Chapter 327
Chapter 327
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 327
Chapter Title: Sealing Magic Circle
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The sky.
Far in the distance, the glow of dawn staining the horizon over the East Sea.
The red one flying in from the north.
Atop it, Jang Hyun-deok in his golden glow and Park Kwang-rim with his shocked expression.
Haha, yeah, it's me, you bastards.
No time to wave hello before the descent begins.
In an instant, a storm.
For a brief moment, the sound of drums in my ears.
"Bahahaha—"
Seo Cheon-seul's dance visible beyond the clouds.
The form of a goblin living in a time different from humans.
A swirling vortex crashing in.
The tremendous wind battering my skin.
In a single moment, the ground.
Rising like a forest—
The beautiful, bewitching hands of a goddess.
Kwarrrrrrung!
Those massive hands swarm to block my path.
I could defend with magic, but right now, I don't have the spare energy to waste like that.
And there's someone beside me to shield me anyway.
Kwachijijik!
The immense power from a single punch.
Kwaaaang!
Yang Seo-ho snarling and pointing at me.
"You used me—!!"
Ah, I can't hear you, can't hear you.
Before Yang Seo-ho can finish, I plunge underground.
Darkness.
The hole pierced through the floor of Cure Medical Care.
Below the long vertical tunnel, the ruins awaiting me.
The ruins I saw in Sokcho had a vertical tunnel like this too.
It's the exact same structure anyway.
Endless darkness stretching on.
And the sounds of the surface growing ever more distant.
Dark.
Quiet.
Ominous.
Deep,
deep,
deep,
deep,
deep,
deep,
deep.
Ruins.
At some point, silence.
Darkness.
Ah, dug in so deep.
Darkness.
Suddenly, an altar emerges.
A magic circle glowing with gloomy green light.
No, it's luminescent moss growing there.
I don't stop and keep falling.
The bottom.
With the golden hairpin, I—
[System: The Gate of the Abyss opens.]
『On that day, I will open the lid of the bottomless pit along with Cure Medical Care. From that pitch-black abyss, beasts like swarms of starving yellow worms will pour forth.』
Come to think of it, things turned out exactly as I said.
* * *
Kwarrrruk—or warurrruk—vibrations.
The sacrificial offering falling from sky to earth like a shooting star.
The key to the bottomless pit has unlocked the pitch-black hole of the abyss.
Kieeeek—or kyarrrruk—hideous shrieks.
Bursting from the earth—through flesh—or from empty air, the beasts. Monsters. Monsters in the shape of hands.
Yang Seo-ho mutters lowly as he beholds the sight.
"Think those guys can handle the aftermath?"
Countless flowers blooming. Fluorescent flowers. Incredibly beautiful flowers. Flowers so vibrant in color and form that once seen, they'd haunt you for life.
Beautiful hands surrounded by those flowers.
The touch of a mother who loves all things.
Hundreds of hands, perfectly identical, loosely repeating the same motions. An infinite chain of hands performing a dance. Hundreds of hands moving gracefully in different motions.
Two hands pressed together in prayer. Two hands twisting and blooming like flowers. Two hands raising heads like snakes. Two hands baring fangs like enraged tigers. From those mouths, ten fingers extending like tusks. Fingers curved like teeth. Nails sharp as blades. Nails hard as shields.
"Hmm."
Frustrating.
Just smash whatever's in sight—that'd be easier.
Making me run this damn errand.
Yang Seo-ho carefully tucked the worn book in his hand into his bosom so it wouldn't crumble.
* * *
Urrrrrung!
The door to the abyss has opened, and an enormous amount of mana is gushing out from within.
[System: You are peering into the abyss.]
[System: Dwellers of the abyss reveal themselves.]
[System: Dwellers of the abyss gaze upon you.]
[System: The madness, grace, and blessings of the abyss settle into your mind.]
[System: You will no longer be human, no longer Kim Shin-hwa.]
Horrible love surging like a tidal wave from all directions.
An immense volume of knowledge boring into my veins like lightning.
Mana of absurd density filling the air, displacing even it.
Palms opening toward the sky to dispel the fear, worry, and concern of all loved things.
Palms opening toward the earth to grant the desires and wishes of all loved things.
Palms unfurling like the embrace of the Tathagata, enveloping everything.
And in the midst of those hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of palms—a colossal, surreal majesty.
Vast, primal love.
