Chapter 250
Chapter 250
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 250
Chapter Title: Cheontae-dong
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Gwangjeok-myeon, Biam-ri, Yangju-si, Gyeonggi-do.
A place that's left Paju administratively, but just a five-minute walk from the Paju city limits.
“Biam-ri... Biam-ri...”
An uneasy feeling creeps over me for some reason.
“Hyeon-deok.”
“Yeah?”
Jang Hyeon-deok, gripping the steering wheel, turns his head naturally to reply.
“Ugh, eyes on the road?”
“Huh? There’s no cars around here anyway.”
...Do all experienced drivers do this?
The road is so twisty and dark it’s giving me chills.
It’s supposed to be the national highway from Paju to Yangju, but both sides are nothing but mountains and trees.
And this car is driving without even the headlights on. We’re plunging into pitch blackness, relying solely on Jang Hyeon-deok’s sharp senses and driving skills.
Once I confirm he’s looking ahead again, I ask properly.
“That village is called Biam-ri?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
It showed up in the game too, but I never paid attention to what the name meant. But Bi-am? Bi? Bee-?
Is it what I think it is?
“Just to be sure, Hyeon-deok—what does ‘Biam’ mean?”
“Eh? Biam?”
Jang Hyeon-deok lets go of the wheel for a second to scratch his cheek.
“Oh yeah, I remember some old guy telling me a legend about it once. What was it again?”
“See? There is something. What was it?”
I steel myself, waiting for him to recall the legend of Biam-ri.
If ‘flying rock from the sky (飛巖)’ or something like that comes out of Hyeon-deok’s mouth?
Then today’s plans are over. Screw the mission—I’m heading straight home.
“Oh, right. There’s this rock up on the mountain called the Geunjun Rock.”
“Yeah, a rock. Go on?”
“They say if you compare something to that rock and it matches perfectly, your wish comes true? So that’s why it’s Biam-ri (比巖里).”
“Oh, the ‘bi’ from ‘compare’?”
“Yeah, but it’s just what I heard from the old guys passing through, so I might not have it exact.”
So it’s like the legend of the Jul Rock. Similar names attract similar legends, huh?
“Nothing else besides that?”
“Else? What’re you curious about?”
“Like something with birds... or fairies showing up in the story.”
“Hmm~ There’s a place around here called Cheontae-dong. Someone said it’s a good spot? That’s all I know.”
I remember Cheontae-dong from [Cthulhu World] too.
A great place to hide from disasters. It’s listed in the Jeungamrok as one of the [Ten Victories Lands (十勝之地)].
That’s why in this game, Paju is set as one of the hideouts for cornered cultists.
‘So... it’s not a place that’ll trigger my phobias, right?’
If so, no problem. My mood’s lifting for no reason.
“Good. That’s enough. As expected of a veteran Paju cabbie—you know the local geography inside out.”
“Hahaha, if I’d gone to school, I’d be even smarter.”
Hmm, good, good.
‘We’re almost there.’
Right now, Jang Hyeon-deok and I are chasing cultists who fled Paju for Yangju.
They couldn’t hold out in Paju anymore and headed east, but couldn’t fully escape—they’ve holed up in this ambiguous spot between Paju and Yangju.
That spot is Cheontae-dong.
‘It used to have a fancy golf course.’
In my old world, it’s probably still thriving.
But this is [Cthulhu World]’s Paju.
Monsters pouring out, criminals swarming, mysterious foreigners and otherworldly beings mixed in among the people before you know it.
Paju and Yangju stopped being tourist or leisure destinations long ago.
No way something like a golf course survives. This area’s just a spot you visit for events tracking cultists.
And now, crimson mana seeping in from all directions, mingled with the stench of blood, rot, and spoiled meat.
“Huh? Was the vibe around here always like this?”
Jang Hyeon-deok mutters, sensing something.
He wouldn’t have noticed before, but now he can detect mana and anticipate dangers.
I tell the uneasy, shrinking Jang Hyeon-deok what’s waiting for us.
“The cultists are getting ready to welcome us.”
A ton has happened in a short time.
Power struggles, mind games, phone calls, silent pressure, gift exchanges, betrayals and alliances, shows of force, actual force, losing bases, politicking, schmoozing, Director Cha Tae-won please send ten guys that way, Lady Yeo can you blow up that building? And so on.
If I listed them one by one, I’d be up all night—it was that long and tedious. In the end, the Red Heads completely abandoned the [Blood Demon Cult].
“So how many are gathered? Even watching from the side, I couldn’t tell, but is this the last of them?”
“Hmm... maybe a lot?”
“~A lot?”
“What? I don’t know what I don’t know. But when the Red Heads ditched the [Blood Demon Cult], they dumped everyone even remotely friendly with them.”
The ones waiting for me in Cheontae-dong?
First, the [Blood Demon Cult], still dodging me and running well.
Then [Gourmet Expedition Party] and [Shang Immortals], who’ve lost a lot of forces after clashing with me a few times.
And beast-like heteromorphs following [The One Who Waits Silently] and [The One Who Drinks Fear]—not really a church, but still.
Plus a few minor cults that lost their Paju support base overnight.
“Eh, it’ll be fine. Nothing to worry about. Time to show you your spot.”
“Hearing you say that makes me even more anxious than usual.”
“Huh? Why?”
“You’ve been saying ‘it’s fine’ and ‘good’ way more today...”
“Ugh, really?”
I run through their possible forces and strategies in my head, but nothing dangerous comes up.
‘Well, I already took out anyone who could’ve been a main villain...’
