Chapter 320
Chapter 320
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 320
Chapter Title: Love Blooming Like a Flower
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Rumble rumble rumble!!
A horrific vibration.
It was an earthquake so severe that no ordinary human could stand against it.
Rumble rumble—
Even the few buildings still standing began crumbling. This isn’t good.
“Cheon Geum! Evacuate! Get out of here!”
[L-grade garment ‘Wings of the Night Veil’ activates its unique function, ‘Wings of the Heavenly Demon.’
// Wings of the Heavenly Demon: Automatically casts the ‘Flight’ spell.]
Fwoosh—
I poured mana into the [Wings of the Night Veil] and soared into the sky.
The night sky twisted in grotesque display, revealing omens of curses and doom.
And beneath my feet stretched the nightscape of Busan Special Self-Governing City—the largest city in Korea.
The city once boasting the nation’s most reliable administration and public safety now faced unprecedented madness and absurd catastrophe.
“Is this it?”
I’d sensed something was being plotted, but I hadn’t expected this method.
[System: Penalty trait ‘Feast’s Sacrifice’ effect activates.]
[A portion of the power of the Abyssal Being - Source of Life is unlocked.]
[The Source of Life’s unique trait ‘Love Blooming Like a Flower’ activates.]
Rumble rumble rumble!!
A massive hand tore through the earth and rose.
It was eerily beautiful, spine-chillingly elegant—like a sculpture, reminiscent of the ivory hand of a goddess Greek sculptors once chiseled from marble. It surged upward at tremendous speed.
“Beautiful! Beautiful! Ahh! The hand of the goddess!”
Shouts echoed from somewhere.
I had to admit, it was a pretty impressive hand—but damn, it was way too huge.
Rumble rumble rumble!!
It wasn’t just one.
From the massive hole Akiyama had prepared, an enormous number of hands erupted chaotically.
Like a giant bouquet of human hands—or like the heads of a hydra meant to test a hero—countless hands kept emerging.
Not satisfied with that single hole, more giant hands burst from the ground in all directions. The sight alone threatened to drive anyone insane.
[The creations of ‘Love Blooming Like a Flower’ are the loving embrace that cradles all things. Truly beautiful, truly lovable, truly noble, truly elegant—they are the hands of the primordial mother, who shaped all humanity, all life on this land.]
[All intelligent beings who witness this great love from the dawn of time are moved by it, enraptured by it, consumed by it. An extreme emotion of love blooms uncontrollably in your mind as well. To resist this abnormal emotion, impulse, and madness requires a Mental Fortitude check.]
Was this check required for everyone witnessing the scene?
[Mental Fortitude check…… Failure!]
[The following madnesses are injected into your mind: ‘Madness – Extreme Love,’ ‘Madness – Shattered Mind,’ ‘Madness – Split Personality,’ ‘Madness – Grotesque Tastes,’ ‘Madness – Special Faith,’ ‘Madness – Severe Delusions,’ ‘Madness – Hand Phobia,’ ‘Madness – Obsession with World Destruction.’]
Crackle crackle!!
Blue sparks danced at my temples.
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Changes the check result to success and erases the madness inflicted on your mind.]
Regardless of the check’s outcome, the [Abyssal Madness] trait activated to protect my mind.
“Uwaaaah!! Uwaaaah!!”
“Aaah— Uwaaaah!!”
But not everyone had a trait like mine. Horrific screams erupted from all sides—
“Great one! Great one! Great one!”
“Great one! Great one! Great one!”
“Primordial goddess! Primordial queen! Primordial mother!”
The chants of those lost to madness filled the air.
“She who birthed all! She who shaped us! Mother of creation!”
“Mother! Mother! Mother! Mother! Mother!”
Grotesque mutants leaped from the rubble of collapsed buildings.
They were scientists, researchers, employees, and cultists of Cure Medical Care.
Swinging their arms wildly, they charged forward singing in ecstasy and madness.
“Luca! Luca! Luca! Luca! Luca! Luca!”
“Luca! Luca! Luca! Luca! Luca! Luca!”
