Chapter 265
Chapter 265
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 265
Chapter Title: Sealed Rock Hall
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“Ugh, damn it. What the hell is this?”
A small traditional hanok built in a classic style.
This place was where the last successor of those who had guarded this spot since before the Great Collapse, all to prevent the descent of the [Great Origin].
So, that was the setup for this quest.
One, there’s a site beneath Mount Seorak where the abyssal being known as the [Great Origin] could descend.
Two, in their ruthless construction, Yeonam Corporation dug into the mountain and ended up reaching that very site.
Three, cultists based in Sokcho, devotees of the [Great Origin], seize the moment and make their move.
Four, problems arise.
And that’s about when the player approaches Mount Seorak.
Usually, it unfolds into battles against judge-level cultists empowered by the [Great Origin], or monsters created by its power.
In the worst case, the [Great Origin] itself descends.
‘Given the vibe right now, a descent seems the most likely.’
In short, fail to stop it, and it’s a ruinous ending.
To avert the impending doom, the player explores Mount Seorak and Sokcho, gathering scant clues.
Then comes five.
Five, the resolution part.
Since it’s a game, there’s a solution provided.
The player reaches this fortune-teller’s shop, Sealed Rock Hall, where I now stood.
The [Guardian of Sealed Rock Hall] who awaits there lends the player her power, and together they repel the cultists.
Even if you didn’t stop the cultists’ scheme in advance, it’s fine.
The [Guardian of Sealed Rock Hall] possesses an ancient grimoire called the [Sealed Rock Scripture], which records spells to prevent the [Great Origin]’s descent.
“Protecting Granny Guardian is the tough part, but the clear method itself was a straightforward quest.”
So why did things end up like this?
Waiting for me at Sealed Rock Hall wasn’t the [Guardian of Sealed Rock Hall].
What awaited me inside the gate was—
“Hoo—”
A sigh.
It was a truly bizarre and horrific sight.
Not just scary or gruesome, but an unsettling, alien scene laced with religious reverence. The mere act of looking at it could warp a person’s mind and emotions.
[System: ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Nullifies the mental shock you’ve received.]
Pzzzt—
Yeah, that’s better.
“Who the hell are you? Who did this crap?”
Cultists?
It was so blasphemous and grotesque that the word “cultists” sprang to mind immediately.
The entire rectangular courtyard of Sealed Rock Hall was covered in pristine white hanji paper.
Atop it sat headless corpses in reverent poses.
Not just one or two.
“Three, four… total of eleven?”
The [Guardian of Sealed Rock Hall] was a single elderly woman. No disciples, no successors, no family.
So these eleven must have been brought in from elsewhere.
Why were eleven people dying here in such a grotesque manner?
These weren’t ordinary corpses, nor ordinary deaths.
Headless bodies clad in white hemp burial shrouds sat dead in bizarre poses.
“No, less ‘sitting’ and more like a meditative posture?”
That’s what it looked like.
Like frozen Buddha statues, all in lotus position, hands forming mudras.
Not ordinary deaths, as I said.
Deaths steeped in religious intent and ritualistic context.
“Kiiing—”
Red perched on the fence let out a worried cry.
“Don’t worry. Doesn’t seem like any immediate dangers.”
I’d already checked with detection.
“So, Red, scout around the building. Let me know if you spot anything weird.”
“Kiii—”
With a flap of wings, Red took off.
I gave similar instructions to Swirly, then ventured deeper into the courtyard.
My heightened senses were conveying detailed info on everything inside Sealed Rock Hall.
“Urgh—”
That sensitivity let me grasp how these corpses had died—and why they remained rigidly posed.
Iron stakes were driven into both knees and both hands of each.
And those stakes—
Damn, these people were still alive when the stakes pierced their limbs.
Traces on the corpses’ skin and the rigid muscle forms testified to the horror they endured.
Someone had forced them into this uncomfortable pose by hammering stakes into their own bodies—
‘And the moment the pose was complete, they severed the necks.’
The perpetrator executed this with cold precision, brutality, and superhuman strength—swift and effortless.
“Damn, I didn’t need to know it in this much detail.”
A truly blasphemous, horrific method of murder. The killer performed this gruesome ritual with such resolute, iron will it might even seem pious.
“And these people…”
They had no heads, but their hands remained.
I identified them from the small tattoos on the backs of their hands.
All eleven corpses bore the exact same tattoo on their hand backs.
Not ordinary corpses, ordinary deaths—or ordinary people to begin with.
“What the hell is going on with this quest?”
Passing through the horrific courtyard, I opened the sliding door to the shrine hall opposite the gate.
Rattle—
“Hm. Pardon the intrusion.”
Beyond the door stood a colorful folding screen, the kind common in fortune-tellers’ shops.
A Korean reinterpretation, but it depicted symbols of transcendent beings—ancient gods—hostile to the [Abyssal Beings].
And what’s that?
Did they burn talismans? There were traces of paper bundles scorched in the corner.
No, that wasn’t important.
What mattered was the square coffin in the center of the room.
“I think I get what they were trying to do. Probably not your idea, right?”
