Chapter 27
Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Mad Wizard
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The ghoul extermination operation in the underground parking lot had been underway for 28 minutes—no, now 29 minutes.
Team leader of Yeonam Construction's security team, Kwak Dae-yong, thought to himself.
*Something's wrong.*
There were too many ghouls.
This couldn't be happening!
It was impossible.
Originally, Kwak Dae-yong had estimated around 30 ghouls.
He'd conservatively projected a maximum of about 60, but even that was an overly cautious guess.
That was why it should have been a mission his team alone could handle just fine.
Hiring an outside wizard had been Mun Seung-hee's idea alone.
It was for the swiftness and precision of the extermination op, to minimize casualties, and to prepare for any unexpected situations.
- Kyahaha!
A ghoul burst from the darkness, swinging its vicious claws as it charged at Kwak Dae-yong.
"Get lost!"
Kwak Dae-yong swung the combat hammer gripped in both hands with lightning speed.
Baaam!
The ghoul's head crushed instantly under the mana-infused hammer, splattering blood across the underground parking lot floor.
"Huff... huff..."
This was the limit... There were too many ghouls!
He'd somehow taken down all the ghouls charging at him.
But in this brief respite, Kwak Dae-yong couldn't even catch his breath properly.
Kwak Dae-yong blinked his large eyes and scanned his surroundings.
Anxious gaze, ragged breathing, pale complexion, tense attack stance.
Excessive violence and exaggerated behavior.
Signs of fear, madness, and delirium were emerging.
"Where the hell is this...?"
Was this parking lot always this big?
It was dark, vast, and open in every direction.
Just endless gray concrete pillars repeating into the gloom.
The finishing work wasn't done yet. No paint or signs anywhere to mark the way.
The same scenery repeating in the deep darkness.
Kwak Dae-yong, lost in confusion, felt like he was trapped in some infinite void.
"Fuck..."
In that moment, a random name popped into his head.
*Kim Shin-hwa. That rookie wizard bastard...*
Kim Shin-hwa's voice echoed in his mind.
He'd dismissed it as crazy talk or the guy trying to hype his own value.
But his words were true.
There really were over a hundred ghouls in this underground parking lot.
"Fuck... fuuuck..."
Kwak Dae-yong, fidgeting anxiously for a moment, suddenly screamed into the vague darkness.
He couldn't hold it in without yelling.
"Everyone! Where are you! Get over here! Yeom Cheol-min! Hyeong-gu! Choi Mi-na!"
It was already too late.
An unnatural darkness blanketed everything, and his men were nowhere in sight.
The moment they entered basement level 2, a strange bell chime rang out.
- Ding-a-ling.
Yeah, that sound.
Everything went weird right after that chime.
- Ding-a-ling.
Come to think of it, why had they pushed so hard into basement level 2? They should've moved slower. (Ding-a-ling) That bell? Again? What the hell? Why's a bell ringing down here? Every time it chimes, ghouls pour out. (Ding-a-ling) Then the world darkens, and this sick rage that makes me wanna lose my mind swallows me up, and suddenly I've lost all my men. Where the hell am I? (Ding-a-ling) Where'd that rookie wizard Kim Shin-hwa run off to? He was so cocky—where is he now? Save me! Get me out of this darkness, please! (Ding-a-ling) Ghoul incoming. Fight. Kill it. Kill them all. I'll survive. Slaughter every last one and live!
Boom! Crunch!
Where am I?
It's so dark!
- Kieeeek!
Stop!
Crunch! Bang!
Get out! You monsters!
Bang! Boom! Bang! Crunch! Crack!
Kwak Dae-yong kept swinging his combat hammer.
Swinging and swinging and swinging.
Splat, splat! Rip, crack!
The ghoul he'd been pounding was long since reduced to a shapeless lump of meat, but Kwak Dae-yong didn't stop.
"Heh... fuck... damn... damn it... die! Fuck, die!"
Crunch, boooom!
He finally lost direction and smashed the empty floor.
"Urk, damn... heh, heh heh... fuck, hahaha..."
His hands trembled from the shock.
The hammer, loaded with excessive force, rage, and madness, shattered the floor, slick with foul slime and blood.
Lifting it slightly revealed a crater the size of two human heads.
"Shit..."
His unnecessary swing left his hands numb. He paused to endure the stinging pain.
- Ding-a-ling.
"Goddamn it... the bell again...!"
In his overexcited fury, he'd forgotten: right after the bell, ghouls always charged.
Kwak Dae-yong glared toward the sound's direction, spewing curses.
And he paid the price for that careless moment immediately.
- KeeEEK!
A new ghoul lunged from a perfect blind spot.
"Shit—!"
Kwak Dae-yong spat a curse and tried to recover his hammer, but he was a beat too slow.
No choice.
He braced to take a hit to the side and swung a mana-charged fist...
[Arrow of Ruin]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-Cast]
[Spell Enhancement: Toxicity]
Boom, kablooey! Kaboom!
A purple mana bolt laced with eerie malice flew in, blasting away the ghoul about to attack Kwak Dae-yong.
Kim Shin-hwa's spell.
It saved his life, but Kwak Dae-yong could hardly feel grateful or welcome toward it.
Sizzle...
- KreEEEEk!
The ghoul hit by Kim Shin-hwa's magic rolled on the floor, letting out a chilling shriek.
