Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Regaining Perspective
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Roughly 150 years ago from now.
That would put it around 1870 or 1880, give or take.
Heo Sanghyeon's ancestor was an open-minded scholar brimming with curiosity, eagerly embracing exotic Western knowledge.
The problem was that among the things he indiscriminately accepted was one book he absolutely should never have touched—a wicked tome.
[Grimoire – Taiyin Water Treasure Secret Scripture]
That single book utterly corrupted Heo Sanghyeon's ancestor.
Following the rituals inscribed within, he summoned [The One Who Comes from the Darkness], and the abyssal entity that descended into our world mated with the ancestor, birthing a monstrosity that should never have existed.
The great old one's bastard child, born 150 years ago.
That was the half-rotted, half-corpse standing before me: Heo Joo.
‘Even in the game, his name was never fully revealed—just listed as [Heo Joo], right?’
I didn’t know the exact family tree, but judging by blood ties, he’d be around Heo Sanghyeon’s great-grandfather.
‘Or maybe great-grandmother... Is that thing even male or female?’
“Haah...”
Right now, I was outside the starving mansion.
More precisely, clinging to a second-floor window.
Rumble...!
Thunder crashed from the dark sky.
Drenched by the downpour with my depleted stamina, my body shivered uncontrollably. But watching Heo Joo’s bizarre antics wasn’t half bad.
“Th-this is...!?”
That was Heo Joo’s voice.
As expected of the ancestor.
Heo Sanghyeon’s voice had that same creepy, grating quality that set people’s teeth on edge.
True to form, Heo Joo spoke in a truly eerie, chilling tone.
He still hadn’t grasped the situation fully and was peering into the crystal orb.
Because my [Blurry Presence] spell with its stealth effect was working perfectly.
I could see Heo Joo channeling mana to clear the magical noise embedded in the orb.
‘Ah, busted.’
Using the effects of the ancient god’s mirror, I had manipulated Heo Sanghyeon’s mind and vision.
Heo Joo, viewing the first floor through Heo Sanghyeon’s eyes, had been cackling gleefully at the distorted illusion I’d created.
Well, now that he’d caught on, that was the end of it. The orb should now show the real events unfolding on the mansion’s first floor, right?
“Kraaaagh! You filthy rat bastard!”
Enraged, Heo Joo let out an incomprehensible roar and shattered his crystal orb. What a waste of an expensive artifact.
“Where are you! Show yourself!”
He began spreading his mana in all directions to search for me.
‘Doesn’t seem like he’ll find me right away.’
Heo Joo’s detection spell was veering off in completely the wrong direction.
The mansion’s first floor, then second floor. Now the front entrance area.
He hadn’t even considered I might have gone outside.
‘More importantly, it’s about time it arrived, isn’t it?’
And right then, from far away...
Boomrorororoar!
A massive wave sound started crashing in.
“Oh, here it comes.”
The wave, infused with immense mana, grudges, and nether-dimensional energy, was surging up the mountain.
A spell I’d hidden away in a distant spot to mature.
I’d nearly fried my brain crafting the magic circle, calculating, and controlling it from a place Heo Joo wouldn’t detect.
And the payoff was worth it... The oncoming wave radiated an evil aura so foul even I found it horrific.
I knocked on the window and shouted.
“Hey, bone daddy! Over here!”
“You! You! How in the—!”
Startled, Heo Joo surged with mana and lunged toward me, but...
At that exact moment, the pre-prepared barrier activated.
[Prison of Cold Bones]
Shrrrrrrrr!
A nether-dimensional barrier erupted from beneath Heo Joo’s feet.
Cracklerattle, crunch...
The immense pressure from the barrier wrapped around Heo Joo’s flesh and began crushing him.
“Kraaaagh!!! What... what... how...!?”
“Oh, wondering how it activated without warning?”
“Grraaagh... A barrier... of this scale...”
“What’re you talking about? I set it up right in the open.”
The nine candles I’d placed while deceiving Heo Sanghyeon—they formed the barrier’s ritual.
“You think I went to all that trouble just to bind some puny ghosts?”
Heo Joo was standing right on the spot where I’d positioned the candles and talismans.
I was about to explain when I sensed him channeling mana.
[Doom’s...]
Heo Joo tried to force a spell, but my attack was faster.
[Lightning Bolt]
Zzzzzzap!!!
“Gaaaah!”
“And the ‘stall for time by chatting’ strategy won’t work.”
“Urgh... You think this low-tier spell... can stop me...”
He had a point.
Right now, I’d only caught him because of the triple-layered traps I’d set, but this guy was a different breed from birth.
I couldn’t fully subdue him with my 2nd-tier spells.
‘Which is why I prepared that.’
Splooooosh!!!