Lying in the coffin was an elderly woman in white mourning clothes.
In other words… the [Guardian of Sealed Rock Hall].
Unlike the grotesque corpses in the yard, her body felt treated with utmost respect.
Corpses slain by ritual magic, and the granny’s arranged like a sacred relic.
So—this was…
“Reverse Soul Ritual, huh?”
Reverse Soul Ritual.
A spell to revive the dead. A sorcery within the realm of magic. That’s why I felt something squirming under the skin. I wanted to burn the whole place down.
Calm—calm—calm down.
“Can you speak?”
The Reverse Soul Ritual wasn’t complete yet.
That’s why I wasn’t addressing the corpse.
A hazy spirit form slithered out from behind the screen.
The soul of the [Guardian of Sealed Rock Hall] slowly shook its head.
“I see. Sorry.”
Even in life, she couldn’t speak. Didn’t expect to meet her like this in death.
“What about what I asked earlier? Are you attempting revival via the Reverse Soul method?”
At the same time, I muttered under my breath: Was it you behind this vile atrocity?
She gazed at me sadly for a moment, then shook her head.
“So someone’s performing this wicked sorcery against your will? Makes sense—this was—”
Too sloppy for her to have orchestrated, even through a proxy.
Just brutal, cruder and clumsier than what Heo Joo did to Heo Sang-hyeon.
Several required elements were missing outright. No proper revival possible this way.
The [Guardian of Sealed Rock Hall]’s lips moved faintly as she approached me.
“Huh? No, I get the intent, but stay back. I—”
[System: ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Nullifies possession effect.]
Pzzzt!
The [Guardian of Sealed Rock Hall] recoiled from the shock.
“Granny, I’m immune to possession.”
I said it, but she probably didn’t comprehend. She flinched back like she’d been burned and hid behind the screen.
“I can’t help much with what’s happening here. Where’s the [Sealed Rock Scripture]? The guardianship of Sealed Rock Hall is on the verge of breaking.”
I doubted I could cast the [Great Origin] prevention spell right now, but I had to do something.
Any helpful info…
A small hand extended from behind the screen, pointing.
“That?”
The scorched paper bundle in the corner.
“Ugh, damn it.”
A few pages barely survived the fire, but most were ash. And those few pages were, of course…
“Reverse Soul Ritual?”
Someone saw this and tried that botched ritual. Solved one mystery, but it only added frustration—no relief.
This quest is totally screwed.
Even without other issues, the rampant madness would’ve doomed it, but how does it go wrong on so many levels?
The Yeonam Construction people I was supposed to protect—all missing.
The quest’s key to resolution—dead.
And the last resort? Burned to nothing.
* * *
The sun had fully set now.
The sky was pitch black, with faint moonlight trickling through the churning dark clouds.
“Can’t afford to dawdle.”
Needed to head back and check the construction site more.
But there was still more to inspect here.
I’d sensed it from the start, but deprioritized since I’d also gauged his condition—I left the shrine hall and headed to the storehouse in the corner of the courtyard.
Creak—
Musty dust smell.
Outdated junk.
Talismans stuck to the walls.
And a middle-aged man bound to a pillar, unconscious.
“Hmm.”
His suit was torn to shreds, one foot in a shoe, the other just sock.
Leaves and dirt clung to his clothes—he’d clearly trekked through the mountains like that for a while.
Blood seeped from the socked left foot.
Not a stranger.
But why was this guy tied up here like this?
“Hey. Mister. Mr. Kim Sung-hwan.”
I called his name and shook his shoulder.
“Ugh—”
He groaned briefly, opened his eyes, and screamed at the sight of my face—no, my mask.
“You! Y-you—you!? What the— you?”
“Hm… I get the misunderstanding, but I’m not that kind of guy.”
Do I look like I fit in this sinister, sorcerous hellhole?
My robe flapping without wind, mana stones and bizarre four-bladed dagger dangling from my belt. And the [Mask of Carcosa] covering my face.
“…”
Can’t blame him for the mix-up.
“Anyway, come on. Mr. Kim Sung-hwan. Why are you tied up here?”
“Wh-what? Who—who are you? How do you know my—my name?”
I tapped the back of my left hand with my right index finger.
“Ugh—”
He writhed against the pillar.
His hands weren’t visible, but I knew what was tattooed there.
“How I know you isn’t important. Who killed your cult brothers—only a few of you left?”
Kim Sung-hwan, cultist of the [Great Origin], broke into a cold sweat, trembling, then blurted out desperately.
“The [Evergreen Mountaineers]! Those crazy old bastards did this to us!”
“Evergreen Mountaineers? Didn’t you hire them?”
“Us hire the Evergreen Mountaineers? What nonsense! Their Conqueror! That monster attacked us!”
What twist is this?
Twisting an already convoluted quest even further?
I tried to press for more, but—
[System: ‘Feast’s Offering’ trait activates.]
A ringing in my ears, and a popup.
Not nearby—far off, at the construction site. One of the death spirit golems destroyed.
“Ah, damn it.”
No time.