Chapter 252
Chapter 252
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 252
Chapter Title: Pursuit
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It was just for a moment, but the flash was bright enough to erase the night.
And that explosion. The sound of the world itself tearing apart.
Only belatedly did the people of Geumchon-dong wake up, screaming out their windows.
Something's starting! Monsters! Is another massive collapse happening!? What the hell is going on? An air raid? An air raid?! Something horrific is happening!
It wasn't just Geumchon-dong. The entire Paju area erupted in chaos.
Tudor grinned, savoring the uproar, the noise, the confusion.
"Orr, mind grabbing me some coffee if you get a chance?"
"Got it. Tudor. Coffee."
As Orr turned to head down to the first floor, Tudor called out to him.
"Want to join in?"
"Join? What do you mean?"
Orr tilted his head, displaying a '?' on the monitor where his head should be.
"Nah, Orr. Just kidding. Anyway, coffee, coffee—"
Hee hee hee—Tudor just burst into laughter, offering no proper response. In the end, Orr headed back down to the first floor.
"This time, even the one in the abyss is gonna be pretty pissed, I bet?"
Tudor's gaze shifted back east—to a spot far beyond human eyesight.
The cultists, struck directly by that earth-shattering attack, lay sprawled out, writhing, screaming in chaos.
But those who could even scream were the lucky ones.
The cultists at the front, charging eagerly, vaporized without knowing what hit them. Those a bit farther back turned to piles of black ash. And the ones even farther endured their blood boiling and skin melting in agony before dying.
Watching the scene, Tudor flashed a serpentine smile—hiss.
"Yeah, darling. Impressive. So impressive. You can make my wish come true."
* * *
The tidal wave surging from the reservoir transformed into a massive tsunami, defying gravity as it climbed the mountain.
"Waves! The waves are coming!"
No way! No way! Is that a size a human can even move? That mass, that volume. No human brain could calculate or handle that amount.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Yet the wave charged toward the cultists, the other races, the monsters, the amphibians, the insects.
But before that—how did so much water come from that tiny reservoir!? How, how, how!
"Aaaagh!"
"Run! Run!"
The boiling white foam of death poured down on the Blood Demon Cult's cultists.
Even cultists who had abandoned their humanity for the path of corruption couldn't outrun the crashing waves.
Soon, the world flipped upside down.
A horrific torrent swallowed everything.
* * *
[System: The 'Feast's Offering' trait activates.]
['Abyssal Being: Blood Demon King' rages at you.]
['Abyssal Being: Blood Demon King' curses you.]
['Abyssal Being: Blood Demon King' declares your destruction.]
"Anyone can make declarations."
Come on, then. Come down here. Let's see you try.
[System: The 'Feast's Offering' trait activates.]
[The Abyssal Being grants special blessings to its followers.]
[The Abyssal Being performs a special miracle.]
[The Abyssal Being performs a special miracle.]
[The Abyssal Being performs a special miracle.]
"Looks like they're pretty busy."
I'm busy too. To counter the miracles it was churning out, I kept cranking out new spells at breakneck speed.
Flaming spears raining like meteors, massive lightning bolts slamming from sky to ground, the earth yawning open to devour enemies.
Rumble! Boom!! Kaboom!!
Cataclysmic natural disasters poured down on Cheontae-dong.
"Woooaaah—"
Jang Hyun-deok's mouth gaped as wide as the splitting earth.
"Is that really the wizard doing that?"
"Who else?"
"Wizard? Are you really human?"
"What kinda nonsense is that? More human than anyone."
More human than any human here.
And the inhuman ones were over there. I expanded my senses to pinpoint where they were clustered.
'It's thinned out some...'
I thought I could wipe them all out with ranged attacks if I played it right, but plenty remained.
Tougher than expected—several times over. Blessings? I detected blood-red magic emanating from Cheontae-dong. Ah, that must be the Blood Demon Cult's signature Blood Demon Formation. That's what's keeping them alive.