Some mid-boss types from each cult are left, but eh?
‘They’ll probably team up for some hasty combo play.’
Even so, it won’t be hard to handle.
‘Kinda anticlimactic.’
I put in tons of effort to set this up, and I wanted this situation—
‘But it feels less like a grand finale to a long event and more like tedious cleanup.’
Was I hoping for a full-scale war with massive firepower? Guess I’m not cut out to be a schemer.
But this isn’t a flashy blockbuster for spectacle or a tough game for overcoming challenges.
This is the scenario with the highest survival odds for me.
‘And no slacking. They know how I move and what cards I have.’
The cultists can’t do much more...
[System: The ‘Feast’s Sacrifice’ trait activates.]
[An ‘Abyssal Existence’ bestows a blessing upon its followers.]
Yeah, that’s the wildcard.
My prep stays the same, but what about you? [Blood Demon King], what’ve you got?
* * *
Pitch-black darkness.
Once a golf course, now it’s a horrific place filled with sticky marshes, man-made trenches, grotesquely overgrown plants, and ritual symbols.
The perfect spot, fully equipped with everything cultists need.
The gathered cultists wait silently for their god’s response, conducting profane, gruesome rituals with meticulous fervor.
And far off.
Ah, there he is.
A vehicle submerged in the darkness, headlights off, approaches quietly but at high speed.
Yes.
The Feast’s Sacrifice, Kim Shin-hwa, draws near.
Kim Shin-hwa has deployed various stealth spells for a covert approach, but he’s probably not expecting much. What are your thoughts?
[Predator: Feels hunger.]
[Blood: Grid (격)!]
Confirmed.
The [Blood] followers are still outside Kim Shin-hwa’s detection range. You have initiative—act first.
However, per rules, hostile actions will expose your movements to Kim Shin-hwa.
[Blood: Haak (喝)!]
Very well.
Terrain effects and the cultists’ desperate rituals allow the blessing to apply without check, at triple effect.
[The ‘Blood’ blessing is granted to the cultists.]
* * *
One [Blood Demon Cult] cultist, lost in ritual trance, feels the [Blood] blessing and unleashes an ecstatic shout.
“I hear it! The voice of the great [Blood Demon King]!”
Shouts erupt in response.
“He comes! He comes!”
“The bastard’s coming!”
Shouts laced with hatred, rage, and fear.
Right now, the name they call isn’t their god or leader.
“Kim Shin-hwa comes!”
“Kim Shin-hwa! Kim Shin-hwa comes!”
“Destroyer Demon! Destroyer Demon!”
“Destroyer Demon! Destroyer Demon!”
“The Abyss Hunter comes!”
Desperate screams, near-howls. That monster! That monster!
Only one name on their lips.
* * *
[Predator: Feels hunger.]
Impossible.
[Elephant] cannot bestow a blessing right now.
[Predator: Feels hunger.]
Really?
Using that ability would consume all resources [Predator] has built up.
[Predator: Feels hunger.]
Understood.
No check required for this action.
[‘Predator’ uses special ability ‘True Body Authority’ to grant action opportunities to the ‘Avatars’.]
Now, the three of you who lost your turns may each declare an action.
What will you do?
[Elephant: Meditates.]
[Thirst: Tskrrrrrr-]
[Waiting: Laughs.]
* * *
Large and small cults,
Groups not quite cults but bound by consistent faith,
Races gathered by specific bloodlines.
Mocked as defeated remnants, but together they number over 200.
Cultists in varied garb, faces, tongues, howling in every language in this horrific place.
Yet amid the chaos, some remain utterly silent.
“......”
“......”
“......”
Right there.
In the corner of the Cheontae-dong marsh, [Shang Immortals] monks immersed in filthy sludge, deep in meditation.
* * *
[The ‘Elephant’ blessing grants immense power to specific cultists.]
* * *
That instant.
One meditating monk rears up with a guttural roar.
“Grraaarrgh!!”
The others rise in unison, overcome by transcendent ecstasy and unreal shivers, roaring out.
“Grrraaarrgh!”
“Grrraaaarrgh!”
In the midst of the fresh uproar, an undeniable miracle unfolds.
A change in the frailest, most wretched body among them.
Skin splits, muscles swell. Eyeballs roll wildly, unable to retract; a massive tongue lolls out.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
“Waaaaah!!”
Cultists, gripped by religious fervor at the sight, cry out in rapture.
“Grraaagh! Kusemawa! Kusemawa is born!”
“Kusemawa! It’s Kusemawa!”
A golden body ballooning to gigantic size.
“Graaaaaah!!”
The reborn Kusemawa’s roar sends shockwaves rippling through the entire marsh.
Groooarrr—
A true divine blessing.
The clan’s weakest reborn as a transcendent being rivaling a judge-level cultist.
And another miracle.
Tskrrrrrr—
From the darkness, a colossal form stirs. Snake? Dragon? No—a massive earthworm, rivaling a mountain in size, one of the [Great Vessels] of exceptional scale, crawling forth.
“Yes, yes. Yes. Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! I’ve waited for this moment!”
The [Blood Demon Cult] leader, Blood Marquess, cries out.
Eyes blazing crimson, he glares toward Kim Shin-hwa’s approach.
“Let’s go. The time for vengeance is now.”
Vast numbers of cultists follow him.
Heteromorphs, monsters, amphibians, insects swarm from all sides in grotesque shapes.
“We hunt. We hunt! We hunt!”
“Kikikik! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
* * *
All preparations complete?
Now entering combat phase.