Chapter 88
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Favorability 99 Percent
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Hong-ran's flames engulfed her entire body, leaving Lee Hye-ri charred black as she collapsed onto the rooftop puddle.
The clothes she wore, her hair, even the parasites wrapped around her—all reduced to a handful of ash.
Her body completely incinerated, nothing left behind.
Even the darkness clinging to her face couldn't withstand Hong-ran's karmic blaze.
"Dead...?"
I shook my head at Ha-yul's question. I knew it wouldn't go down that easily. Above all, Lee Hye-ri's body was still alive.
"If you're asking if I'm dead... I don't want to die even more..."
As expected, it rose again.
Screaming that it didn't want to die if told to, the blackness tore off its burned skin, sprouting fresh flesh.
Soon, fungi filled the gashes, and Hye-ri's body began to regenerate.
The blood ghost hybrid's signature rapid recovery intertwined with the fungal sorcerer's power—it was proving damn tough to kill.
"Cough... cough. Well, well, Fixer. It's been a while. Our third encounter now, right?"
This was my first direct clash with the blackness, yet it blabbered on about us having met three times already.
"No use pretending you don't know. Oh, calling you 'Fixer'—maybe that threw you off? Let me try a different greeting. Nice to see you, Joodak. You're the World of Doom Gallery manager, aren't you?"
"What...?"
Its words sent chills racing down my spine.
How the hell did this monster know about the World of Doom Gallery and Joodak?
No way. It couldn't be.
It had to not be. The worst possibility flickered through my mind.
"Hahaha! That's right, it's me. You always came to me with your questions! And just a few days ago, you were hunting for me. Ta-da! The veteran Joodak sought is right here! How were my answers? Satisfactory?"
"You're not the veteran. Don't lie. The veteran in my head was more mature, more trustworthy."
"No, you really think I'm lying? You asked me about the Cursed Mountain Lodge Strategy, sought me out for every big crisis. Ah, the speech pattern was different? Sorry. I keep community and reality separate. Aah, Joodak—casual talk now, believe me? Better?"
To sift truth from bluff, I pulled up its description window.
A hazy strange window overlaid Hye-ri's.
Name: The One Who Wails in the Darkness
Threat Level: Inaccessible
Classification: Inaccessible
Origin: Unknown
Exorcism Method: Witness the Ending
Nothing like the strange windows I'd seen before.
Threat level and classification inaccessible; origin read like the blackness wrote it itself.
Takedown Method: Unknown
Take-down method same.
Its info fully concealed.
'Only solid clue: exorcism via ending. Direct methods useless till then.'
Existence exorcised solely by seeing its ending.
Impossible to banish permanently; stalks player to the end, nightmare incarnate.
"Shouldn't snoop into others' personal info."
Severe Damage Inflicted
Mental Power... Does Not Decrease
Just opening the window triggered near-instant-death damage—but I blocked it.
Existential Omnipotence Activates
The new skill repelled the wailer’s attack once.
Right now, I was invincible.
"Huh...? That was my finisher... why are you unscathed...?"
"Because you're weak—that's why it bounced."
No clue on its true nature, so no idea how to handle it.
It plainly called itself the gallery's veteran.
The timing of the blackness's emergence perfectly synced with the veteran's disappearance.
But was that the priority right now?
"Veteran or not—doesn't matter to me."
"Huh?"
"Your identity's irrelevant. What counts is punishing your atrocities and stopping future sins."
Gallery vet or no, my task stayed the same.
Evil supernatural demands fitting retribution.
I swung without hesitation.
Even if the veteran who'd shared knowledge with me, its crimes were unforgivable.
Intent be damned—kill while I could.
Snap—!
Bones shattered; the blackness spun wildly, flying several meters.
I'd pulled my punch to spare Hye-ri, but my sky-high Strength stat launched it anyway. Full force would've pulped its head.
"Kahak... w-wait... it's me! Me, I tell you! Let's talk. Yeah? Curious about my reasons? I have my side! Why hear others' sob stories but ignore mine?!"
