Chapter 213
Chapter 213
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 213
Chapter Title: The Sacrifice of the Banquet
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Gong Isu screamed toward Kim Shin-hwa, who was still standing beyond the door.
"It's your fault! Because of you, I've started getting observed again! I barely got forgotten, barely escaped observation! I didn't exist in this world! But because of you, the observation has started again!"
Gong Isu's desperate cries continued.
But he soon realized his mistake. This approach wouldn't help. It would only pique Kim Shin-hwa's curiosity.
"Nooo! I didn't think that! I didn't think anything like that!"
Gong Isu spewed nonsense contrary to his own thoughts.
Gong Isu instinctively sensed what was happening to him. He had personally experienced countless concepts and pieces of information existing in the [Cthulhu World].
"What is that! No! Don't manipulate my thoughts! No!"
Gong Isu's screams continued.
No matter how much he screamed, it was pointless. Meaningless screams only stirred curiosity. The more he screamed, the more incidents would occur, and Kim Shin-hwa would observe Gong Isu just to prevent those incidents.
"No! Stop! Enough! Don't pay attention to meeeee!!"
"Hey, Senior. If you want indifference, calm down and shut up. Your screams are making the friends in the other rooms start paying attention to you too, you know?"
The incident had already begun.
Around Gong Isu's round room were things likely to overreact to his hysterical screams.
"Kyaaaaah! Kyaaaaah!!"
IPE-2220, [The Lamenting Woman], screamed in response to Gong Isu's madness.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
IPE-876, [Hanuman's Head], slammed into the device restraining it.
"Hehehehe! Scream more! Bubblehead! Scream louder!"
IPE-345, [The Tooth Collector], cheered.
Grumble, grumble—
IPE-1754, [Blood Bath] activated, the sound of blood overflowing from the tub echoing.
"War has begun!" "It's war!" "War!" "War!"
IPE-446, [Toy Legion] excitedly declared the start of war.
"That one has finally given me a new chance...."
A faint voice leaked from IPE-3876, [The Starving Old Man].
The 'patients' reacting to the commotion Gong Isu caused.
One patient's reaction triggered another, and that reaction awakened yet another.
The chain reaction of seizures among the closed ward patients spread like wildfire—weeooooweeeooo—
activating the alarm.
This was alert level 2.
"What's going on!"
The sound of bustling footsteps.
Security personnel rushing to calm the 'patients'' excitement and resolve the situation.
Sensing that sound, Gong Isu screamed again.
"Intruder! Drag out the intruder! There's an intruder! Protect meee!!"
Few patients in the closed ward could make such a request.
But Gong Isu, who had voluntarily 'admitted' himself, was one of those few.
"Ah, you're doing all this because you don't want to talk to me? That's pretty clear-headed for inducing delirium."
But even amid the commotion, Kim Shin-hwa neither fled nor panicked, merely muttering briefly.
That bastard's pretty crazy himself? Or does he have something to rely on? The thought briefly circled Gong Isu's mind. And soon, Gong Isu would confirm Kim Shin-hwa's 'backup.'
"Aah, sorryyy— Things got noisy, huh—"
A woman's voice with a drawn-out ending.
It wasn't someone else beside Kim Shin-hwa. Even in his delirious state, Gong Isu was briefly impressed.
It's not just the voice. Her presence itself has changed. Shapeshifting? A shape-shifter? Or magic?
"Ugh, Doctor? The outside is in level 1 danger right now. Even for you, causing problems in this situation is trouble."
"Aah— I know thattt— That's why I'm hereee—"
Kim Shin-hwa's lines flowed naturally.
"I heard the external issue might be connected to the patients on thisss— exact— line, so I came to checkkk—"
"Connected, you say?"
"Yesss— They said the cult of the new IPE-3876 might be here to rescue himmm— We should raise IPE-3876's security levelll—"
Kim Shin-hwa smoothly shifted the security guards' attention to IPE-3876, [The Starving Old Man].
It was a short conversation, but Gong Isu quickly pieced it together based on what he knew. Wasn't he from a cult? But what's this level 1 danger?
"I didn't think that! I didn't! I don't even know who the Starving Old Man isss!"
Gong Isu blurted out nonsense amid his delirium. He thought maybe shutting his mouth would be better for him.
"No! No! That's not my thoughtsss!!"
"What's up with that guy all of a sudden...."
"Right? This isn't like him at all. I don't know why he's acting up like thisss— I'll check on him, so could you check IPE-3876's status?"
"No, we can't do that."
Kim Shin-hwa made it sound simple, but it skipped several procedures. No way the guards would—
『No issues here. It would be best to move and check IPE-3876's status.』
"No issues here. We'll move to check IPE-3876's status."
"Yesss— See you laterrr—"
Gong Isu screamed again. But he sensed the atmosphere had changed from before.
'The outside sounds are gone?'
Now, all he heard was his own voice and Kim Shin-hwa's presence from beyond.
Sounds were blocked.
Gong Isu realized this abnormal silence meant some physical laws had ceased normal function.
Shapeshifting, mental manipulation, interference with physical laws. Unrelated abilities kept appearing. Magic after all?
"Wizard? A wizard!?"
Gong Isu's shout.
Even though he had thought it himself, Gong Isu spoke as if it weren't his thought.
"Stop! Shut up! Get out of my head! Stop the fake narration!"
"Sigh, this won't do."
A sigh from Kim Shin-hwa beyond the door.
Beep—
With a cheerful sound, the door opened, and a woman with long curly hair entered the round room. Someone Gong Isu knew.
Yi Ha-seo.
One of the hospital's main researchers and a medical expert with surreal abilities.
Click—
As the door closed, Yi Ha-seo's form collapsed, revealing Kim Shin-hwa disguised as her.
