Chapter 76
Chapter 76
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 76
Chapter Title: Broker on the Verge of Explosion (2)
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“Give it to me later. Later.”
I wanted the advance payment, but Park Kwang-rim wasn’t in any condition to do that. Even if he tried a bank transfer, his smartphone would just burst into flames.
Besides, the method I had in mind wasn’t a complete solution.
I turned my head for a moment, scanning the surroundings.
This wasn’t the ideal spot for a ritual. But what could I do? I didn’t have the ability to prepare a purified or quiet space, and dragging him back to my place wasn’t an option either.
I pulled a few talismans, some minor ritual tools, and… ah, this is expensive, from my backpack. A straw human figure doll.
“Isn’t that a curse doll?”
“Using it for curses is the Japanese way. In Korea, they’re called Body Effigies or Place Guardians, usually used as wards. Oh, in China, they’re called Straw Spirits—know about that?”
“Eh, I’m clueless about the occult.”
Not all brokers are the same, I guess. Anyway, I only knew because of the tooltip window popping up right in front of me.
“I don’t know how much they gouged you for, but at least one or more living sacrifices were used in the curse on you. It’s not something you can just lift easily.”
I’d seen the curse on him even before he showed off that trick of burning normal paper.
A few spells that activated with my Insight had clarified its form.
“There’s a woman hanging off your left shoulder.”
“…Feels like the genre’s getting weirder by the minute.”
“I know it sounds culty coming from me, so let’s skip the unnecessary comments.”
But it was true.
A transparent female ghost, covered in burns over her entire body, was clinging to his shoulder.
-Grrr…
I didn’t know who she’d been or what kind of life she’d lived, but now she was just a will-less specter, spreading hatred on command.
“Anyway, it’ll make for a good test.”
“A test?”
Ah, let my true feelings slip there.
I felt a bit bad for Park Kwang-rim in his desperate situation, but this was good practice. I was heading to a place full of necromancy traps soon. Chances to test this school of magic didn’t come often.
“It’s a spell I’ve never tried before.”
“…Is that okay?”
“Who knows? If you’re scared, ask someone else for help. Know anyone with a Thousand Gold Hall pass?”
*Ahem, ahem. No.*
Thousand Gold Hall was a one-of-a-kind special shop in the whole country. It handled problems like curses or cults.
“Then?”
“Please, I’m begging you.”
“Alright. It’s awkward to start right here, so let’s find somewhere more secluded.”
But finding a truly special spot was impossible.
It had been months since I’d dropped into Paju in the Cthulhu World with nothing—no house, no money. I’d barely secured a space to lay my head.
Even setting aside my narrow social circle, finding a suitable spot for this ritual was tough.
“Might as well do it right here instead of some half-assed place.”
“Here? What’s the difference from before?”
We had moved.
From a back alley in Geumchon-dong to another back alley in Geumchon-dong.
Only about 100 meters, so it was natural for Park Kwang-rim to sound baffled.
“This spot’s a bit more enclosed—”
Park Kwang-rim glanced around, lips twitching like he wanted to complain.
“—not physically, magically.”
“…I see.”
That didn’t mean I was going to do it haphazardly.
It’d be like doing open-heart surgery outdoors.
I reached into my backpack and pulled out a few items. The bundle of talismans I’d bought today, and the offerings Jeong Eun-taek had called ritual supplies—like wooden cups and candlesticks.
They could be used for ancestral rites, sure, but they were versatile for all kinds of rituals.
“Now, these…”
[Invisible Hand]
[Spell Enhancement: Multiple Casting]
Chrarararak!!
Dozens of transparent hands arranged the talismans and ritual vessels around the alley.
And then.
Pop!
The clear sound of a liquor bottle uncorking.
Come to think of it, hard to deny this was prepping for a sacrifice. Not clear rice wine, but a type of fermented liquor. Not just any booze, though—
“Huangtian Meijiu, huh? Impressive.”
“Oh, you know this?”
“It’s ridiculously expensive ritual booze, right?”
“Yeah, could sub for medicine, I guess.”
It was labeled a ‘B-rank spiritual elixir’ in the tooltip—pricey stuff. Could be used as medicine or magic ingredients, or as a catalyst for simple rituals.
“It’s from China.”
“Oh yeah? Everything’s gotta be from China?”
I splashed the liquor around, then prepared for the main ritual.
Counted to seven, sipped the Huangtian Meijiu, counted to seven again, spat it on the ground, and counted to seven once more.
“Fuu…”
I let out a deep sigh.
Not my usual breathing exercise.
Unlike reality, the air in Cthulhu World’s Paju wasn’t clean. It wasn’t about proximity to nature.
The city crawled with abyssal entities, otherworldly monsters, shady mana users, and cultists. The air was thick with stray spiritual energy.
That’s why the breath itself needed purifying.