"Dialogue with irredeemable evil is pointless. Your track record? Pure sadism—slaughtering humans for fun, butchering hybrids. Thought I'd spare you? I'm no saint."
I closed in on the crawling blackness, wrenching its legs and wrists to pin it—no escape. Or rather, half-ripping them off.
Vampire hybrid anyway—Hye-ri wouldn't die from this.
"Kyaaa! Aaaah! Hurts! It hurts!"
Pain got a solid reaction. So it felt agony.
Made things much simpler.
Screeching in Hye-ri's voice, but I didn't stop.
My target: tank its favorability to -120.
'Three ways to exorcise a supernatural...'
First: standard exorcism per its method.
Second: raise favorability to recruit it.
Third: drop favorability to -120, making it fade away.
I was going with the third.
From hands-on experience battling supernatural, the most reliable exorcism? Beat the shit out of it.
Favorability was basically its HP. Hitting -120 drained all its existential life force.
That was the system's core mechanic. So pummel till the blackness's favor hit -120.
Inject endless torment, shatter it utterly.
Just like with the demon Andromalius.
But one hitch.
'Can Hye-ri tank all my hits? Hybrid vitality or not, limits exist.'
Hye-ri couldn't endure my full barrage.
She'd die first.
Which meant another approach.
"You, what the hell...!"
"Ever hear of Life Link IV? Our life forces are linked as one now."
"What...?"
"No escaping via death. Round two. Gonna smash you head to toe."
It gasped in horrified awe at my move.
No mercy needed. Non-lethal beatings? Go wild.
I caved in the blackness's face halfway, then pulverized the rest.
'Mid-beatdown, spotting its weakness.'
The blackness couldn't transcend human limits. Stuck at peak-grown Hye-ri's stats.
Couldn't break human ceilings. Masked blackness's ceiling.
Could max a body's potential, but crumbled against superior foes.
Maybe why the Moss House exorcised it before?
No absolute power or authority.
"Time to choose, you pitch-black freak. Die by my hand? Or self-exorcise? Humans call it a dilemma. Pick."
"Kuhuk..."
Floor slick with blood.
Rain had stopped unnoticed.
Hye-ri's body had bled near-fatal amounts, but Life Link forcibly clung to her life.
I stared stone-faced at the sobbing—or laughing?—blackness and posed the question.
Two options.
Either led to death.
End it decisively here.
Too hazardous for humanity.
"I... I'll pick a third... escape here... huh?"
The bloodied mess struggled to rip open an exit, but...
Couldn't flee through a rift either.
"You're in a 'Human Protection Zone' right now—surprisingly. Hybrid or not, Hye-ri's human. Can't bail on her body."
"Trapped good... haven't been this helpless in ages... really might die. Heh..."
Desperate flight thwarted, the blackness burst laughing at some private joke.
Mask of Hye-ri's body meant no exit without ditching it.
But dropping the mask? Threshold guardian—disaster-grade Eve—snags its thoughtform instantly.
No matter the pick, it died by my hand.
"Fun... so Fixer fists pack this punch. No wonder supernatural crave 'em..."
Words sounded delighted, but its favorability had cratered.
-100% → -110%
[Mind Unreadable]
[No Data Accessible]
Couldn't read its mind—irritating—but more pain, and I could purge it fully.
Fists tapped out at this damage; time for tools.
"That's... ha. Haha... pulled a fun one. Not Fixer—you're the saint...?"
I drew my top torment tool against the blackness.
Name: Proof of Faith
Description: Item imbued with the dying pleas of the fallen.
Effect 1: Torments unbelievers into repentance.
Effect 2: Dodges death once.
"Repent. And never set foot on this land again."
I thrust the battered cross at the writhing blackness.
Unbelievers writhe in torment unto confession. Proven handling the Three Evils.
This one too, soon pain-shrouded, unto...
