Monster of the Saga (1)
Of course, time-stop magic is a grand spell. Even a short, localized time-stop was no exception.
But this one's range covered the entire city of Ansan, and it had already been over ten minutes without any sign of it lifting. I couldn't gauge the caster's skill, focus, or mana reserves at all.
A god... is that what it means?
I faced the colossal being standing before me. Yog-Sothoth had come to rescue its avatar—and, as a bonus, achieve its own goals. Even now, it wasn't exerting a fraction of its true power.
Yet it could probably erase someone like me from existence in 0.1 seconds flat.
It's so overwhelming I can't even laugh.
It felt like being an ant staring up at Mount Everest. So vast and majestic that fear gave way to awe.
If I were just an ordinary mage, I'd have prostrated myself on the ground right then, begging Yog-Sothoth for mercy.
But I can't do that.
I had no choice. If I knelt here, something terrible would happen to South Korea. And there was one more reason.
It was a promise I'd made with Shin-nim not long ago.
We promised, remember? No backing down in fear before anyone.
You remember that, right?
A promise with you? Obviously.
Shin-nim's tastes were very consistent. She preferred soda over sweet potatoes, and she loved my confident side the most. That's why she'd once kneaded my brain half-forcibly into making that promise: no retreating from hardship, no fear no matter the opponent.
Time to move to the next stage.
[....]
I pulled a wooden box from my pocket. Inside was a small, black elixir pill.
I knew exactly who had prepared it.
Shin-nim, right?
Hehe. A surprise gift for hubby!
I took a deep breath, and a fishy sea scent filled my nostrils. I hadn't noticed when I first opened it, but now I could vaguely sense it. This elixir was made from deep-sea entities—the ones I'd summoned and sacrificed up to now.
Is this safe?
The kids said it's fine!
There was no resentment, anger, or grudge. Instead, deep-sea energy rose, caressing my body as if eager to serve me. It didn't seem like it would harm me.
Still, human instincts made me a bit repulsed.
Hubby, you're in super danger right now.
....
If you don't eat that, you'll die. You know that, hubby.
But there was no other way. Taking in Shin-nim with my exhausted body to face a transcendent like Yog-Sothoth was too much. Even at Saga level, I'd barely scrape by.
"I'll take it."
Thump thump!
With my resolve set, I held the elixir. In the endlessly expanding colorless space, I saw the girl and Yog-Sothoth's afterimage. The girl was pinned immobile by Shin-nim and Yog-Sothoth's auras. Yog-Sothoth, for whatever reason, didn't try to stop me.
"Gulp."
If it was laying out the stage for me, no reason to refuse. I swallowed the elixir, and soon felt my mind being sucked into the depths.
Where's this...
When I came to, I was in the deep sea. Not the dream deep sea I'd visited many times—this was the real one. Where all life was hostile, where nature could tear me apart any moment without surprise.
[.....]
[.....]
[.....]
There, countless summons I'd met before greeted me. No—far more than that. Some I'd never called but only knew of, others I'd never even heard of. They eyed me with distrust.
Ha.
I understood their intent from that look. Even stripped of the title "Shin-nim's husband," becoming just a human—could I become king of the deep sea?
It was absurd. How could an ordinary human conquer deep-sea beings and endure the extreme environment?
Insolent bunch. Stop glaring and come at me all at once.
But I didn't sweat the small stuff. What mattered was spirit—standing tall against their overwhelming killing intent without flinching.
[....]
[....]
The deep-sea beings and I stared each other down for a moment. Even newborns had lived tens of thousands of years longer than me. Mysteries I couldn't even scratch despite effort.
But in the end, they were the ones to bow their heads.
We... acknowledge you...
My king...
We pay respects to the King of the Sea...
I didn't understand their words. But one thing was clear: they submitted to me and transferred all the power they'd amassed over lifetimes.
Urgh.
Suddenly, a bizarre sensation overwhelmed me. Bones twisting, flesh peeling, blood boiling inside. Like a butterfly metamorphosing in its chrysalis.