But I have the power to protect myself from all that, to exist as a single human, as Kim Shin-hwa.
Honestly, it's a cheat trait that shouldn't exist by the game's structure.
Pajijijijik! Pajijijik! Pajijijijijik!!
Sparks erupting not just from my temples but my entire body.
[System: 'Madness of the Abyss' activates. The mad cannot go mad again, and those stained by the abyss cannot be stained anew.]
"Yeah, that's it!"
Ignoring the nonsense from the message window—I channeled my mana to unleash the powers I possess.
Clothes imbued with the power of [King of All Gold].
A ring imbued with the power of [Living Flame].
A fragment imbued with the power of [He Who Comes from the Dark].
A mask imbued with the power of [King in Yellow Raiment].
An avatar stone imbued with the power of [Predator of the Mountains].
And that's not all.
I just acquired one more item a moment ago.
Kikikikikik—
The deep-sea gold imbued with the power of [Lord of Murky Waters] and the [Mirror of Wisdom] imbued with the power of [Fount of Life].
Releasing the powers of beings with excessively high ranks in all directions—I raised my left hand.
"No matter how I think about it, this looks kinda embarrassing."
This hand holds a deathly power that's hard to control.
I expended most of it pounding Yang Seo-ho earlier, but that power has already mingled with the mana crystals born from my blood and flesh.
Recalling the form of that mana that lingered in my body—I pull at something similar, rampaging on the distant surface.
"Come here. Time to go home."
Doing well up there?
No major issues yet, but I've left something with Yang Seo-ho for contingencies.
My consciousness briefly shifts from these ruins upward—to the dizzyingly distant surface.
* * *
"Hahahaha! So many prey! The full moon high in the sky! My power! My gun! Peacemaker! Let's go! Rocinante! Power calls the moon, and with the moon's power, I transform! Vast violence shall bring peace! I feel refreshed! With great strength! I create justice! My prey! Tremble!"
Kid the Gunman, the bounty hunter lost in frenzy and delirium.
"Awooooooo!!"
In the form of a werewolf, Kid races toward Gijang-gun with his horse tucked under his arm.
"Whoa. It's real."
Park Kwang-rim shoves a Nirvana into his dry mouth and shakes his head in response.
"I knew that guy was nothing to worry about."
Park Kwang-rim has long worked as a broker in Paju, after all. Connecting fixers with incidents is his job.
Just as Kid wanted, there are plenty of prey here.
"Kwang-rim, keep your promise."
Inukage—the Yakuza, cultist, and high-rank ninja of the ninja clan—whispers to Park Kwang-rim.
When did he climb onto Red's back?
Feeling cold sweat trickling down his back, Park Kwang-rim forced a calm smile.
"Of course. Didn't I pay the advance?"
The [Crescent Moon Society]'s ninjas had tracked Kim Shin-hwa after Akiyama promised them vast sums.
With Akiyama unable to pay further—their job was done, but Park Kwang-rim had arranged a new client for them.
"Good."
Sususuk—
Ninjas suddenly appearing from all directions.
Cultists have stronger resistance to madness than ordinary folk.
Of course, not all avoid delirium, but they have ninja secret elixirs more effective than Nirvana.
And one more.
"Kim Shin-hwa!! I've come to kill you!"
Yong-su, a survivor of In-su Village, has come here for revenge against Kim Shin-hwa.
"Krawrawrawra!"
Leading a massive octopus-shark-crab hybrid, Yong-su charges toward Gijang-gun. All these are Kim Shin-hwa's minions!? These horrific monsters! I'll drown them all!
"The sea is near! [Lord of Murky Waters]! Grant your descendants power! Immense power!"
Urrrrung!
The sea begins to churn in response to his plea.
The desires of those three—different nationalities, different races—were intuitive enough for even Park Kwang-rim to sense.
But that one... who knows.
"Please!"
"Hmm."
The conqueror moves with an ambiguous reply whose meaning escapes him.
Paguagagagagag!!
With legs that can outrun cars in short distances, the conqueror sprints forth—
"Out of my way."
Sasasaaaak!
Slicing through those blocking him in one breath, pressing onward.
"Kyung!"
And the massive black hound racing after the conqueror.
"Yahoo! So cool!"
"Cool?"
Isn't it terrifying?
Park Kwang-rim thought so, holding his breath and waiting for this nightmare to end.
But at that moment—his [Dowsing] ability flares violently.