"Hehe... what's wrong? Surprised? Shocked I'm no unbeliever?"
"You... believe in God? You?"
"I do. Who could affirm God's existence more than me? I believe. Don't love, but believe without doubt. Surely you don't think God means only Yahweh?"
Proof of Faith failed to ignite it.
The blackness wasn't an unbeliever. It truly believed.
"Wasted effort. That won't take me out. You see it, right? How to bypass exorcism method and banish a supernatural. You know."
"...."
"Make the supernatural crave self-erasure. Guide it to voluntary dissipation—that's your aim. But... I don't wanna vanish yet? Feeling your power firsthand... sparked a little hope."
Its favorability ticked up.
-110% → 99%
[Sees Potential in You]
[Desires Happy Ending]
"How's that? Still think I hate you?"
I blinked, doubting my eyes—checked its favorability again.
Changed for real.
From -110%...
To 99% in a flash.
Beat it half to death? How'd favor skyrocket like that?
One thing certain: this wasn't my imagined veteran.
This thing was more like... a gallery troll.
Banned out of boredom, crawled free?
"Let's chase that happy ending together. Yeah? Unite as one, blaze a new route. With your body... it's doable!"
"Crazy bullshit...!"
Why share a happy end with a trash troll like you?
New route my ass. Utter nonsense, but it clung to both my arms.
Bloody nose, swollen eyes, total wreck—Hye-ri's face grinned via blackness.
A look of genuine desire to merge with me.
Bottomless madness. Obsession.
And intense craving for my body.
It wanted me. Now.
"You and me together... might reach it. This is just my mask. I'll find you in my true form. Wait for me. Strongest flesh, strongest soul... we're a perfect match. You can't know how long I've awaited this shot..."
It yearned to become one with me.
Craved true union.
Skin crawled. If its favor hit 100% like this...
"Like hell! You tried massacring folks, now wanna merge with me?"
"No real kills yet. This time, barely any died? Right? Could've slaughtered loads, but just toyed—didn't finish. See? That Taoist's sister still kicking. Wanted to? Whole school wiped easy."
Its favor toward me: a whopping 99%.
Just 1% shy of 100.
Let it linger, and I'd force into a 'union' ending with the blackness.
How to shatter its obsession, make it despise me?
Take-down method? Still blank.
Done in this absurdly?
'Love conquers all'—by the supernatural's hand?
Unrequited devotion I never greenlit, jacking favor to 100 solo for merge end.
Utterly flustered. Revolting. Repulsive.
Post-possession, only this psycho supernatural bitch rattled me this bad. Was this fear?
'Sole escape: kill Hye-ri, currently devoured by blackness.'
Bond with Hye-ri? Not deep. Just another stranger, honestly.
But guilt-free kill? No.
Might even want me to off Hye-ri.
No other play? Save Hye-ri and banish blackness...
Oh dear. Hit with the surefire takedown method, Saint.
Right as blackness moved to devour me, time froze—everything halted. A familiar voice echoed from behind.
Turned with effort; a computer glowed with blue screen.
The chaos culprit at Garam University.
Human voice emanated from it.
'This voice...'
The soft woman's tone from days ago, over the receiver.
Flashing blue screen faded; an unfamiliar woman materialized on the monitor.
Addressing me.
Blue bob-cut woman. Resolution too poor for details.
The fourth and second doors remain unclosed. When the artist's hand returns, the feast begins. Shatter the self-proclaimed angel. The clown's balloon headed there. Seek the Non-Everyday Management Company. Chase the supernatural from the inverted mirror. Remember my words?
"...."
She asked if I recalled her past phone words.
Of course I did.
Noise mangled it then; barely grasped meaning. Hearing clear now? Profound stuff.
Eve'd know it cold. Tied to -404 floor doors.
Clear warning? On door-spawned threats.
And that crushed beneath you? A being trapped in a yoke. It'll try slipping the yoke via your body.
"Hold up—yoke? Like an infinite loop?"