A colossal wave defying physics surged upward.
I hadn’t gone through all the hassle of distancing it for nothing.
It was a spell built by scraping together every bit of mana Heo Joo had carelessly wasted.
Blended from the ghosts, corpse golems, and the mana I’d intercepted mid-way, this massive wave was practically a living entity formed of water essence.
‘The base is the corpse golems and ghosts Heo Joo controlled, so technically, it’s a death golem too.’
“Now, can’t have the window breaking...”
I flung open the window in front of me and clung to the second-floor wall.
Splooshcrash!!!
The wave, rising against gravity, morphed into a giant water spear and charged through the open window.
I infused it with new properties and mana.
[Torrent of the Samdo Streams]
It was no longer just a 2nd-tier spell—this was gigantic.
Splooshboomboomboom!!!
Heo Joo couldn’t even scream as the torrent, brimming with nether energy and death aura, struck him dead-on.
Rumblegrrrumble!!!
Craaackcraaack!!!
The entire mansion shook with ominous vibrations.
But the whole place couldn’t be destroyed.
I had to concentrate to control the [Torrent of the Samdo Streams]’ range.
The prolonged screams eventually stopped, and only after confirming the area had gone completely silent did I climb through the window into the mansion’s second floor.
“Whew. Let’s see...”
The room where Heo Joo had been was a total wreck.
Everything in it was destroyed; nothing was in its place.
Even Heo Joo, at the room’s center, was gone.
His bones couldn’t have vanished entirely.
Where’d he go?
‘The room’s too dark.’
[Dancing Flames]
Fwoosh!
Gorgeous flames bloomed in my palm.
They looked like burning fire but produced no heat.
A magical light source drawing only pure illumination.
The flames danced outward, illuminating the dark room.
“I thought one hit would finish you, but damn, you’re tough.”
No sign of Heo Joo.
He must have hidden himself amid the scattered debris in the room.
The room was spacious, but the bizarre furniture flung about by the torrent made it feel cramped.
Were those even furniture?
Taxidermy.
Taxidermied animals scattered everywhere.
Bears, wolves, hyenas, deer, tigers...
These weren’t for display or collection.
They were materials for crafting death golems or the preliminary corpse golems.
There was originally a pattern where the animated ones would attack here, but I’d sent them all outside, averting disaster.
These were unfinished products anyway.
Whiiiiiine...
An unsettling vibration hummed from somewhere.
Whimper...
The weeping of ghosts.
Screeech... creak...
Crunch, munch...
- Help... save me...
- Monsters are eating me...
Meaningless noises to rattle intruders’ minds.
Classic mental attack.
[System: Exclusive Trait ‘Abyssal Madness’ activated. Fear Injection effect nullified.]
“Gnawing sounds won’t faze me.”
[Fear Injection].
One of the lowest-tier necromancy spells.
For a guy who could cast advanced ones like [Necrotic Burst], [Death Throes Curse], or [Touch of Corruption], resorting to this low-tier junk meant my strike had worked.
The rash low-level spell dissipated harmlessly, only giving away his position instead.
[Gale Strike]
Fwoooosh!! Boom!!!
A 2nd-tier spell hurling compressed air for a powerful blow.
No fancy effects, but solid physical impact.
Craaack! Crash!
The taxidermy blocking my view flew apart, revealing the pitifully huddled half-corpse.
Heo Joo.
His limbs twisted unnaturally, black mucus oozing from every facial orifice.
“Cough... What... are you... you monster...”
“Hey, come on!”
How many times was this now?
Why did every monster I meet call me the monster?
“Why are the death golems... still draining my mana... why won’t it stop...”
Ah, you don’t get it? It’s called an infinite loop bug.
“Because I made it that way.”
“What...?”
“I bound them all and set them on fire.”
Of course, I’d used magic to prevent the fire from spreading too far.
‘Easy exploit using the smart AI.’
The trapped death golems endlessly suck their master’s mana to repair their repeatedly destroying bodies.
Infinite destruction and forced regeneration.
Heo Joo was a mana monster, but he couldn’t last forever like this.
He’d set up safeguards against this, of course—but I’d destroyed them all.
“Alright, time to end this.”
“Haa... I...”
My image reflected in Heo Joo’s pupils.
Four eyes gleaming from a pitch-black mask.
My eyes glowed crimson from the continuous spellcasting.
“You’ve outlived your welcome anyway, sucking not just others’ lives but your descendants’ too, right?”
Besides, even left alone, he’d die soon.
His smart death golems were still draining his mana.
I raised the gleaming silver hook.
“Let’s finish this.”
“No... stop...”
An unmistakable stabbing stance.
I focused on his heart.
“Hold still. I need to extract something from your body.”