LUCA (Last Universal Common Ancestor: the common ancestor of all life).
The ancient monster possessing the traits of all creatures, mother of the Shoggoths, and the [Source of Life].
Rumble rumble—
The Abyssal Being known as the [Source of Life] had manifested on this land in the form of those massive hands—countless hands.
Thud thud thud—
Combat helicopters from Busan’s forces swarmed in from all directions. Not everyone had gone mad, it seemed.
There were still problem-solvers here, and the Foreign Administration Bureau prepared to fight such monsters.
Boom!!
Explosions rocked the area here and there.
Screams.
Elegant gestures crushed people; beautiful grips seized helicopters like a massive dragon.
I watched the惨 spectacle and muttered.
“The ritual? The sacrifice? The medium?”
I’d stopped the ritual, destroyed the sacrifice, executed the medium.
Yet despite that, ignoring every condition, with no precursors or triggers, this horror unfolded.
Gritting my teeth, I shouted into the empty air.
“What kind of bullshit plot twist is this!? You gonna rollback like last time!?”
[This event has different conditions from the previous one.]
A message window popped up as if it had been waiting for my question.
[The Source of Life destroyed several of its own colonies to gather resources for this phenomenon, drew in a singularity from an outer dimension to exert power beyond its allowance, and the medium wasn’t killed—just buried underground.]
I didn’t know what “outer dimensional singularity” meant exactly, but “colonies” probably referred to the Jang Hyun-deok production plants I’d seen in Ansan.
“How many?”
The incident I witnessed in Ansan—where mass-produced NPCs dissolved into nothingness—must have happened elsewhere too.
As if confirming my thought, another message appeared.
[Indeed. For today, 13 patterns of humanoids were erased, and 28,561 superhumans were reduced to energy sources for the Source of Life.]
It casually announced that twenty-eight thousand lives were snuffed out for this atrocity.
“Did Akiyama become the medium? With that guy’s medium traits…… No, wait. Don’t tell me? This isn’t a descent?”
A chill ran down my spine.
Yeah.
The earlier message hadn’t said the [Source of Life] had descended.
“A portion of its power was unlocked? This is it?”
Rumble rumble—
The beautifully shimmering giant hands writhed with excessive grace, gripping and widening the hole Cure Medical Care had torn open.
Crackle crackle—
Space warped as the hole in the ground stretched grotesquely.
“The difference in power……”
I’d known it from the start, but the [Source of Life] causing this absurdity—and its true form, the [Great Origin]—ranked among the top five most powerful Abyssal Beings.
Utterly different from the ones that had appeared so far: [Yellow King], [Living Flame], [Lord of Murky Waters], [Predator of the Mountains].
Splash—
Even more hands surged up now—pouring, cascading, flooding forth.
The giant hands grew taller than most buildings.
This wasn’t a descent.
The [Source of Life] hadn’t descended!
It had merely projected a portion of its power into this world through Akiyama’s body as a conduit.
The desperate measure [Predator of the Mountains] had attempted multiple times—the one I’d turned against it.
But the [Source of Life] had achieved it through perfect, thorough preparation, securing multiple layers of safeguards.
“Kim, looks like things got messy.”
Rumble—
An engine roar came from behind me.
Seo Cheon-seul, clad in a flashy rider jacket, flew through the sky astride a motorbike with fiery orbs instead of wheels.
“I thought we were almost done. How’d it turn out like this?”
Gritting my teeth at Seo Cheon-seul’s words, I replied.
“Did Man-geum Captain say anything else?”
Glancing up at the northern sky, Seo Cheon-seul answered my question.
“He says to stop the next phase.”
The next phase……
This grand display of massive hands couldn’t last long.
It was a forced projection without a proper ritual or sacrifice—just a shadow or an echo rising from the Abyss.
What it was aiming for was obvious……
“Kraaaah! Kim Shin-hwa! Kim Shin-hwa! Kim Shin-hwa!”
A familiar voice echoed from the endlessly widening hole.
Cheong-ho’s—no, not Cheong-ho! The voice of [The Smiling One] who stole his form.
“Damn it! That’s it!”
