Outer God (6)
A few hours ago, I'd sent Kim Gwa-jang to Incheon first. I knew An-san was a total mess, but there was no need for him to risk it, right?
'Why are you here.'
I'd pushed his back when he refused to go, even confirmed he got on the bus. Yet somehow, Kim Gwa-jang was at the Ma Tower, and in the meantime, he'd even changed into flashy new clothes.
"...."
"That blank expression... kinda funny, maybe...?"
At this point, I had to admit it. Kim Gwa-jang was a genius at deception. It was beyond anything my common sense could grasp. In my memory, he was definitely a man, but the one standing before me was unmistakably a heavenly beauty.
"So why'd you come?"
"Well, you see..."
Kim Gwa-jang turned her head with a sinister smile. At the far end of the grand hall sat a lone woman. A witch who wielded smoke—maybe calling her the Smoke Witch would fit?
"I came to catch that woman..."
"Catch me? Are you feeling okay in the head?"
Kim Gwa-jang said that, and the Smoke Witch snorted derisively. She didn't entertain the slightest notion of losing. It was an infinitely arrogant attitude, but considering how she'd just butchered that deep-sea entity moments ago, it made sense. Saga-rank—no, a fully mature Saga-rank.
"Think you can pull it off?"
"Ufufu..."
To my question, Kim Gwa-jang laughed. But it wasn't the creepy grin I'd seen before—it felt strangely alluring. What the hell was up with her all of a sudden? Whether I was flustered or not, she stepped forward and declared,
"It's a good day today... so I'll show you something special..."
"W-what?"
"My fabulous self... you have to watch every bit, okay...?"
With that, Kim Gwa-jang spun her scythe once. Kaaang—! The floor scraped, sparks flew, and the fog scattered from the gust. The Smoke Witch watched with a displeased scowl.
"Chattering away like an annoyance. I'll turn you into ground meat."
As the woman shook her pipe, the smoke thickened. When visibility cleared again, hundreds of smoke thorns surrounded Kim Gwa-jang. Sharp spines packed densely from 360 degrees. They converged at once, trying to turn her into a porcupine.
Die.
Kim Gwa-jang's response to the assault was simple. A single short word. The moment she uttered it, the launched thorns scattered in unison. As if they'd never existed from the start, they dissolved into colorless, odorless air.
"What did you just do?"
"Who knows...? Guess."
The Smoke Witch's expression hardened slightly. She shook her pipe again, spewing more smoke—this time smothering Kim Gwa-jang with even greater volume. Like hurling a massive boulder at a person.
Die.
But it never reached Kim Gwa-jang. The moment the word left her lips, the smoke dispersed, leaving only a faint breeze brushing her cheek. Sensing something was off, the Smoke Witch even stood from her seat.
"What the hell are you?"
"Hmm...? Shouldn't you know that better than anyone...?"
Kim Gwa-jang tilted her head. The Smoke Witch didn't get it at first, then realized belatedly and recoiled in horror.
"No way—you're from Walpurgisnacht?!"
"Bingo... quick on the uptake."
What the hell was Walpurgisnacht? I had no clue, but the two didn't explain, just kept talking.
"How'd you know I was here?"
"One of your comrades... reeked of witch."
"That bitch Rozabella? Fucking idiot."
As she spat that, the Smoke Witch put the pipe to her lips. She inhaled deeply and exhaled, filling her surroundings with smoke. An immense fog so thick it turned everything monochrome.
"You think I'll go down easy? I'll kill you and survive."
"Ufufufu... looking forward to it."
Kim Gwa-jang chuckled softly and leaped lightly. She tapped the ground like a deer, but the speed was unnatural—in the blink of an eye, she was before the witch.
"Time to die."
"Begone, monster!"
Behind the Smoke Witch loomed a massive monster silhouette. A nightmarish thing with multiple heads and arms. Five arms and heads targeted Kim Gwa-jang—but with a swift scythe swing, they were sliced apart powerlessly.
"Kuh!"
[Puhiiaaaak!]
Just before Kim Gwa-jang's scythe reached the witch's neck, she shook the pipe violently. Smoke exploded outward like a bomb. Kim Gwa-jang retreated swiftly, but the smoke spread faster, engulfing her in gray haze.
"...!"
"Ahaha! Too late!"
