Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Masks and Dolls
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Dark night sky.
"Ahahahahaha!!"
Laughter from the undead echoing from the rooftop.
"This house is mine! You're all intruders who came in without permission! Invaders! Plunderers! All of you, get out! Get out! Get out! Get out!"
A savage shout that didn't seem open to any conversation.
Ignoring my throbbing headache and the legs that kept wanting to retreat, I yelled back.
"Hey, Aunt! This house legally belongs to your nephew, Heo Sang-hyeon!"
And in game system terms, it was mine.
Plus, the legal owner, Heo Sang-hyeon, was my spiritually bound servant, so spiritually and through sorcery, the house was mine too.
"So you're the one who needs to get out right now! Heo Ji-hyeon!"
But the response was just a screeching "Kyaaah!" and more ravings.
"You horrific invader who came to destroy my world, my reality, my life! You think I'm going to let you take my house again?!"
Where the hell did she pick up that nonsense?
[System: The 'Feast's Offering' trait activates.]
A belated system message.
Ah, I get the picture now.
It meant some abyssal entity was behind this nightmare.
"Fine, fine, great."
Was my voice shaking?
I nodded and backed away little by little.
Heo Ji-hyeon was just a specter I could handle easily.
Or at least, she had been.
Right now, she was no pushover.
"Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Go! Drive out that invader right now!"
"……."
"……."
"……."
The homunculi flying around Heo Ji-hyeon started to move.
Shield and longsword, dual swords, staff.
And fox mask, three-eyed mask, crow mask.
Except for the gear and masks they held, they looked exactly like me.
"Ah, damn it. Why the hell did I make those things?"
Shiiieeeek—
Their movements were too unnatural to be called leaps or flight.
They were dangling from the mana threads created by Heo Ji-hyeon, the dollmaster, moving in that creepy, awkward way.
Like puppets on strings, in other words.
"Ah, damn it, stay back!"
[Fireball]
Fwoosh—
A reflexive fireball.
Of the three homunculi, the one with the fox mask stepped forward and raised its shield.
"……."
Thung!
It silently swung the shield, batting the fireball away.
Fwoosh—
The fireball came flying straight back at me. Shield warrior skill, [Spell Reflection].
"Ugh, I didn't want to do a performance test like this!"
[Leap]
"Aaaah!"
A voice identical to mine rang out from afar.
The crow-masked homunculus swung its staff and let out the cry.
Roooar—
At the same time, thorn vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around my body.
Ugh, can't leap. The vines tore into my arms and legs, blood spurting out.
Damn, the penalty traits [Increased Damage] and [Increased Injury Chance] made even small wounds bleed profusely.
Fwoooosh!
While the vines kept me from moving, the fireball was almost right in front of my eyes!
[Wall of Fire]
Fwoooooom!
A wall of flames rose around me, blocking the incoming fireball.
Fwoooosh—
It even burned the vines wrapped around me. The intense heat choked me for a moment, but I had the [Fire Resistance] trait.
The moment the wall of fire faded—
[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait activates.]
A presence from behind. Ugh, assassin skill [Shadow Stealth]?
I spun around in a hurry to counter, but the puppet-like appearance and movements kept slowing my reactions.
"……!"
The three-eyed mask's dual swords came flying at me!
[L-Grade Accessory 'Mask of Carcosa' unique function, 'Dreamlike Blur' activates.
// Dreamlike Blur: Automatically casts 'Blink' spell.]
With a nauseating floating sensation like my soul was being dragged, I teleported behind the three-eyed mask.
"Damn, I'd be dead without Blink."
My head was spinning.
The keywords on those things were stirring my madness.
The masked homunculi all turned their heads toward me in unison.
Uncannily synchronized movements devoid of humanity. Unnatural like machines. The eerie yet beautiful motions unique to puppets.
'Masked dolls?'
It was a mesmerizingly horrific foe that doubly stimulated my two insanities.
"Ah— perfect, I love it."
"Ah— seriously, I'm going insane."
Words that didn't fit the situation spilled from my mouth.
I didn't know which was really me, but I really felt like I was losing it.
Scary! So cool! I want to kill it! I want to die! Run! Fight! Do you know how hard those are to make? I need to recover them intact! Why did I make crap like that? Destroy them now!
Conflicting thoughts and urges exploded in my head all at once. Without firm will and focus, I couldn't cast proper spells.
I couldn't fight in this tangled state of mind!
"Damn it!"
[Leap]
I leaped back again to create distance. The moment I landed, I poured mana into my skateboard and moved at max speed.
Not running away.
[Ghost Step]
[Blurred Identity]
[Shadow Veil]
I cast multiple stealth spells at once, hiding my body as I retreated behind the mansion.
"Ugh…… damn it."
"Ahahahahaha! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get out! Get oooout!!"
Heo Ji-hyeon thrashed wildly, skirt and long hair whipping around now that she couldn't see me.
The masked dolls began scanning the surroundings with eerie movements, searching for me.
But this situation……? It felt strangely familiar.
"Ha, fuck! It's just like the spider earlier?"
Just a slight change in skin and setup, but the same pattern as the face-stealer fight from moments ago.
'Was it a tutorial battle prepped for the Heo Ji-hyeon fight?'
No, that couldn't be.
[Cthulhu World] wasn't a proper game.