Makes sense. This time, the Abyssal Beings were clearly geared up for war.
"Huh? Those guys—what are they holding?"
Within my detection range, I spotted the bizarre objects the cultists carried.
Plain, skewer-like spears, long and straight.
'And dangling from the spear tips...'
Human heads impaled on them.
That wasn't all. Intestines wrapped around their bodies like proud decorations. Arms and legs—severed from their owners—clutched like weapons.
Sssss—
The blessings from the [Blood Demon King] flowed through those corpse pieces to the cultists.
"Ah, yeah. I knew they had that theme."
In the game, I'd just gone 'ew, gross,' but seeing it in person... not great.
Innocent people these cultists sacrificed as living offerings for the [Blood Demon King]'s blessings.
People living normal lives just yesterday, now reduced to ritual symbols proving their faith.
"Ah—I'm already struggling to keep my blood pressure in check, and now they're pissing me off."
"Uh, wizard? You mad?"
"Hmm..."
Felt bad, yeah.
But mad?
Honestly, I wasn't sure if this was even my emotion. My moods swung wildly, other personalities popping up constantly—hard to tell if it was real or just part of the madness.
"Hyun-deok—what's normal here?"
"What's that?"
"Getting mad when bad guys mass-murder people, right?"
"Uh—yeah? Probably?"
"In your eyes, am I the type who'd get mad at that?"
"Hmm, good guy? Hero of justice? Or maybe a pushover—something like that?"
Jang Hyun-deok stared at me like I'd said something ridiculous.
Yeah... From his perspective, judging by the moral folks he'd dealt with, guys like that were just idiots or suckers who wouldn't last long.
Whatever—idiot or pushover—didn't matter. Was I that type?
"Yeah, that."
"Not sure about hero of justice... but you do like meddling and nagging people."
"Hey, all my advice sounded like nagging to you?"
"Ehh? No, no. But didn't you say we came here to piss off the Abyssal Beings today?"
Ah, right. Yeah.
No time to dwell on this.
"Mmm, yeah. Got work to do. Alright, plan as discussed. Remember the roles?"
"Ah, yes. You hit the enemy lines. I—"
Creak creak grind—crunch crunch—
The death knight golems rose, sucking in my mana. Ah, head's ringing a bit after chugging mana for those big spells in a row.
"Yeah, you hold the base. Guard it with your friends."
I set up additional magic circles to form a barrier around Jang Hyun-deok, then hopped on my skateboard and charged.
Whoosh—
The cultists' faces rushed into view in an instant.
[Fireball]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-cast]
[L-rank Accessory 'Mask of Carcosa' unique function, 'Yellow Dominion,' activates.
// Yellow Dominion: Adds 'Spell Enhancement: Fear Infusion' effect to certain spells.]
Kaboom!!
Fireballs laced with fear-inducing effects exploded ferociously from all directions.
'Hm, not working?'
Were they so blinded by the [Blood Demon King]'s blessings that they ignored the forced terror? They roared even louder.
"Over there! Kill Kim Shin-hwa!"
"The time of Blood Heaven is at hand!"
Like moths to a flame, the cultists swarmed me.
'Something's off.'
Their movements were weird. Why charge so defenselessly? Suicidal?
Amid the chaos, one guy acted differently, catching my eye.
"Aaaah! Stop him! Stop him! Protect me!"
One cultist repeated the same line, fleeing.
Who was that? Considerable mana—named, probably. Hard to tell who, cloaked in a half-burnt sackcloth.
"Hey, wait up. Let's go together!"
I sped up my skateboard to close in, but he yelled, "Aaaack! Stay back! Warriors of the Blood Demon King! Right now! Sacrifice your lives!"
He barked harsh orders at his minions in a pathetic whine.
"Right now! This very spot is where you lay down your lives!"
"The time of Blood Heaven is at hand!"
