoes!
Luckily, my other self chimed in from elsewhere.
'Quit playing with that jerk! We're here!'
'Alright. Hide good so Three-eyes doesn't spot you, then get back!'
'I don't mind, but someday one of us might object to merging.'
'Too hectic now—save the worries for bedtime!'
My vision merged back into one, hitting me with vertigo.
"Ugh—gonna puke."
"You okay, Wizard?"
"Dunno. Anyway, hold on tight—we're jumping again!"
[Leap]
Splash!!
Gokneung Bridge came into view.
Swollen waters had submerged more than half of it. My prepared item was......
"There it is."
"What?"
- What'd you prepare?
Didn't want Hei-in knowing.
I yelled at Doldori, hiding by the bridge, omitting the subject.
"Bring that out!"
I expanded my senses to check behind—
'As expected.'
Hei-in had deliberately fallen back with the Byakhees, watching me from afar.
'Sneaky bastard. Knew it.'
I activated my prep spell and told Hei-in,
"Gonna change clothes—look away, punk!"
[Flash]
Fwaaah—
A deafening burst of light engulfed everything, like a flashbang.
Grumble—
Doldori's mouth yawned open, and 'it'—'it'—'it' emerged.
Before the light faded, I unleashed spells in every direction.
[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.]
[System: Hidden trait 'Inheritor of the Corpse Pile' activates. Otherworldly beings that submit to you become your minions.]
Cultists weren't otherworldly, so not perfect, but it'd have a similar impact.
I bellowed with earth-shaking authority.
『Those nearby, behold!』
『Those afar, hear!』
『See my presence, and hear!』
* * *
A flash that could've burned out his retinas.
Yeon instinctively ducked and curled up, but grotesque noises reached his ears.
Scraaape—scraaape—
Something slimy writhing.
Screeeee—skreeeek—
Metal and glass grinding.
SPLASHHH!!
Something massive slamming the Gongneung Stream.
Fear, curiosity, obsession with Jang Hyun-deok—Yeon barely lifted his head.
As his blurry vision cleared, things came into focus: endless rain—churning backflow in the stream—collapsed bridges—and that—
that—
thaaat—?
"Kyaaaaahhh!!"
Yeon screamed. He had a mouth, after all.
And he couldn't do anything else.
That colossal, horrific thing he'd never seen before—no, the one from his nightmares every night? Had the nightmare monster escaped into his reality?
"Uwaaaahhh!!"
"Kyaaaaahhh!!"
"Uwa! Uwaa! Uwaaaah!"
All who had mouths screamed.
No one ordered it, but the Yellow King Descent Prayer Cult's cultists screamed in unison.
Body black as night-forged shadow.
Massive dorsal fin on its back.
Six legs gripping the earth.
Hundreds of tentacles undulating everywhere.
"What, what is that!? What!? What!?"
Yeon pointed frantically at part of the giant monster.
Was that its head?
The front had a humanoid torso sprouting from it.
Humanoid?
An overwhelming presence emanated from that 'protuberance' mimicking a human. Grotesque. Horrific. That was the monster's core.
More grotesque and horrific than the rest combined. Horrific, horrific, horrific monster.
The humanoid torso had a hard, flat face like carved wood—
"Th-those eyes! The eeeeyes!"
Yeon shrieked desperately.
The four eyes on that face radiated madness and deathly magic.
The cultists reacted in their most frenzied ways.
"Uwaaaahhh! Uwaaaahhh!!"
Screaming endlessly.
"Save us! Save us!"
Pleading blindly.
"Yellow King, please redeem us!"
Praying to their god.
"Kyahahaha—kyahahahaha—"
Laughing insanely.
Yeon thought with a dazed smile.
'Ah—'
'Ahhh—'
Why had he ever been mistaken?
That one was their true king. Their king had arrived. Their king was here.
An indescribably grotesque, horrific form—the ultimate, supreme, transcendent great king one must never name. Undeniable. He'd never seen anything larger, stronger, greater, more terrifying.
『-----!!!』
The pitch-black, colossal, horrific, ugly, repulsive, evil, great being roared powerfully.
Even the pooled water on the ground recoiled in fear. Raindrops from the sky scattered, daring not touch it.
The gathered cultists belatedly realized the command.
『Those nearby, behold!』
『Those afar, hear!』
『See my presence, and hear!』
"Aaah!! Aaah!!"
"King! King!!"
Enchanted, deranged, compelled.
The cultists bowed their waists, bent their knees. They prostrated, slamming foreheads into the pooled water.
Seeing it, Kim Shin-hwa muttered softly.
"Ah, why are they acting like that?"
『Rise, lift your heads and behold me!』
As the cultists raised their heads,
"Wizard! Wizard!!"
Jang Hyun-deok's shout.
Amazed by the giant summoned mount Kim Shin-hwa called forth and the single phrase that subdued the cultists—but the timing was exquisitely ironic.
The cultists interpreted "Wizard" differently.
'Wizard?'
'The Hyun-deok we'd deemed a god reveres that colossal being.'
'He said Wizard.'
'Got it.'
'Yeah, I get it too.'
'Hyun (賢)—the truly wise one, first to awaken to the true king.'
'Dok (德)—the virtuous one, who led us to the true king.'
'Yes, Hyun-deok showed us.'
'The prophet revealed the king's name.'
'Our prophet showed us our king!'
Their thoughts converged on enlightenment, erupting as a chant.
"[Wizard King]!"
"[Wizard King]!"
"[Wizard King]!"
"[Wizard King]! It's the [Wizard King]!"
"[Wizard King]! [Wizard King]!"