[....]
The pain was excruciating, but I clung to my sanity. Losing consciousness mid-metamorphosis meant death. Not dying in battle, but failing evolution? That'd be humiliating.
Huuu...
But it wasn't easy. No matter how deeply I breathed or clenched my teeth, the chain of agony didn't break. My will was chipping away, bit by bit.
No need to worry, though. I had a caregiver who loved me beyond measure.
Hubby okay? Does it hurt a lot?
....
This mental space was the real deep sea—meaning Shin-nim's true body was here. She'd come personally, her massive eye blinking before me. Hard to tell in the blackness, but focused on me, so definitely an eye.
It hurts, but I'm fine.
Your face looks super not fine...
Shin-nim gazed at me with worried eyes. She could see the future, so she knew the situation—yet she couldn't ignore my pain.
That's why she'd say something like this.
Want me to help? At least with the pain...
Everyone's heard this story: never help a butterfly tear from its chrysalis. One helped that way can't survive without aid forever.
You know what happens.
I'd be fine as a househusband hubby too.
Shin-nim knew that. Her offer stemmed from worry over my suffering—and perhaps because I hadn't earned her full faith yet.
That's not it.
Doesn't matter. What counts is how I feel about it.
If I'd endured stoically, or reached Saga without this ordeal, it'd be different. A husband worrying his wife—especially after leaning on her so much lately. I couldn't even lift my head in shame.
——————!!!
Uh, eek?
Now was the time to be reborn. Discard the ignorance that couldn't even cast magic without magic eyes. Discard the frailty that couldn't fight without deep-sea aid. Discard dependence on Shin-nim.
Become the me she'd longed for, the one all deep-sea beings imagined.
Ah.
When I came to again, the avatar girl and Yog-Sothoth were still before me. The threat loomed huge; my head could roll any second.
Of course, with Shin-nim's help, I could turn it around easily... but
Hmm.
I didn't feel like it. The pain intensified; I was still the clueless fool. But the chrysalis had cracked, one step from emergence.
[....]
All preparations complete—what remained was my will. Could I shatter everything built so far and be ready to be reborn?
Of course.
Buoyed by Shin-nim's cheer, I wouldn't falter. Resolve set, I closed my eyes, formed hand seals with both hands, and opened my mouth.
"Death"
⟨ Incantation Begins ⟩
Chanting the Death spell, my heart stopped. No more breath, body sluggish. But with iron will, I moved.
Slowly raising my hand blade, I thrust it into my chest.
"Hardship"
⟨ Continued ⟩
Tearing out my heart through the gash. The life-symbolizing organ, never once stopped in a lifetime, now paused on the verge of emergence.
"Evolution"
⟨ Metamorphosis ⟩
With the chant's continuation, my body dissolved into a puddle of blood. Pierced flesh, honed muscles, organs—all melted into a growing pool, turning the area into a sea of blood.
[.....]
Even then, the heart floated. A woman risen from the blood clutched it.
Three days should do it.
Time-frozen Ansan aside, the world moved on. Three days since one man's death.
Then the blood began to boil.
Such a cool form. I'm looking forward to it!
The girl kissed the heart and melted into it. Vast blood enveloped it, forming a sphere that shifted shapes: octopus with a thousand legs, world-encircling serpent, eternally jealous whale, sunken temple giant.
But the blood didn't stop, becoming something utterly alien.
[.....]
No fins, claws, teeth, tentacles. Two legs, two arms, one torso, one head.
Not fitting for deep-sea king. If anything, it resembled a human.
Success.
But who would dare call that a human? A body like an apocalyptic monster, eyes mad with abyssal insight. Most terrifying: the infinitely surging deep-sea aura...
Shall we fight now?
[....]
After all this prep, don't disappoint me?
Yog-Sothoth sighed inwardly. It shouldn't have come here today. Though other choices wouldn't have changed the outcome either.