Among the hundreds of giant hands, two moved in a particularly conspicuous way.
At their fingertips dangled Cheong-ho’s form.
Beautiful fingers gripped the arms and legs of Cheong-ho, who wore a mask with only a thin, hollow slit shaped like a smiling mouth without eyes.
“What!? Why are you here!?”
No, don’t answer! I could guess what happened.
Dokgo Gyeom should’ve been freed by now. Yet he hadn’t appeared—and amid the spatial distortion, [The Smiling One] had been dragged out.
Dokgo Gyeom’s [Dimensional Gate] must’ve been hijacked, pulling [The Smiling One] from Paju.
“Kim Shin-hwa! You made me! You made me! You have to take responsibility for me! So I don’t die! So I don’t get devoured by this monster!”
Cheong-ho’s voice boomed from Busan’s sky.
I’d hidden the [Soul Shackles] inside one page of [The Smiling One], which was possessing the death knight golem.
The [Soul Shackles] held the power to substitute for the ritual among the medium, sacrifice, and ritual needed for the [Source of Life]’s descent. I couldn’t let them take it!
“Cheon Geum! We can’t let them take that!”
“Alright!”
At Seo Cheon-seul’s command, drumbeats echoed from all directions.
Vroom!!
Seo Cheon-seul shot forward, trailing blazing golden arcs. I followed, activating spells.
[Heightened Senses] [Ox Strength] [Aura of Valor] [Super Speed] [Mighty Blow]
“Bwahaha!!”
Buffs poured onto Seo Cheon-seul.
[Giant’s Grasp] [Burning Gaze] [Monster Bind] [Chain Lightning] [Blizzard Wind] [Wall of Flame] [Strike of Hatred]
Crackle! Boom! Roar!!
The horrifically beautiful hands projected by the [Source of Life] exploded and burst under our attacks, scattering multicolored petals everywhere.
Those were the petals from Ansan. The creepy event from there flashed in my mind, but hey, at least Seo Cheon-seul wasn’t bleeding.
Rumble rumble!!
New hands regenerated faster than we could destroy them.
“Damn. How much mana does it have?”
Was it because of that singularity pulled from another world?
Beyond them rose a massive dragon.
No—two twisted arms coiled together. Instead of a dragon’s head, two palms pressed together formed the maw.
Rumble!!
The massive palms parted above and below.
“Kim Shin-hwa! Kim Shin-hwaaaaa!! Kraaaah!!”
Ten fingers moved like a beast’s fangs. Crunch—crack—bones snapping, darkness crushing.
The sounds of [The Smiling One]’s—no, Cheong-ho’s—constituent parts shattering.
“Kraaaah! You embedded pain in me! I wasn’t supposed to feel pain! You taught me pain! You! What did you do to me! You! You!”
Cheong-ho’s body was being crushed. Cheong-ho was dying before my eyes again!
“Stop! You bastard!”
[Chains of Dominion]
Clink!!
It connected!
A golden chain slipped between the giant dragon’s jaws. I yanked it.
But what returned to my hand was part of Cheong-ho’s face—and the mask he’d been wearing.
No—[The Smiling One]’s mask? Cheong-ho? [The Smiling One]? What was I trying to save?
Cheong-ho had died before my eyes again, cursing me. But there was no time for sentiment.
“Kim! Dodge!”
Seo Cheon-seul’s shout.
Rumble rumble!!
Four hands surged from below.
Clustered together, they unfurled toward me like a blooming flower.
“You dare harm the friend of Cheon Geum Captain!”
Boom!!
Seo Cheon-seul swung his vajra rod, smashing the surrounding hands.
Rumble—
A golden mana goblin flew through the falling petals, its eyes dazzlingly bright. Beyond Seo Cheon-seul’s glow, I saw……
“Kim, you okay?”
“Cover me!”
“What? Kim! Kim!”
Instead of answering, I shot forward even faster.
Rumble!
The giant hands thrashed to block my approach.
“Kim!! Where are you going!?”
“There’s still stuff I need to save!”
I couldn’t prevent them taking the [Soul Shackles]. But there were still things I had to protect.