A man in a medical gown and glasses, unfamiliar appearance.
'That's the guy called Kim Shin-hwa?'
Gong Isu's senses activated, realizing Kim Shin-hwa's face was not real but a magical mask. Suspicious and dangerous as expected.
Kim Shin-hwa is the Sacrifice of the Banquet. If this continued, Gong Isu would get entangled with the Sacrifice of the Banquet. The horrific curse those entangled with the Sacrifice suffered. In the past, Gong Isu had been the Sacrifice spreading that curse, but now it was reversed.
Gong Isu thought.
"Ah, no! I didn't think that!"
I must not get entangled with that guy.
Escape. Now's the chance. Use my ability to subdue Kim Shin-hwa and get out of this room. I can escape now. Don't think about anything else, just head outside. It might be a bit risky, but if I approach the security guards and ask for protection, they'll keep me safe.
"Ah, no! Can't go out! I don't want to go out! I'm not going out!"
"Hmm, his condition's getting worse. No choice?"
Kim Shin-hwa leisurely reached into his pocket for something. Definitely a tool to kill me. Run, just run. Move before he does and escape. Escape. Don't give him any info, just run. Hurry and run. Attack Kim Shin-hwa. He's still off-guard. Striking first gives me a chance.
"Uwaaa! Stop! Don't try to control me! Stop! Please stop!"
"Don't come closer. No, he's not in a state to reason with."
Kim Shin-hwa extended his hand toward Gong Isu. An unpleasant sensation on his skin. Kim Shin-hwa was using magic. Magic that imposed a forced status ailment. He's going to kill you. He's going to kill you. He's going to kill you. He's going to kill you.
"W-Wait! Wait—"
It stopped.
His body stopped.
But it's fine. Not a hard restraint to break.
Move your hands. You have eyes that see mana flow, hands that can disassemble and reassemble anything. There's a weak mana link in D64W354E345. Adjust it by 15k to decompose the mana.
Crack crack crack—
Gong Isu attacked the weakness in Kim Shin-hwa's magic and broke free. The fake face masked as a disguise twisted slightly.
"You broke that? Not to be underestimated."
Kim Shin-hwa now began gathering mana to kill Gong Isu. If I don't counter, I'll die. Better I kill Kim Shin-hwa and become the Sacrifice of the Banquet. That's not a bad development.
Kim Shin-hwa pulled out a strange stone from his pocket.
"It's random probability, but no choice. Give it a shot, Senior."
"Sp-Spike Stone.... Don't use that, you crazy bastard...."
Spike Stone.
Gong Isu knew that weapon.
A thing meant to destroy the target's mind.
Kim Shin-hwa will destroy my mind, extract my info. Desecrate my corpse, take it as loot. Then offer me as sacrifice to the abyssal beings. No choice but death. Suicide. Before Kim Shin-hwa acts, suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide.
Hurry and die.
Dying is simple.
You have hands that disassemble and reassemble anything. Place hand on head, oh, you have no head. Then on chest and activate ability. Your info isn't ready to appear yet. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide.
This is your thought.
Your decision. Your will. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide.
Destroy your heart with your own hands and die.
A boring, dull life anyway.
At least make this moment dramatic. Hurry and suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide. Suicide.
"The Spike Stone isn't an offensive artifact.... No...."
In the end, Kim Shin-hwa activated the artifact he held.
Too bad.
Suicide would've been easier at this point. Entangled with the Sacrifice of the Banquet, you can no longer rest.
* * *
"That's right. The Spike Stone isn't an offensive artifact."
Gong Isu retorted to my words.
"But.... It's not safe enough to activate recklessly either."
Hmm, fair point.
[Spike Stone (A-grade magic tool) - A small stone fragment made of a material that never existed on Earth. Strange patterns are engraved on its surface. The waves emanating from this stone have a startling effect on the human mind.
Mental Spike: On use, randomly recovers a delirious target's status. However, failure worsens the delirium.]
Success frees from delirium, failure worsens it.
"I've used it several times already, but it's been all successes so far."
"....You're a crazy bastard too, huh."
This time too, the Spike Stone worked perfectly.
Gong Isu escaped delirium and was now in a state for calm conversation.
Clang, clang—
"My head's still ringing. Whew— Thanks to you...."
Gong Isu tapped his head a few times and said.
"That horrific hallucination is gone. Don't know how long it'll last, but for now... thanks."
"Don't mention it."
"And no matter what I do, you'll try to squeeze info out of me."
"That's right."
"That's the Sacrifice of the Banquet's job, after all."
His knowing attitude was annoying, but right now, Gong Isu was all I had to rely on.
"What exactly is the Sacrifice of the Banquet?"
"What the abyssal beings want to torment."
"....I know that much. Tell me something I wouldn't know."
"What bullshit? How am I supposed to know what you know and don't?"
"Why do the abyssal beings want to torment the Sacrifice of the Banquet?"
"So they can eat it, absorb it, or turn it into a follower."
"I know that too."
"Fuck. What do you want from me?"
Tricky.
No special gains and back to square one?
"Haa...."
Gong Isu sighed briefly and spoke.
"I don't know exactly why those bastards fuck with the Sacrifice either. But I do know why the Sacrifice is special."
"Why it's special?"
"Because it's from outside this space-time. It has power beyond this world's rules, so it becomes an observation target for the abyssal beings."
"Outside space-time.... You, which one? Outside time or space?"
"Time and space...? Does it matter splitting them?"
"It does to me. Another time? Or another space?"
"You didn't know and came here? I'm a time traveler. Some abyssal beings called me a [Regressor]. Ah— I see. You're not a time traveler, huh?"
"I'm.... Probably a dimension traveler. From another world. Hmm.... Could call me a [Possessor] too."
This body isn't mine originally. [Possessor] is more accurate.