Chapter 207
Chapter 207
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 207
Chapter Title: Prelude to Chaos (2)
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The faint sound of the TV drifted in, replacing the radio.
Crash—!
The items on the table tumbled to the floor in a heap.
“...Damn! What the hell is this all of a sudden...!”
I barely grabbed the table with my flailing hand and leaned against it, gritting my teeth.
The once spotless living room floor was now a wreck, but this wasn't the time to fuss over such trivialities.
The Abyss's mental erosion had begun abruptly.
Hans, now the Immortal King, possessed near-immunity to mental attacks even without effort, but since this erosion originated from within rather than an external assault, his defenses proved useless.
‘Right after locking eyes with that thing, something in Hans's heart... the Abyss resonated from inside. This reaction is even worse than when he absorbed the fragment.’
Of course, even with his innate mental defenses rendered moot, it wasn't a major issue.
Combined with his mental stats, honed through massive karma investments, and the resources drawable from his other Avatars, he wielded transcendent mental strength—problems would be the anomaly.
All he had to do was suppress the rampaging erosion just enough and redirect it away from flowing back to the main body.
After all, hadn't Hans been able to wield the Immortal King's perilous power freely precisely because of such overpowered traits?
“Kuh, of all times, now!”
...That is, under normal circumstances.
Mental resources overflowed in abundance, yet Hans's inner world was far too precarious and unstable to deploy them fully.
‘Damn it, I can't suppress it. Right after the mental world got damaged!’
A torrent of negative elements erupted from within like an explosion.
Emotions he'd endured multiple times before—ones he'd consistently walled off—swelled several-fold in an instant, surging right up to the limits of Mind Hub.
‘At this rate, it'll backflow...!’
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind in a heartbeat.
Dismiss the summon?
No, that would merely postpone the crisis.
With the bomb already lodged deep inside Hans, resummoning would trigger the exact same catastrophe.
And then, the "compromised Hans" would materialize right beside the defenseless main body.
‘Not to mention his aura leaking everywhere, exposing our position! Unless I'm sealing Hans away forever, that's the worst possible choice.’
Sure, the house had barriers, but given the energy pouring from Hans's body right now, they wouldn't hold.
No, the optimal fix for this mess was here in Outerica... specifically, within the Immortal Citadel.
‘But if my own mind gets tainted, it's all for naught. That much, I have to prevent at all costs.’
The erosion had already breached the threshold, hammering at the boundaries of Mind Hub.
I halted every Avatar's actions in unison, channeling all mental focus onto Hans.
I enveloped the damaged mental world inflicted by the Ruler, staving off further harm.
I bolstered Clear Mirror Still Water, tossing like a sailboat in a gale.
I regulated Persona while reinforcing Mind Hub's safeguards.
In the midst of it, I realized the backflowing Abyss carried information, but I had no bandwidth to spare.
‘This is genuinely perilous. Need some kind of breakthrough...’
Yet such countermeasures could only buy time at best.
The outlook remained utterly hopeless.
As he desperately sought an escape.
‘...Wait, what's that?’
Suddenly, the orb left behind by the Ruler registered in Hans's inner consciousness.
Turbulence raged around it, yet the orb held its position in serene indifference.
‘Mental amplification. Unsure if it'll help here... but better than nothing.’
Wasn't this fiasco triggered by that very item?
If it aided resolution now, he couldn't afford to be choosy.
‘Huh? This might actually work better than expected?’
Yet the desperate grasp at that straw yielded results beyond anticipation.
Not a miraculous fix—wrong application saw to that—but sufficient to stem the backflow and seal the breach.
‘Sorting the bloated Abyss inside Hans can wait. Priority is fortifying the barrier against backflow. Once that's locked down...!’
A grueling tug-of-war with the Abyss dragged on for a spell.
How much time had passed since countering the erosion?
In truth, mere minutes, but the exhausting mental skirmish made it feel like hours.
“Huu—.”
His body ached with languor, drenched and sticky with sweat.
The mere sensation signaled spare capacity to shift focus outward.
‘...We did it.’
Yes, ultimate success.
He'd severed the Abyss-triggered contamination and erected an extra bulwark along the consciousness frontier, barring any crossover.
Ziiing—
But before relief could settle.
Thud!
A sudden vertigo rocked his skull; he staggered and sprawled ignobly across the trashed floor.
“Ugh, urk.”
Overexertion from the abrupt crisis?
He'd staunchly blocked the backflow to the main body, but the mental toll and fatigue were inescapable.
Even straining to string thoughts together, his mind stuttered in fragments, connections severed.
A dreamy fog clouded everything; focus eluded him, leaving only disjointed scraps circling his brain.
《Unique Skill has evolved, awakening its potential...》
But before those shards could coalesce.
He sensed consciousness drifting into the void and plunged into darkness.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ A brief interlude later.
Click—
The door handle turned, and a figure stepped into the wrecked living room.
A quick scan of the surroundings led his gaze to the man sprawled on the floor; he let out a deep sigh.
“Haa— didn't see this coming.”
Hugo, the newcomer with Han Seonghyeon's identical face, scooped him up, tucked him into the bedroom, and thoroughly checked his condition.
‘I've been running Avatars from safe spots, so this never crossed my mind. Mental overload causing backlash is par for the course, though.’
First instance of shock rebounding to the main body left him rattled.
Thankfully, close inspection revealed no grave peril—a few days' solid rest ought to shake it off...