Even Kwak Dae-yong, who'd seen all kinds of battlefields, struggled to stomach this grotesque spell.
Black inflammation bubbled up from the impact site, then bright yellow pus flowed out, melting the ghoul's body.
- Kraaaagh! Kraaaaaagh!
Horrific, nauseating holes began punching through the ghoul's flesh everywhere.
Kim Shin-hwa's magic was incredibly precise and shockingly powerful.
But... magic this gruesome? This rookie wizard was infusing his spells with sinister poison!
"Urp...!"
Kwak Dae-yong clamped his hand over his mouth to suppress the rising nausea and vomit.
His head spun. He felt like he was going insane.
He'd heard mages had a lot of sociopaths and psychopaths among them, but this guy was a first.
Rumble-rumble.
Wheels rolling.
What was that? Kwak Dae-yong looked puzzled for a second, then hurriedly raised his hammer when he realized it was heading his way.
Emerging from the darkness...
A hideous mask with four eyes.
Black clothes so dark that without the magical glow and piercing gaze, he might not have recognized it.
A wizard in a bizarre mask.
It was Kim Shin-hwa.
Only when he got close did Kwak Dae-yong identify the source of the weird wheel noise.
"Whew... So that's what you were riding?"
A skateboard.
Kim Shin-hwa was cruising on a hefty skateboard.
"I figured I wouldn't need it today, but you got way ahead, team leader. Took me forever to find you."
"Thanks... You saved my life. And sorry for the embarrassing show."
Kim Shin-hwa scratched his mask at Kwak Dae-yong's honest gratitude and apology, seeming to mull over his response.
"Hmm... Glad you snapped out of the madness on your own. I was debating whether to beat some sense into you."
The easiest way to snap someone out of madness? Attack them. That was Kim Shin-hwa's usual philosophy.
"Urgh..."
Kwak Dae-yong felt a flicker of anger at Kim Shin-hwa's brazen attitude, but he wasn't in a position to snap back. The guy had saved his life, after all.
Plus, he desperately needed Kim Shin-hwa's help not just for himself, but to get his men out alive.
"What about the others...?"
"Perfect timing for that talk. I'm busy right now. Can't stick around just for you."
With that, Kim Shin-hwa cast a spell toward somewhere in the dark.
[Shooting Correction]
[Arrow of Ruin]
Pewooong—Boom!
- Kieeek!
Even as he checked Kwak Dae-yong's face and chatted, Kim Shin-hwa's senses extended across the entire underground parking lot.
Kwak Dae-yong, grasping the situation, grabbed his hammer and said,
"I'm good now... Go save the others!"
"Got it. I'll herd them toward here, so don't stray far."
"Understood."
Rumble-rumble.
Kim Shin-hwa kicked off a few times and vanished in a movement style that even looked ridiculous to Kwak Dae-yong.
[Hardening]
[Leap]
[Fireball]
Kaaa-boom!
A spell-hardened skateboard with a fireball detonated underneath, launching him like a rocket. Kim Shin-hwa called it [Explosion Leap] himself.
He harnessed the raw blast force for explosive speed while casting spells.
[Chains of Dominion]
[Spell Enhancement: Range Extension]
Shraaaala!
Golden chains erupted from Kim Shin-hwa's palm like snakes with a mind of their own, lashing out everywhere.
They stripped away the freedom of those they bound,
Forcing them into desired actions—the magical chains ensnared several ghouls.
- Keeeeeek!
Like marionettes dancing to a puppeteer's will, they moved in eerie ways, attacking their own kind.
With fists, claws, feet, heads, teeth.
On ghouls too broken to continue, it imposed movements no normal creature could endure.
- Grugrugugug!
Crunch, crunch, crack! Kraaaack!
Forced beyond their joints' limits, the ghouls' bodies tore apart with gruesome rips.
Every new spell from Kim Shin-hwa destroyed the lurking ghouls in the darkness in truly pitiful ways.
"Is that really human?"
It wasn't Kwak Dae-yong who'd spoken.
He whipped around toward the voice.
One of his security team subordinates.
A veteran fixer who'd worked with Kwak Dae-yong multiple times, perfectly in sync.
Yet there he stood, weapon dropped at his feet, staring blankly into the dark.
Forgetting his mission and crisis, just watching Kim Shin-hwa.
"What're you doing, idiot! Snap out of it!"
"L-Leader...!"
"You back in the game? Just gonna spectate?"
"But... look at that..."
His subordinate trailed off, but Kwak Dae-yong already knew what he meant.
*What even do we need to do?*
"Urgh..."
Kwak Dae-yong swallowed a groan and turned toward where his man was staring.
Kim Shin-hwa reappeared from yet another odd direction.
He cast another new spell.
This time, a bright blue fluorescent glow lit up his body.
The mask peeked from under his black hood.
Why had he ever thought that mask looked silly?
It was grotesque, like something birthed from a nightmare.
The four eyes on the mask all gleamed at once. Chilling glares.
Craaack, craaaash!
Massive ice spikes materialized in midair, shredding the ghouls' bodies.
Kim Shin-hwa conjured yet another hell, then peered at an odd angle into empty air and shook his head.
"Ah, move! I can't see!"
Even in this tense moment, he yelled something random and flailed his hand in the air.
At the same time, he kicked off the skateboard's tail, leaping to insane height and vanishing into the darkness.
"That guy's... what the hell?"
"Is he nuts or something?"
