Chapter 246
Chapter 246
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 246
Chapter Title: Pattern Change
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Kwachijijik!
A massive boulder mutated into a spike shape tears apart the body of the last [Colossus]—and purple bodily fluids spray in all directions.
From the rooftop of an apartment building a short distance away, I watch the scene while using my senses, expanded in all directions, to prepare for any new enemies—but no reinforcements come.
“About done?”
There were more of them than expected.
“Clear time around 13 minutes. A new record.”
I’ve never come to this place under these conditions before. Right now, I can wield more powerful strength than any character I’ve ever played, and use a wider variety of abilities than any of them.
“Could I actually clear this for real?”
Could I save this world, which has always ended in destruction no matter what route or ending I’ve seen?
No, that’s impossible. Don’t get your hopes up for nothing.
I check the status of the large magical device visible even from far away, the [Portable Barrier Generator], and move out immediately.
‘Hmm, about time for them to get pissed off.’
If it were [Undefeated Flame] or [Predator of the Mountains], they would’ve flipped out already, but [Drinker of Fear] is a bit more stubborn.
As I explained to Jang Hyun-deok, the core of this entire strategy is to make them angry.
Kill their psychics, destroy their haunts, steal their manifestations.
Once we’ve stripped away their ability to exert direct power in the present world—then we make them angry.
‘Normally, just killing their cherished kin or destroying the cult outright is enough.’
Especially eliminating those with faith is the most reliable method.
‘Reputation and belief. Not only do they grant power to those things—but through specific images or notoriety, they can even create new avatars with fresh powers.’
Anyway, we steal, destroy, ruin, and defile the things they hold dear, one by one.
Then, even with an obvious trap laid out in plain sight, they charge straight in. Pride as abyssal beings, maybe?
And right at that moment.
We erect the barrier and expel them, allowing me to siphon off the power they manifested to descend.
It’s the same explanation I gave Jang Hyun-deok once. Come to think of it, a question he asked me back then comes to mind.
‘So if we keep repeating this method, can we take them all down?’
Well, it worked in the game, but what about now?
This world follows the patterns I saw in [Cthulhu World], but it’s not exactly the same. They can think, and come up with new countermeasures.
‘Anyway, shall we poke a bit more and see how they respond?’
I look up toward the spot in this apartment complex where the strongest magical power is concentrated.
“Let’s see, that building, 7th floor.”
It’s where the cult leader was.
Inside there’s the culprit behind this unprecedented worm outbreak—a powerful, evil artifact.
The leader probably brought it here knowing his minions would end up as worm food.
If I destroy that—now they really won’t be able to hold back.
[Acceleration]
Chwaaaaaak—
I know [Leap] would get me there faster, but I can’t bring myself to use it. Ah, just thinking about it is already annoying me.
“Argh, damn it.”
I pour more mana into [Acceleration] to boost my speed.
Chwaaaaaaaaak—
I arrive at the target building in an instant. Inside is the [Egg Sac] that produces the worms. It’s dormant now, waiting for the blood of the next sacrifice.
“Ugh, what a pain! Why are there so many damn walls again!”
Anyway, this is the first floor. I could climb the outer wall like before, but still fuming with pretended rage, I unleash magic wildly.
[Wall of Force]
[Horn Strike]
[Stone Shatter]
Kwaaaaaaang!
Walls and ceilings shatter in an instant. I blast through the annoying obstacles without restraint and press forward. How about that? Still holding back? Want me to shake you up more?
[Earthquake Strike]
Kwarururung!
A spell I cast thinking it doesn’t matter if the building collapses entirely. The unfinished, abandoned apartment begins to wobble unstably.
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Feast’s Sacrifice’ activates. ‘Abyssal Being: Drinker of Fear’ grows angry at you.]
Yes, there it is.
Chwirururuk— Chwirurururuk—
But it’s not the level of anger I wanted. Strange cries echo from afar. Did it summon more worms? Looks like it created a new commander.
[System: ‘Enhanced Vigilance’ trait activates.]
Huh?