"Long live Blood Heaven!"
Ugh, what the hell?
The Blood Demon Cult cultists here were the most human-looking of the bunch. But what they started doing...
Slash! Splatter!
They drew daggers from their robes, thrust spears into themselves—self-sacrifice.
Crimson blood sprayed everywhere.
The stench of gore.
Corpses crumpling lifeless to the ground.
"Well done! Good job! Your vengeful spirits will pave the way for Blood Heaven!"
Ah, I know who that is now.
He tossed the Seven Star Sword in his hand into the air, chanting a spell.
Whirl—
The Seven Star Sword spun in midair, radiating mana—
"Urgent Spirit Summon! My comrades who died with grudges! Heeding Blood Heaven's call, unleash your vengeance!"
The Blood Demon Cult's leader. Blood Marquess, was it?
Flutter flutter—
Talismans poured from his sleeves.
Scatter!
They flew out, sticking to the foreheads of the dead other races and cultists sprawled around—thwack.
"Graaaah!"
"Kyaaaak!"
The dead cultists—other races—monsters—amphibians—and insects rose, leaping at me.
Claws sharpened razor-like, tears of blood streaming.
"Ah, you lunatics. What the hell is this?"
Killing themselves just to protect that leader? And he turns them into undead right away?
"Kyaaaak!"
"Kieeeek!"
The cultists-turned-undead lurched at me with eerily stiff movements. Details might not matter much, but by lore, the Blood Demon Cult's undead were jiangshi.
I didn't slow down, extending a hand toward the jiangshi.
[Chain Lightning]
"Avenging my, uh, benefactor's, uh, whatever—I'll pay you back!"
A massive woman burst out suddenly.
Anaconda for a left arm, goat hooves for legs. Head like a lion's—freakish. Distinctive look. I knew her instantly.
Another named from the Gourmet Expedition Team. Title was Foreman, right?
Like the old man before, she sucked up my lightning with that lion maw.
"I'll return it laced with poison!"
Rumble!
Murk-black lightning erupted from the anaconda's mouth.
Poison-infused lightning.
"Whoa!"
[Lightning Rod]
Rumble!
My quick protection spell dispersed the blast.
[System: 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait activates.]
"Ah, damn it!"
[Leap]
"Grroooar!"
A golden-skinned giant frog lunged, slamming a palm strike packed with absurd power at my spot.
Boom!!
A huge crater formed where it hit.
No choice but to jump—no other defense. Irritation flooding my head. No no no, stay calm. Calm down, Kim Shin-hwa. This is real danger.
That amphibian humanoid. Looks like a Shaolin monk, but no pushover.
"Ah, so that's it—you forcibly made a Frog Demon?"
Even so, it was born minutes ago.
I can handle that level.
'One Frog Demon? Sure. But three Judges at once?'
The crow's voice whispered in my ear.
[Enhanced Vigilance] kept blaring danger danger danger.
'Knowing it's dangerous, why push in?'
The fox's voice this time.
Why? To drag out the [Blood Demon King], I need to hit 'em harder.
'No, looks to me like you're forcing yourself into danger. Avoiding your identity crisis by diving into raw action.'
Ah, don't care if you're right or not—shut up so I can focus?
Besides, not a time to just brawl.
"You shall not pass!"
"Grroooar!"
The lion-snake-headed woman and the golden frog humanoid.
"Kyaaaak!"
And jiangshi pouring in from all sides.
[Blazing Flame]
Boom!
I blasted one jiangshi to bits and turned.
Flashy obstacles, but decoys.
From the [Blood Demon King]'s view, who cares if some rival cult's Judges or makeshift undead die.
"Aaaah! Hurry! Hurry!"
The Blood Marquess, shedding all dignity as a Judge, fleeing toward Cheontae-dong.
That bastard wasn't fleeing to survive. Catch him to drag out the [Blood Demon King].