It was built purely on malice to piss off players. It never had kind, normal level design like practice fights before real ones.
'Then what is this? It's like…….'
No way it knew about my doll phobia and was shoving puppets at me on purpose?
Nah, that didn't fit either. Real dolls would have shown up then.
Rustle—
Ah, busted. Sword-and-shield homunculus, fox mask.
"Ahahaha! Hiding there like a bug? You invader! Go! Kill it! Kill that bastard!"
Already found?
Did the stealth spells fail? No, my homunculi were just too damn good.
The fox-masked homunculus charged at me.
Beautiful mask. Body modeled after a Charm 20 human. Sharply glinting blade. Doll-like movements.
'Should I just give up and die here?'
If I stayed still, that doll would slice my throat, and my head would roll across the ground in its mask.
Then Heo Ji-hyeon would make a doll out of my corpse?
In this horrific world, wouldn't it be better to end it like that than suffer eternally?
"What the fuck kind of thought is that!?"
Crackle!
My shout stirred the surrounding mana, blue sparks flying.
'Right, that wasn't my thought!'
It wasn't even full-blown madness manifesting. Just associations with my phobia trigger, right?
'Is it that guy?'
Was the monster lurking in a corner of my mind eating away at my sanity?
Either way, I wasn't ready to die that easily. I'd escape this world no matter what it took.
[Thunder Field]
Crackle! Crackle!!
Blue lightning whipped between me and the homunculus, unleashing massive shockwaves.
Boom boom boom!!
The ground cratered, stones shattered, lightning-scorched grass turned to ash and scattered.
This could end it in one go if I pressed, but it'd destroy my homunculi and masks.
As the sword-and-shield fox mask retreated, the other two homunculi approached.
Roooar!
Thorn vines sprouted from all directions.
"Yeah, your Kim Shin-hwa dolls have lots of friends, huh!"
The vines would block the lightning while the shield pushed in.
'And once my focus breaks, the assassin dives in, right?'
Simple pattern overall.
'Well, even for Heo Ji-hyeon, maintaining anything more complex solo would be tough.'
Heo Ji-hyeon didn't act while the homunculi moved. Meaning—
"Red!"
"Kwee!"
Fwoosh!
A massive white owl flapped its four wings and soared onto the rooftop.
"Kyaaak!"
Heo Ji-hyeon's scream.
The homunculi's movements slowed for a moment.
"Now all of you scram!"
[Gale]
Whooooom!!
The homunculi were blown back.
But this wouldn't subdue them. Attacking Heo Ji-hyeon directly would hurt Jang Hyeon-deok. So Red's assault could only threaten her.
I had to move before Heo Ji-hyeon regrouped.
[Invisible Hand]
Telekinesis from magic yanked an object from inside the mansion.
Crash!
A grotesque mask burst through the shattered window.
A sinister silver mask. The [Wraith's Mask] once used by Heo Joo, the mansion's true original owner.
"N-No! Get that mask away! Awayyy!!"
Heo Ji-hyeon's shriek from the rooftop.
This mask trapped the soul of some necromancer. Heo Joo's father, and ancestor to both Heo Sang-hyeon and Heo Ji-hyeon.
Without hesitation, I tore off the [Mask of Carcosa] covering my face and donned the [Wraith's Mask].
"Kill it! Kill that horrific monster!"
Heo Ji-hyeon's cry.
"……!"
The homunculi charged in response.
But faster still, I shouted.
"Wraiths who wander the border of life and death! The starving master of this mansion calls you in the name of serpent and scorpion!"
Horrific hordes of specters, undead, lost souls swarmed from all directions at my call.
- Uwoooooh!!
- The starving master of the mansion calls us.
- Master of the mansion! More mana for us!
- Mana and life force sweet and juicy as nectar!
The wraiths that had haunted the mansion grounds, awaiting my command, my slightest glance, rushed forward eagerly.
"Wraiths denied even the right to tread the earth! I grant you the power to burst from your graves. This is the false covenant of serpent and scorpion—none shall harm you."
- Aaaah! Master of the starving mansion!
- He who hides even darkness, deceives even death!
- King of serpent and scorpion!
- More orders! More mana!
[The whispers of the wraith trapped in the mask begin to echo.]
'Down, down further, descend into the abyss's darkness.'
Shut up, I already have plenty yapping in my head without you!
Rumble—creeeak—
The swarming specters absorbed my mana, clumping dirt, sand, leaves into human shapes.
- Graaaah!!
- Gyaaaah!!
They charged the homunculi with insane ferocity.
Seeing the scene made my head throb for a whole new reason.
Mud dolls attacking masked dolls that looked like me—
"Ah, I'm seriously going to lose my mind."
That's why I couldn't properly control the specters. But I didn't need to.
The homunculi fought back organized, but the specters overwhelmed them with sheer numbers, raw madness, and relentless obsession.
Less an attack, more a brute-force clash.
Crack—crunch—
Sounds of trees toppling. The specters eventually dragged the homunculi into the forest and vanished.
"I can breathe now."
I looked up at Heo Ji-hyeon again. Nothing doll-like remained around.
"Alright, Aunt. Who told you how to possess that body?"
No matter how powerful Heo Ji-hyeon was, she was just a specter.
Even if she broke my barrier somehow, controlling and deploying the basement homunculi made no sense.
"Tell me who designed this dogshit strategy, and I'll go easy on them."