Wait, the danger alerted by the [Enhanced Vigilance] trait isn’t my own danger. It’s warning about a danger at another location I assigned in advance.
“Ah, I see. So that’s your move?”
I hurriedly try to send part of my consciousness to Jang Hyun-deok’s location, but,
Kwaaaaaang!
From the hole in the wall that used to be a window, through the hole I made, and even bursting through the ceiling, walls, and floor from above, below, left, right, front, and back—enormous worms, worms, worms, worms, worms, worms, worms poke their heads in.
“Chwirururururu!!”
Massive maws, maws, maws, maws, maws, maws gape wide. Inside those lamprey-like open mouths are densely packed fangs, fangs, fangs, fangs, fangs, fangs.
The power of [Drinker of Fear] has warped reality through the [Egg Sac]. The enormous worms—ignoring laws like conservation of mass and whatever else—grow at tremendous speed!
Kwaaaaaang!!
The ceiling collapses.
* * *
“Kieekkieek! Kieekkieek!”
“Uwaaah!”
Jang Hyun-deok finally notices the danger rushing toward him and retreats backward.
“Kieekkieek! Kieekkieek!”
“Kieekkieek! Kieekkieek!”
The lunatics I had evacuated to the rear are spewing thin worms from their faces, mouths, eyes, and noses as they approach. With the authority of [Drinker of Fear] activating—it created replacements for the already-dead priests, and the severed hive mind has been restored.
“Uwaaak! The ones we took down are getting back up!”
“Behind! Behind us! They’re surrounding us!”
One by one, then two—even those subdued by Kim Shin-hwa’s attacks start staggering to their feet unsteadily.
Kwaaang!
“Get it together, you idiots!”
At Yeom Geum-ja’s shout, the Bongilcheonpa thugs snap to attention. Kim Shin-hwa’s earlier exploits are still fresh in their minds, so no major panic ensues.
Moreover, the worm-controlled lunatics are moving in blatantly irrational ways. They don’t attack the thugs right in front of them, merely dodging or shoving them aside like annoying obstacles.
Their sole target is Jang Hyun-deok, standing in front of that bizarre pile of junk—the [Portable Barrier Generator].
“Huh? They’re all coming just for me? For real?”
That’s right. Their attacks are aimed only at Jang Hyun-deok. It’s as if they know that if he’s subdued, a large part of Kim Shin-hwa’s plan falls apart.
“Uwaaaah—I can’t even cast proper spells yet!”
So saying, Jang Hyun-deok pulls out a strangely shaped magic stone from his pocket and activates one of the few spells Kim Shin-hwa taught him.
[Release]
Chwaaaaaak!
The soul trapped in the magic stone is freed, and a cackling laugh bursts out—kakakakaka!
Just hearing it drains your strength with chills, but Jang Hyun-deok has heard it so often now that it feels almost familiar.
“Auntie! Help me!”
Hearing that, Heo Ji-hyun’s spirit cries out in exasperation, heartlessly.
- Why should I listen to you? I’ll take your body, reclaim my home, reclaim my family, and stop it!
“Got it! So hurry up!”
Heo Ji-hyun’s spirit seeps into Jang Hyun-deok’s body. At the same time, the [Living Altar] trait planted by [King in Yellow] activates, enhancing Heo Ji-hyun’s magic while triggering a new trait for an additional effect.
[Possession]
Heo Ji-hyun is clearly moving to dominate Jang Hyun-deok’s body, but oddly, that power gets sucked into the second mana core formed inside Jang Hyun-deok, amplified doubly, and becomes his power.
- No, what is this! I hate it!
In an instant, Heo Ji-hyun loses control over Jang Hyun-deok’s body, and now her power has become his instead.
“Uratchacha! Super-Hyper-Magical-Jang Hyun-deok!”
In truth, the only spells Jang Hyun-deok can use are [Release] and [Possession]. From here, he’s just manipulating the released mana. But the puppeteer traits he borrowed from Heo Ji-hyun add new properties to his mana.
Chwararararak—
Hundreds of threads pour from Jang Hyun-deok’s hands. Mana lines infused with spells of domination, control, and suppression.
