Chapter 346
Chapter 346
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 346
Chapter Title: Jeong Hyeon-ah
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The next day arrived.
- Brother, while you're at it, it's fine if you accidentally kill her. In fact, I'd recommend making that mistake.
"You want to say that about a girl who isn't even an adult yet?"
- What are you talking about? When the Triad Council was formed, the Black King was younger than Hyeon-ah is now. Do you know what that 'girl who isn't even an adult' was like back then?
I had a rough idea.
In the end, I let out a short sigh and replied.
"Client, do you remember what we agreed on?"
- Of course I do.
"Then can you stop nitpicking now?"
A low chuckle came through the phone.
You think this is funny?
I hung up without another word.
The details of the request coordinated with Jeokdu were a mess of annoying restrictions and special clauses, but the information processed by [Cthulhu World] into quest form was incredibly straightforward.
[[Hidden Quest: Secret of the Tiger's Den]
Strange changes have occurred in the Blue Tiger Gang. Identify the cause of these changes and restore the Blue Tiger Gang to its former state.
Secondary Objective 1: Jeokdu's Survival
! Time Limit: Jeokdu will die in (3) days. !
Secondary Objective 2: Jeong Hyeon-ah's Survival
! Time Limit: Jeong Hyeon-ah will cease to exist in this world in (3) days. !
Rewards: 9,000,000 XP + additional rewards based on mission performance + Park Gwang-rim's safety
Failure: The world's destruction will begin. (Secondary objective failure) The Black King will become the master of the Triad Council.]
A headache-inducing restriction.
Park Gwang-rim or Jeong Hyeon-ah aren't the problem.
Failure means the world's destruction. Simple, right?
The fact that if either Jeokdu or Jeong Hyeon-ah dies, the Black King becomes the master of the Triad Council is also worth noting.
The moment one of the three becomes the master of the Triad Council, [Triad Council's Division] ends. And the next event that triggers the world's destruction begins.
A development I absolutely cannot allow.
"I need to delay the destruction by even one more day."
I'm not some hero of justice moving to solve this world's problems or injustices.
"I'm doing this for my own gain."
"Yeah. Other people don't matter."
"Annoying. Annoying. Annoying."
"Ah, damn it."
"What is this feeling?"
"Chills."
"Someone keeps touching my body."
"Don't touch me."
Scritch- Scraaaatch- Scritch-
"No matter how much I scratch, this unpleasant sensation won't go away."
"I want to get out of here fast."
"It's this world's air that's the problem."
"I want to rip off my skin."
"Something's whispering to me."
"No one can help me."
"In the end, I have to do it alone."
"Other people are no help."
"Unpleasant. Unpleasant. Unpleasant."
I glanced at my hand and saw bright red blood beading under my nails.
"Huh? What's this blood?"
A sigh.
Did I scratch somewhere while talking to Jeokdu?
I wiped off the blood casually and checked my body...
* * *
Kim Shin-hwa couldn't find any wounds anywhere on his body.
It was because of his [Rapid Healing] effect.
A related alert had popped up, but Kim Shin-hwa seemed unaware of it.
The wounds healed at a rapid pace, leaving no pain or scars behind—but the slimy, snake-like unpleasant sensation continued to grate on Kim Shin-hwa's nerves.
Good flow.
Soon, it'll be time for some entertaining viewing.
* * *
...There were no wounds anywhere.
"Then where did this blood come from?"
"Don't think too deeply about it."
"Yeah. It's fine."
"Just think about how to get out of here."
"I need to escape quickly."
Ah, right.
Anyway, Gong Isu would arrive soon.
Of course, his arrival wouldn't solve everything right away—
Hello everyone! Thanks for everything! I'm leaving this world now! Cthulhu World end! Or some development like that... probably not worth expecting.
But it would be far better than stumbling around without any solutions so far.
Just hold on a little longer.
If I can eliminate, delay, or neutralize the events that trigger the world's destruction and buy time, I can somehow escape this world.
* * *
"Magician, is there anything I can help with?"
Jang Hyeon-deok asked me as I paced the living room in full gear.
"How's a driver without a car going to help me?"
"Uhmm..."
Jang Hyeon-deok crossed his arms and bowed his head.
Oops, was that too harsh?
But Jang Hyeon-deok soon struck a strange pose and replied.
"I'll help in a magical way!"
A sigh.
"What the hell is that pose?"
"It's the pose of a magic expert transcending a driving expert?"
Another sigh.
"No need. You haven't fully recovered yet. Stay home and don't think about anything else."
"Aw, come on. I feel completely fine."
"It's always hardest to assess your own condition. Superintendent Jang, I might be back later than dinner, so don't prepare anything for me."
"Understood. Please be careful."
* * *
"Going all out, huh."
A vast desert formed around the mansion.
Obelisks rising everywhere. Egyptian hieroglyphs densely carved into the mansion's outer walls.
"Well, given the theme, pyramids or sphinxes showing up wouldn't be out of place."
The interior aside, the desert sands were twitching here and there.
"Something big and elongated under the sand."
Probably crocodiles hiding? I hope it's crocodiles.
Scary, though.
I took a moment to breathe deeply and touched my mask.
"Huu..."
It calms my mind a bit.
Lately, my emotions have been a little off. Am I missing something again? Are my thoughts truly my own?
I don't know. Actually, these kinds of thoughts can't be resolved even without mental issues, right?
Thinking deeper will just give me a headache.
"Whatever it is, smashing it with an attack should solve it."