‘No, that's not the issue at all?’
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
The true headache was just beginning.
‘Huu, stay calm. Let's sort the situation first.’
Hugo, whose fresh creation left his "personality" still faint, wrapped up all cleanup and sank into the massage chair as usual, deep in thought.
Everyone harbors facets aplenty, great and small.
They shift with context or company: at work, with family, pursuing hobbies, among friends...
The pillar of society might rage tyrannically at home over trifles; a merciless slayer could cherish his child above all.
A given for any human—diverse, multifaceted emotional expressions needing no "split personality" label.
‘And the personalities Persona imparts to Avatars stem from Han Seonghyeon's own emotional spectrum.’
Each Avatar embodied one of his facets, a psyche projection.
Diverse as they appeared, they remained unequivocally him—even now, sharing memories while the main body lay insensate.
Merely differing in outward manifestation per personality.
Especially his inaugural Avatar, Hans... the vessel for every negative facet, an emotional refuse bin of sorts.
Sorrow over lost kin, worldly resentment, fury at the masses, despair for tomorrow.
A typical soul steeped solely in such would spell trouble, but Hans differed as an Avatar.
‘Undead synergy was ideal to begin with, and those negatives even aided reining in the ‘Immortal King's Heart.’」
Moreover, Mind Hub enabled detached oversight irrespective of personality, so no real snags until now.
‘Until now.’
So long as Avatar's master and Mind Hub's core, Han Seonghyeon, remained hale.
And so long as it wasn't immediately post-Hans's Abyss contamination.
“Hahaha... what a mess.”
Hugo scratched his nape with an awkward chuckle, gulped, then muttered a sigh-laden quip.
“...We're screwed.”
That pithy assessment echoed across every Avatar save Hans.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ ‘Unnecessary fretting.’
Hans inwardly grumbled as he clamped down the swelling Abyss within.
Backflow blockade had demanded intense focus, yet the mental stats dedicated to Hans alone were formidable.
Fresh Abyss taint was inevitable this round, but nothing novel from prior brushes.
‘This body is the sovereign transcending death, rightful king. It bends to no one's whim.’
Abyss or whatever lurked behind the giant—none mattered.
As those notions swirled, Dwel's clamoring voice piped up beside him.
[My king! Are you well? Forgive me! I should have sealed that insolent giant more securely. To think it would scheme against you even in that state!]
A glance around confirmed scant time had elapsed; the surroundings mirrored prior.
[I'm fine. Be silent, Dwel. This one requires contemplation.]
[Hup! Y-yes, my king.]
Hans snapped icily at the irritating chatterbox and pivoted to regard the giant's head, forehead holed through.
The colossal cranium crumbled apace, core's ruin taking its toll.
‘Ha! Mission? Master? What nonsense.’
He sneered inwardly at the sight.
Not yet fully dissected the intel gleaned, but the picture was clarifying.
Evidently, even "death" and "madness" operated per designer's design.
That giant's ploy likely aimed to reset the wayward Immortal King to script.
Were he no Avatar, he might have danced its tune.
‘I care not your nature. Obstruct Hannibal Strauss's path, and you fall—like those Oath of Reverse Heaven scum.’
His aim had been singular from inception.
Amass vast karma via "home theater," then eradicate Earth's Reverse Heaven Society therewith.
Solemnly, that drove him.
‘Yet direct clashes reveal that Reverse Heaven Society no pushover.’
Gazing at the giant's head, musings veered there naturally.
The upshot?
‘Indeed, more karma required.’
No more half-measures; harvest decisively.
He'd mulled it oft before, but he was no saint.
Han Seonghyeon, fractured long ago, could slaughter multitudes sans qualm if exigency demanded.
‘Only natural. How many has this body slain already?’
Mind Hub might filter, but the killings endured indelibly.
Countless direct and indirect deaths tallied, yet no profound shock ever struck.
Didn't that attest abnormality from the outset?
Still, minimizing civilian fallout? Mere self-rationalizing excuse, ego salve.
Desperate clawing to retain scant humanity.
‘Pathetic.’
Yet.
Now, those fetters snapped.
‘Efficiency overhaul in order.’
His present tack was inefficiency incarnate.
Home theater? Fine.
Hero-Demon King clash? Splendid.
Content with the script?
‘Hardly!’
What farce was this?
No child's game—trifling minions dispatched piecemeal for petty jabs!
Not even an RPG Demon King nurturing a hero with such tepid probes.
Behold! The Immortal Citadel teeming with untapped might.
Undying legions piling uselessly.
What profligacy!
The status quo dissatisfied utterly.
[Dwel McCain.]
[Yes! Immortal King! Dwel stands ready!]
Sensing an offbeat royal tenor?
Dwel, presence muted till now, prostrated and bellowed.
Hans eyed him briefly, then issued curt decree.
[Convene the executives.]
[At once, my liege! Command executed forthwith!]
Military crispness propelled Dwel away ere words faded.
Solitary in the lab, Hans eyed the giant's head ashing to oblivion, then tilted gaze ceilingward.
Naught but the Immortal Citadel's stark black stone adorned it.
Yet he murmured low, as if addressing another.
[This one is Hannibal Strauss.]
Hans... nay, Immortal King Hannibal Strauss.
[The harbinger of this world's end.]
Thus commenced earnest extension of shadowy tendrils toward the continent.