“Kieekkieek! Kieekkieek!”
“Kieekkieek! Kieekkieek!”
The lunatics charging relentlessly get entangled in Jang Hyun-deok’s mana lines and halt their advance.
Jang Hyun-deok can’t wield anything beyond this yet, but it’s enough. Kim Shin-hwa already instructed Yeom Geum-ja on the plan.
“Grab them! Push those bastards back!”
“Waaaaah!”
Pajijijik! Pajijik! Tszzt! Pajwajawajak!
Blue lightning, set to converge forward instead of bullets, erupts from the magic stone guns held by the Bongilcheonpa thugs.
“Stun guns! Forward!”
“Coming!”
“Uwaaaah!”
Kwang! Kwaaaang!
This time, it’s not bullets but barriers of compressed air.
Yeom Geum-ja recalls what Kim Shin-hwa told her.
‘Right around here. From there to here. I’ve laid a magic circle on the ground. In this area, these guns will fire non-lethal spells instead of bullets. We’re saving them, so let’s subdue without killing.’
“Destroyer, you creepy bastard—you knew this would happen again, didn’t you.”
Muttering that, Yeom Geum-ja directs the Bongilcheonpa thugs to surround Jang Hyun-deok.
“Wow! Madam! Thank you! I knew you’d help!”
“Shut up! I—”
Yeom Geum-ja starts to say something in response to Jang Hyun-deok’s cheer, but—
Kwaaaaaaaaang!
She clamps her mouth shut in shock at the massive shockwave and roar.
“Huh—what, what is that?”
The huge apartment splits clean in half—and a gigantic worm—soars into the sky. It hasn’t awakened to the mysteries of flight after shedding the bonds of the earth for so long.
The worm flies off as if flung by some enormous force.
Kwaaaaaang!
And another one.
Kwaaaaaang!!
“Uwaaaah! All of you, get lost!”
Kim Shin-hwa’s thunderous roar echoes.
Ururururung—
Storm clouds gather at tremendous speed. Yeom Geum-ja stares at them—those—no way?
[Scattering Thunderstorm]
Kwaaaaaaaaang!!
Flames and lightning engulf the entire apartment complex.
[Soundwave Impact]-enhanced, Kim Shin-hwa’s shout erupts once more.
“Hey, send more worms! Whatever you send, I’ll smash it all!”
With this, all the cards prepared by [Drinker of Fear] are exhausted. As Kim Shin-hwa declared, the cornered [Drinker of Fear] resorts to a desperate last measure.
The sky warps, and the ground melts.
“Wh-what? What is it!?”
An immense presence originating from the abyss approaches to overturn this barren land.
- Hyun-deok, it’s coming! Third disc, five squares left!
“Uwaaah! Mage! You okay?”
- Ugh, forget it, man! Five squares left, quick!
“G-got it!”
Jang Hyun-deok rushes to the third disc and—
“Uh uh, which way is left again?”
- Hey! Hey!
“Here! This is left!”
Yeom Geum-ja’s shout.
Drururuk!
- Good job!
Soon, with a tremendous shock, a barrier envelops the entire apartment complex, and Kim Shin-hwa activates her prepared spell.
[Forced Expulsion: Drinker of Fear]
What follows is so cleanly wrapped up it needs no further explanation. Kim Shin-hwa successfully resolved the incident and recovered the [Egg Sac] infused with [Drinker of Fear]’s power.
With this, three abyssal beings have had their power stolen by Kim Shin-hwa.
[Drinker of Fear] tried to change patterns, but Kim Shin-hwa—no, the Feast’s Sacrifice—steered it back to the same pattern with a fairly convincing method.
What do you think?
[Predator: Feels hunger.]
Glad you liked it.
Just to check, any intention to change the policy?
Like with [Mask], [Flame], or [Darkness].
[Predator: Feels hunger.]
Good. Then……
[Blood: No!]
[Predator: Feels hunger.]
[Blood: Speak.]
[Predator: Feels hunger.]
Understood.
Some readers worry about the similar patterns repeating, but since the Feast’s Sacrifice wants to face all five, we’ll proceed like this for now.