Sorry, Saint—I can't hear you. One-way broadcast, then. I'll grant a brief reprieve. Find that's exorcism method.
"Exorcism for the looping black bastard, got it."
Finding the method's key now. It has its rules. Won't hold on long—before my power fades, qui…
Screen glitched back to blue.
Monitor speaker's woman's voice trailed off.
Newbie… don't bully… play with me…
The blackness gripping me dissolved; Hye-ri's blackened body normalized.
Good luck, Ju…
The Garam University chaos machine powered down fully.
The warped school reverted; memory-overlaid students collapsed unconscious en masse.
Located the Entity in Human Guise
🎁 Reward: Granted
Clothes incinerated, Hye-ri naked—I draped my coat over her. Quest cleared popped.
Auto-resolve on blackness contact, huh.
Not a full-exorcism quest from jump. Can't purge completely yet.
"Hubby..!"
Head spinning, I blankly eyed the dead computer.
Sowol rushed up, hugging me out of nowhere.
Supple, pillowy softness smothered my face.
Divine scent wafted from Sowol's mourning garb.
Freshener and her toasty warmth soothed me.
"Hey, Sowol. Can't... breathe..."
"Ahh..! Sorry..! Hubby looked so lost. Wanted to buck you up..."
"Plenty bucked. Ease up?"
"Yessir..!"
Sowol's arms slackened a touch.
Breathing room now.
"But Hubby—that thing. You kill it for sure...? Vanished abrupt... not still alive?"
"Alive like you guess. From here, it'll hardcore target just me."
Evolved past crude chaos and human torment for cheap thrills—to laser-focused body-snatching schemes.
Gonna stalk only me now.
No pushover plans, but 99% favor? Spooky.
"Eh? So... Hubby's got a psycho stalker now?"
"Sowol. 'Psycho stalker' from you? Extra creepy."
"No worries, Hubby! Any bad supernatural nearing you, I slay 'em all."
"You already patrol nights. Super reliable."
Long sensed Sowol's midnight jaunts.
Never called it out; probably prowls streets, devours baddies to sate hunger.
"Hey, Sowol."
"Yes..?"
"Could you force yourself to hate me?"
"Me? Why? Nope."
"Yeah. Can't flip emotions on whim."
Priestess's words resurfaced: a supernatural's love weighs heavy.
Drop spiked favor how?
Defy the take-down method?
'Blackness loves my flesh outright. Do what I will—favor won't budge.'
Hate me to survive.
What a freak to draw.
If monitor woman's true, it'd resurface soon.
"Um... Do-hyun..."
"Ah, Eve-chan. Sorry—blackness slipped."
"Not that... glad."
"Huh?"
"You're safe... so glad. Felt super dangerous. You pulled through."
Eve seemed to intuit my near-miss.
Wild endgame, unforeseen.
Blind-rush affection? Nah.
Body the goal—not love.
"Looks like I've got a stalker."
Disaster-grade stalker? Eve eyed me pityingly.
Then reached, clasped my hand. Bolder than usual. Must've fretted hard.
"If I can help, say the word... I'll guard you, Do-hyun."
"Thanks so much worrying for our Hubby. But aren't you swamped? I tend him constant—no need fret."
"Stalker disaster-tier? Bodyguard needs matching grade...? Guarding Do-hyun might endanger you more... please trust and lean on me..."
Eve's words stiffened Sowol's face.
Eve's concern spot-on—foe's scale risks Sowol.
Eve frets Sowol's safety; Sowol minds Eve's busyness.
Both pure gold.
"Head down first. Patients waiting. Rescue team's at the gate. Sowol, support Se-yeon; Eve-chan, mind the fainted kid? I'll carry Hye-ri."
"Yes... Hubby.."
"Got it, Do-hyun."
Alerted Anomaly Management Department agents, Lunar Blossom Sect folk, and onmyoji had breached the school.
Tons injured, dead—department help gold. Fretting Hye-ri and Se-hyeong's states; hospital stat.
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