Through it, a smoke monster seized Kim Gwa-jang. Its severed parts had regenerated, and it crushed her with its arms. Crack, crunch. Sickening sounds echoed as red blood dripped between pale gray fingers.
"You dumb bitch, you let your guard down!"
"...."
"I win! I survived a hunter!"
The Smoke Witch cackled maniacally, and I watched silently. Logic screamed to charge and rip her apart. But my animal instincts felt utterly indifferent. Like the scene was a perfectly scripted play.
"Hmm... I made a little mistake."
"Huh?"
And my gut was right. The Kim Gwa-jang who'd been fighting vanished, only to reappear suddenly behind me.
A clone? I activated my snake eyes to check, but both the one before me and the crushed one registered as the real Kim Gwa-jang.
"What kind of magic trick was that?"
"Ufufu... a secret."
I asked for the trick, but as expected, no answer. Even my snake eyes couldn't pierce the witch's sorcery to find a solution. Whatever—curiosity aside, Kim Gwa-jang stepped forward again, facing the Smoke Witch. The witch's face was ghostly pale, like she'd seen a specter.
"You can kill non-living things, and come back from death?"
"Why else would they call me the Death Witch..."
"Bullshit! The stuff you've done can't be limited to mere death!!"
The Smoke Witch shrieked hysterically. She looked insanely wronged, but Kim Gwa-jang remained unfazed. I didn't get it either... but hey, this world didn't run on plain logic.
"Don't sweat it. Just win, right?"
"...."
"If you revive from death, I'll kill you until you don't!"
The Smoke Witch somehow steadied herself and unleashed full power. She snapped the pipe in half, releasing all the smoke, forming a colossal dragon that filled the grand hall. The smoke dragon crawled up, jaws gaping wide.
Split in half and die.
Again. Or slightly different this time—a single phrase, and the smoke dragon cleaved in two, scattering into the air. The Smoke Witch behind it met the same fate. Her body split, she collapsed into a corpse.
Recalling the retreat battle, she'd seemed physically immune. Probably some special rule I didn't know applied.
"...."
"What're you thinking...?"
"About you."
"Oh, embarrassing..."
No change in her expression—embarrassing my ass. Kim Gwa-jang laughed, clearly enjoying my deadpan look, and I shook my head with a sigh. So many questions, but the situation sucked.
"We'll talk about today later."
"Sure..."
"Blab again and you're done. Not joking."
She just smiled at my warning. Staring would raise my blood pressure, so priorities first. The mages who'd been hiding in the corner since the fight started. I approached and spoke.
"Who's the rep here?"
"M-me!"
A mage stepped forward. Legend Upper-rank, skilled. He introduced himself as the Ma Tower's student council president.
"Like a grad student?"
"I'm not a slave—I'm temp staff."
"Ah."
According to the president, skilled mages become grad students, scattering worldwide to roll in the dirt. Experimenting with dangerous spells, slaying mighty anomalies. Basically lifelong combat slaves. The tower's real fighting force? Grad students, not surprisingly.
"Where are the grad students, then?"
"W-well? Only professors can summon them..."
That damn chancellor bastard. I warned him, and he bails without mustering forces? I nearly clutched my neck again but held back in front of people.
"Was that bitch the last attacker?"
"Um... well..."
From what I knew, there were at least four attackers. The witch just killed, two mage hunters, plus that filthy earth dog—four total. But the president's words differed.
"Only two attackers?"
"That's what the eyewitnesses say."
This hall had over a thousand people. If that many agreed, it was likely true. Not five, not three—two?
"No deep-hooded black-robe guy?"
"No... never saw him."
"???"
And one attacker wasn't even the earth dog. Some non-dog bastard invaded the Ma Tower and slaughtered every mage except these? Was he Legend-rank too?
"He was strong... but not just brute strength."
"What does that mean?"
The president couldn't answer. Like a scholar baffled by the inexplicable, words failed him amid confusion. This was bad. My snake eyes showed his brain's memory centers were a bit fried.
"Enough explaining. Where's that guy?"
"...."
He hesitated at my question. Even now, if he wavered, it must be a big secret.
"He went to the Forbidden Vault underground."
"Fuck."
And sure enough, a brutally ominous name spilled from the president's lips. Forbidden Vault... no need to see it to know shit was about to hit the fan.
'God, please!!!'
You called?
'Not you, Shin-nim! Any god, please!'
Don't let this turn into an irreparable disaster after I prayed like this.