So instead of hesitating and worrying, time to move.
"Appraise (鑑), Inscribe (銘), Manifest (現), Shade (影)...."
I chanted a simplified incantation and constructed a few spells.
Tzzzzz—
A magic circle loosely spreading out at the desert's edge.
"Secure one extra life just in case."
Now, time to charge in.
I flew into the sky and activated my magic.
[Mirror Image]
[Mass Hallucination]
[Desert Mirage]
* * *
Wheeeeeen—the blaring alarm.
"It's Kim Shin-hwa!"
"Kim Shin-hwa is coming!"
Blue Tiger Gang members—no, cultists of [Scaled Intrigue] who had become so independent of their own will—poured out into the desert.
They had anticipated the magician's intrusion. Instead of khopesh swords only usable in close combat, they carried massive amounts of firearms.
No one held anything trivial. Rocket launchers and machine guns revealed in the most vicious ways.
Heavy large-caliber firearms that ordinary people couldn't even carry due to their weight.
Among them were even the magic stone weapons Kim Shin-hwa had sold to Yeom Geum-ja.
They had rushed out at the emergency alert, but Kim Shin-hwa wasn't visible. Where? Where is he? It's a magician. Be careful; who knows what he'll do.
"There! In the sky!"
Who shouted that? Thanks to the cry from somewhere, everyone's gazes turned upward.
There!
It's Kim Shin-hwa! If that's not him, who is?
The magician floating boldly in the sky.
His ink-black robe fluttering in a surreal manner.
And the eerie four-eyed mask.
"Fire!" "Attack!" "Taste the desert's wrath!"
Rocket rounds, bullets, and magic stone bombs flying wildly.
[System: Penalty trait 'Feast's Offering' activates.]
The desert formed here isn't just for show. The abyssal being wielding the desert's power began to unleash its authority.
Pzzzzzzzt!
A horrific noise that made hairs stand on end.
Obelisks scattered throughout the desert spewed purple lightning all at once.
A massive attack blanketing the sky.
But despite it all, Kim Shin-hwa took no damage. Circling the sky in a large loop, he stretched both hands toward the heavens and activated his magic.
Bzzzzz....
A pitch-black shadow blanketing the sky.
The high priest wearing the crocodile mask sneered at the sight.
"Storm clouds?"
How laughable, trying to summon rain against those who wield the desert's power.
But it was a misjudgment.
Bzzzzzzzz....
The mass he thought was storm clouds didn't spit rain or lightning—instead, it poured straight down to the ground in its true form.
[Insect Storm]
[Spell Enhancement: Deadly Poison]
Insects so numerous they could be mistaken for storm clouds rained down from the sky.
* * *
KABOOM!
Explosions outside the mansion. And screams.
Rumble—the vibrations shaking the entire mansion.
The same strategy I'd used before.
While illusions wreaked havoc, I infiltrated the Blue Tiger mansion.
Dealing with minions and obstacles in sequence is such a hassle—better to go straight for the root cause.
"Stealth action's pretty straightforward anyway."
Detection spreading in all directions.
Where to check first? Hyeon-ah's room? Cheongho's room?
Or—ah, there it is. That unusually strong, unpleasant mana.
The place I'd visited every time to meet Jeong Hyeon-ah.
The very room where Blue Tiger Gang executive meetings took place.
Creaaaaak—
The door slowly opening.
This moment always tenses me up the most. Anxiety that something might differ from what detection revealed.
The room that once held a round table had transformed into a temple for eldritch rituals.
"Egyptian style, huh."
Unreal level of change.
The building's physical structure and size completely ignored. A vast space larger than all the other rooms in the mansion combined.
Fine sand covering the floor. Torches placed here and there. Tall stone pillars rising high.
And in the temple's center, four artifacts.
'Jeokdu said four statues, right?'
Those aren't statues.
Ivory jars carved with the faces of a monkey, jackal, falcon, and human.
"Canopic jars."
Jars used to store the organs extracted from a body during mummification.
Lungs, stomach, intestines, liver respectively.
To be precise, the innards of [Scaled Intrigue].
"Haa—"
A short sigh.
Eating the innards in these jars—turns you into an abyssal slave, but grants surreal power.
They haven't eaten them already, have they?
[System: 'Enhanced Detection' activates.]
Someone approaching from outside the room.
Well, inevitable flow.
But first, check these jars.
The solution changes entirely depending on their contents.
I hurried to the altar and opened the lid of one jar.
"Ah, damn it."
Inside the jar... nothing.
[System: Penalty trait 'Feast's Offering' activates.]
Creaaaaak—
At the same moment, the door slowly opening. Then a slithering sound followed by a human voice.
"Kim Shin-hwa."
Someone I knew.
"I'm so glad you've come all this way."
A creepy voice resonating like a 'snake,' accompanied by hissing breaths.
I barely moved my stiffened facial muscles to reply.
"...It's been a while. Miss."
[What appeared before you cannot be called human. Nor is it the 'snake human' you feared. Reptilian? Amusing delusion.]
Damn.
I didn't come in without a plan, but this is the worst possible scenario I could have imagined.
[Scales covering the entire body. Scaled tentacles writhing in place of hair. Lower body twisted and fused into one. Four arms mutated in grotesque ways.]
[What to call it? Naga from legends? Gorgon? Or perhaps Wadjet, the winged cobra goddess said to protect pharaohs and guard the valley of the dead?]
The horrific description in the message window.
But that was exactly the form Jeong Hyeon-ah had reached after devouring the god's innards.