Pursuit (2)
The battle between the spear-wielding man and the Scout was one-sided. The man's spear couldn't sever the Scout's tentacles, and his flames turned to steam the moment they touched. In contrast, every one of the Scout's attacks was lethal. True to its jellyfish nature, the tentacles carried venom—even a graze sent the man's condition plummeting rapidly.
"Gaaahhh...!"
Once the man was poisoned, it became pure playtime for the Scout. His movements slowed from the toxin, leaving him open to more strikes that injected even more venom. After about five minutes, he collapsed on the spot. I approached, intending to extract some information.
"Can you hear me?"
"Ugh... uuuugh..."
"Looks like his brain's fried."
But he was too far gone from the poisoning to speak properly. I couldn't just wait for the antidote to wear off either. With no other choice, I resorted to magic.
"All secrets lie in the sea, eternal secrets dwell only in the deep abyss."
Blood trickled from my wrist, flowing up my arm toward my eyes. Once it traced a magic circle over them, the spell was complete. I grabbed the fallen guy by the collar and locked eyes with him.
"Come on, look into my eyes."
"Ugh...?"
"Show me what you saw."
The moment our eyes met, the magic activated. It was a memory scan spell. In simple terms, it let me view the memories stored in the water within the eyes. Don't ask about the principle—it's just like me seeing the reflection in the water too.
"I knew it. You pulled some sneaky shit again, huh?"
"Urk...!"
Anyway, after finishing the memory scan, I tossed the man aside carelessly. I'd pulled out everything—who he was, his role in the Cheondo Society, and even the full terror plot he was handling.
"Come out already."
"...."
And as a bonus, I'd learned one more thing: his comrades were nearby and due to link up soon.
From the tangled alleys, armored soldiers, martial artists, and shamans emerged. What a freely dressed bunch.
"Take out the mage first."
"Once he's down, his familiars will be neutralized too."
"I'll draw their attention."
"You're spilling the whole plan like that?"
Five Cheondo Society members in sight, plus anomalies sniffing out the corpse scent, circling like hyenas. Against them, just me and the Scout. But naturally, I felt zero sense of crisis.
Go easy—don't kill them.
○
They worshipped the Four Perils, but the one I served was the terrifying Shin-nim. Our league was on another level.
"Come at me."
"Haaahhh!"
"Die!"
****
The fight kicked off, and I unleashed full power on them right away. If this were reality, I'd hold back, but inside an anomaly phenomenon, no matter how wild I got, it'd only strain the barrier.
"Deep Sea Tentacles, sweep them all away!"
My staple attack now, the Deep Sea Tentacles. I poured in more blood than usual to summon a massive swarm, and they shot out like surging dragons in all directions.
"Dodge everyone!"
"Fuck!"
"Aaaahhhh!"
I'd ordered indiscriminate assault. The Scout hovered in the air, so everything on the ground was fair game. The Cheondo goons panicked and evaded, but the tentacles kept whipping around, brutally smashing walls and buildings.
"More tentacles incoming!"
"Damn it, I'll handle it!"
The tentacles ravaged the area relentlessly. Cornered ones tried counterattacking late. A massive armored brute grabbed a swinging tentacle.
"I've got it!"
Slash! A martial artist severed the held tentacle in one stroke. Two more tentacles flew their way, and they handled them the same way, teamwork on point.
"Hmph..."
Impressive coordination for criminals. The tentacles were regenerating, but they were chopping faster. Tentacles alone wouldn't cut it.
Help me out.
👌
But that was fine. They'd forgotten I had backup too. The Scout, stealthed in midair, ambushed from behind with its tentacles.
"Kuh!"
"Damn it!"
Three of the five got hit. Only the martial artist and shaman barely deflected, retreating out of range. The three frozen stiff...
"Bye-bye~"
A massive tentacle swung down, splattering the immobilized trio into paste. A gruesome sight from human to mush. But I didn't blink. These were mass murderers and terrorists—no pity there.
"Chong-won!!!"
Then the shaman screamed at the flattened corpse. Looked like someone close among her pets.
"I'll kill you for sure!"
"Bring it."
"Raaahhh!!!"
The shaman glared in rage, shaking her bell wildly and chanting.
"I offer my body and soul to the flames—bring down the flames of ruin upon this place!!"
A flash of light, and a massive fireball appeared in the air. A sinister blaze of shamanic power. As the bell tinkled, it began descending slowly—but even before touching ground, my skin was scorching red.
Can you block it?
🤝 No
One hit and I'd be jerky. The Scout shook its head no. My tentacles thrashed wildly below, weak against fire.
"Damn it."
Looks like another spell. I sighed and prepped immediately.
"Tch."
Slashing my wrist, blood poured out, turning to water instantly—a simple blood-to-water transmutation. Soon, a sizable pool formed around me. Using that, I cast right away.
"Waves that cleave the earth, gales that sunder the sky—become so!"
With the chant, the water rose into the air, transforming into seawater and forming a massive spear of the ocean.
The roar of rough seas filled my ears—the spear contained raging currents.
"Pierce!"
The water spear launched at blinding speed, skewering the fireball. Seconds later, it dispersed into steam blanketing the area. Once cleared, the ruins emerged.
"No... way..."
"...."
That spell must've been her trump card—the shaman burst into flames, crumbling to ash.
Just the martial artist left. He gauged me for a bit, then spoke cautiously.
"If I beg for mercy, will you spare me?"
"What would you have done?"
"Killed you, obviously, fucker."
He charged eyes shut, got snagged by a tentacle, and snapped at the waist—dead.
"All done."
Six Cheondo members wiped out. Nearby anomalies either died in the crossfire or fled. The back-alley anomaly that lured people was smashed beyond function. A perfect wrap-up all around.
"Annoying."
But I was still pissed. I'd glimpsed their plans in that memory.
"These guys are total psychos."
From what he knew, the Cheondo Society had nearly completed the Four Perils summoning ritual. A few more terrors and rites, and it'd be real.
"What a hassle..."
Things were winding down, so they'd rampage unchecked. The fallout would hit me and mine directly. Silver lining: I'd gotten rough dates and plans.
"Gotta prep."
Either preemptively crush them or disrupt mid-ritual. I'd be swamped with preparations for a while.
****
Days passed. The Scout's duration ended, returning to the deep sea, but it'd shared locations of several Cheondo members. Using that intel, I hit them one by one.
Sweep 'em all.
"Euuugh...!"
They resisted fiercely, but they were in my palm. I slaughtered them all, gaining more detailed intel on the Cheondo Society and terror plans.
"Three days from now."
Today was October 5th. On the 8th, they'd strike again—targeting the apparel factory and adjacent worker dorms. Bigger than last time.
"This is insane."
I'd planned to stop it early, but their cell-based structure and numbers made it impossible. And they were decently strong. I could beat any one-on-one, but fleeing tantrums would be a pain.
"Hmm..."
I pondered: handle solo or call in third parties? Solo was fine, but perfectly containing it? Not sure.
"What do you think?"
Sweep 'em all!
"Aish..."
Asked Shin-nim, got a classic response. Smash head-on, collateral and all. My fault for asking her.
We need to minimize casualties. They're not our enemies.
"Hm? [....]"
As I mulled it over, Go-seo, slumped on the desk, slithered off somewhere. She returned atop my wallet, rifled through with her bookmark strap, and handed me something.
"Oh."
Found a helpful contact.