"U, uwaaaak!?"
A horrific—dangerous—terrifying presence is flying toward the two of them.
* * *
I activated the magic learned from the Bongam Chronicles.
[Sealing Magic Circle]
[Spell Enhancement: Multi-Cast]
[Spell Enhancement: Range Extension]
Chwararararak!!
Immense chains of magical characters in Hanja and Brahmi script fly off into the distant darkness.
The target—extremely far, but to me now, time and space hold little meaning.
With my right hand, I draw the [Blade of Flesh] and swing.
This too originates from an abyssal being. The magic tool imbued with the power of [Great Fount] reveals its true worth.
[L-rank Weapon 'Blade of Flesh' unique function, 'Power to Cleave Barriers' activates.
// Power to Cleave Barriers: Slashes through space.]
Chwaaak!
And with it, something massive is dragged forth.
The shadow of [Fount of Life], relatively nearby.
A bit farther—the shadow of [Fount of Corruption] crouching underground in Buyeo.
And even farther—that one over there....
Chwarararararak—
Sealing chains connecting across time and space.
"Yeah, gotcha."
Pajijijijik!!
Purification, dissolution, expulsion, banishment, return, erasure, exclusion, eviction, disposal, exorcism.
And imprisonment, sealing, isolation, suppression, control, defense, coercion, restraint, binding.
Various forms of mana and will racing along the sealing chains toward the enemies.
[System: 'Sacrificial Offering' trait activates. Abyssal dwellers send you their will.]
['Abyssal Dweller – Great Fount' activates /null ability 'Surging '.]
Chwarararararak—
Horrific mana of immense power flowing back toward me.
"Keuk—"
Viscous blood pouring from my mouth and eyes.
"Damn, can't exert influence one-sidedly, huh."
As expected, binding and sending back three abyssal dwellers at once is beyond my output alone.
Eujijijijik!!
['Abyssal Dweller – Fount of Corruption' activates /null ability ' Touch of Hands'.]
Ah, that one was connected too.
Shadows of death encroaching from all sides.
Oh, damn.
I hurriedly sent a message to Yang Seo-ho.
『Hey! Call Jang Hyun-deok!』
Yang Seo-ho's reply.
『Hey, your sentences keep getting shorter.』
Ah, driving me nuts.
* * *
Only after Kim Shin-hwa resent the message politely did Yang Seo-ho tell Jang Hyun-deok what he needed to do.
"Uh.... You want me to use magic from this book?"
"Yeah."
"Kiii—"
Red whimpered in fear from Yang Seo-ho standing on his head.
"Owl, you won't die. Stay still."
More precisely, stay still and you won't die.
"Kiii...."
"I-I can't do this. I can't even read Hanja to begin with—"
"Make it work."
"No, I mean.... Huh? Granny, who's that?"
Jang Hyun-deok looked up in the wrong direction, spouting nonsense.
"Granny?"
Yang Seo-ho furrowed his brow, wondering if this guy's head was messed up too—but—
Chwararararak—
The book unfurled and flew up on its own.
"Ah, that's what it was? Got it now. Ah—yeah? Of course I can lend it to you. Come on in. There's already one inside, so I don't know how much space there is—kiddo. There, done. Go wait over there."
Suddenly, Jang Hyun-deok spoke to Yang Seo-ho in a completely different voice. The tone of an elder brimming with profound wisdom.
"Hmm.... Understood."
Yang Seo-ho bowed to the [Guardian of Bongam Shrine] possessing Jang Hyun-deok's body and patted Red's head—
'Would shatter if I jumped.'
Yang Seo-ho leaped down lightly, then stepped through the air back to the entrance of the ruins where Kim Shin-hwa had plunged.
"H-Hyun-deok?"
"That child is sleeping now."
The [Guardian of Bongam Shrine] speaking through Jang Hyun-deok's mouth looked around and chuckled lowly.
"In life, I never held a rite this grand, yet in death, I get to witness such chaos."
Drums sounding from somewhere.
A divine sword, bell, and mirror woven from mana emitted from Jang Hyun-deok's fingertips.
"Heuuuuuu—"
A long exhalation like a song, calling the god.
A ritual to soothe an enraged deity and return lost power to its place.
Mana chains flying from the owl soaring above the massive storm in all directions.
Chwararararak—
The [Guardian of Bongam Shrine] constructs the [Sealing Magic Circle].