Another long inhale.
This time, I infused it with my mana and exhaled deeply.
“Fuu…”
Park Kwang-rim, who’d been standing awkwardly, flinched noticeably, sensing the dense mana in my breath.
One dim, dank, damp corner of Geumchon-dong’s back alley began purifying under my exhalation.
“Normally, you’d form hand seals and chant mantras here, but skipping that.”
“Skipping it… is really okay?”
“There’s the Namu Samanda Bazra Dan or whatever. I’m no pro exorcist, so I can’t explain it well. Just stand there and enjoy the results.”
It was a mantra from the Mongri Mundil Manggyeong sutra.
I had traits like [Casting Omission] that let me skip those steps, so I bypassed the fluff and activated the spell directly.
[Ivenagiz’s Beacon Fire]
Roooar!!
My breath turned into a roaring white flame, surging toward Park Kwang-rim’s body.
-Kyaaaaak!
The specter clinging to him shrieked as my flames repelled it. At the same time, the spirit body visible only to me finally revealed its true form.
“U, uwaaaaaah!!!”
Ah, you idiot, Park Kwang-rim.
[Sound Distortion]
“Quiet down! You trying to draw the whole neighborhood?”
“Monster! Monster! It’s a monster!”
Well, harsh to expect calm from someone seeing a monster latched on them.
[The unseen curse manifests. A spiritual pursuer born from a wicked rite, a corrupted guardian. And enforcer of the pact. Its skin writhes hideously like melted rubber in fire. This monster will keep injecting the element of fire into the victim’s soul to fulfill its mission.]
A body crawling with maggot-like lesser spirits.
Pincers for hands, grotesquely sagging rubbery skin.
A Fallen, forced into physical form by magic.
An ugly minion crafted by cultists using power borrowed from abyssal entities.
Separate from its horrific appearance—enough to shatter Park Kwang-rim’s composure—it exuded an alien presence that preyed on the human mind.
[Resisting fear with Mental Fortitude stat. Sanity check… failed.]
Even my sanity glitched for a second…
[System: Exclusive trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activates. Nullifies mental disturbance.]
But the issue vanished instantly.
I’d wasted time waiting for [Abyssal Madness] to fully kick in. The Fallen bared its vicious, shark-like teeth and unleashed a guttural roar.
-Grraaaah!!
Good thing I’d set up the sound distortion barrier beforehand.
It glared at me, furious at being forced physical, and raised its crude pincers.
Roooar!!
True to its birth from [Living Flame], the Fallen conjured black, corrupted flames on its claws and charged.
Roooar!!
“Eh-hey, stay back.”
A shimmering barrier formed around me.
[Tindalos’s Husk]
A barrier shaped like a turtle’s shell. Unlike shields for physical force, this blocked spiritual entities.
Kikikikik!!
The Fallen swung its flame-wreathed claws at the barrier, but its power couldn’t breach it.
Kikikik! Grgrgrgrk!!
No proper intellect. It kept clawing the magical barrier, unable to grasp its attacks weren’t working. Pathetic, for its power level.
It shouldn’t be this weak originally?
“Ah, since I’m not the curse’s target, it can’t exert full strength, huh?”
If I were the target, this purification and barrier wouldn’t hold.
“W-what about m-me…?”
“Shh, shut up. I’m drawing its attention on purpose, see?”
“…”
-Kirrrrk!
“Uwah! It’s, it’s looking at me now!”
“See? That’s why I said shut up.”
I gathered mana and raised [Butcher’s Hook].
[S-rank weapon ‘Butcher’s Hook’ unique function, ‘Proof of Slaughter,’ activates.
// Proof of Slaughter: Necromancy spell power increased by 100%.]
[Soul Clash]
Kweeeeeek!
A grotesque energy bolt in a horrific form burst forth, sounding like a ghost’s scream.
Kwaaaang!
-Graaaaaak!
Followed right up with…
[Ra’s Flash]
Paaang!!
A dry bang and blinding white light. A spell that weakens entities obeying secondary dimensional laws, like the Fallen.
[Underworld Chains]
Chrarararak!!
Grayish chains pulsing with eerie energy erupted from the ground, wrapping the Fallen.
-Kieeek!
Ugh, low hierarchy—won’t hold long. The Fallen thrashed, and the chains snapped one by one.
But it stopped it from lunging at Park Kwang-rim right away. Had to pin it now.
‘But… what next?’
The Fallen wasn’t a living thing. An abstract thought-form manifested via abyssal entity guarantee—in this case, [Living Flame].
Among my spells, I could weaken or damage it, but nothing to destroy it outright.
‘Destroy the evidence from the ritual that made it…’
No way to find that now. Probably in a secret spot near Unjeong Station? A hidden church on the subway tracks. Yeah, likely. But no going there now to smash it.
Eh, whatever.
Stick to the original plan.