Chapter 344
Chapter 344
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 344
Chapter Title: Obon Special - Someone Inside Me -2
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Faceless was living in a nightmare.
Fear, anxiety, and a whirlwind of emotions rattled her brain, making it impossible to think straight. Her sleep deprivation had worsened, stabbing at her head like an awl.
But she couldn't sleep. She absolutely couldn't.
"......"
On a cloudy, dark night, Faceless built a campfire. She roasted a deer haunch she'd hunted, planning to make it her first meal of the day.
Her eyelids grew heavy. In her drowsy haze, Faceless stared at the cooking meat. Then—nod—she seemed to doze off for a moment...
Blink.
She opened her eyes.
What... was I doing? Right, preparing food. With bleary eyes in her sleepy stupor, she grabbed the deer haunch and took a bite.
Squelch.
Something was off. The texture was weird, and something inside was... wriggling. A foul stench shot up her nostrils. This was rotten meat. Crawling with maggots.
Once that sensation hit her brain and her mind grasped its meaning—
"Urk—bleeegh!!"
Faceless spat out the meat, vomiting up maggot remnants along with stomach acid. Disgusting. Her guts churned. How? It was freshly roasted. There was no reason for it to rot like this.
Unless... a lot of time had passed—
"......"
She frantically checked her surroundings. It was still night, the campfire still burning, but the sky was different. Clouds had blanketed it before, hiding the moon entirely... but now it shone clearly.
Time had passed. A lot of time—days, at least. And during that time, who... or what had been moving this body...?
"Damn it, damn it...!"
She'd only dozed off for a second, and this was the result. This was why—this was why she hated herself.
She didn't want to sleep!
Kicking and screaming, she tried to rinse her mouth with water from her canteen. But it was light. Empty when she turned it upside down.
She rummaged through her gear—everything intact before was broken or ruined. Looking down at the dirt floor, she saw grotesque symbols etched there now. Those damned unintelligible letters!
"Aaaahhh—!!"
Faceless wailed. She kicked out the campfire, smashed trees with magic-infused punches to vent her rage. But the intangible terror wouldn't fade.
She was being taken over by some unidentified entity.
After her frenzy subsided, she collapsed. Strength drained from her. Her body, tormented in body and soul, screamed for rest.
Then.
"......Mooo."
Her arms moved on their own. This wasn't Faceless's will. Like a puppet controlled by another, they jerked independently.
Two fingers jammed into Faceless's mouth, stretching it wide into a grin from cheek to cheek.
Now, even control while awake... was slipping away. The nightmare had crossed the threshold of sleep, encroaching on reality bit by bit. The nightmare wouldn't end!
"Aaack—!!"
She screamed. But her face, manipulated by the fingers, wore a grotesque smile. She screamed while grinning. Falling apart while still alive.
Now.
She couldn't tell if what she wanted was laughter... or screams.
There were a few possibilities here.
One: Possession by an undead entity like a malevolent spirit.
Two: Mental breakdown from someone's spirit magic.
Three: Some other special circumstance.
In cases like this, aid from a goddess church priest was needed. Divine power focused on restoration and preservation, making it effective in most situations.
But forcing a local priest to heal her hadn't worked. She needed someone of higher rank.
However, the goddess church's upper echelons were controlled by the "Reformists," and Bennett—the one who'd stabbed her—was a key Reformist figure. Contacting them would end badly.
Reaching out to an illusion mage was risky too. The "Little Lamb" she'd normally ask wasn't in a normal state, and other illusion mages were usually far less skilled.
Skilled illusion mages were clustered in the Violet Magic Tower. Contacting the tower was suicide, of course. Those mad mages would tear her apart in every way.
"Then... then..."
One option remained. Conveniently, there was a high-ranking priest who clashed with the Reformists and wielded divine power.
With her meat puppets in tow, Faceless used the black mage and Redburn's intelligence networks to track down the excommunicated cardinal.
Those colluding with provincial nobles for protests to reclaim their rank? All dead. Pierced by Saint Tara's sword, they faded away pathetically.
So the surviving excommunicated cardinals were just a few hiding in remote forests or mountains. Faceless had found one.
Crunch. Crunch.
After about thirty minutes of mountain trekking, Faceless reached her destination.
In a mountain called Crow Peak by locals for its abundance of crows. A single log cabin built of drab timber. Ears perked, voices drifted from inside.
"The goddess decrees: your body is tainted. With this sacred, pure vessel, I shall cleanse you. Lie on the bed at once."
"Ahh, O goddess... Thank you, priest. Thank you."
Seemed he was slyly seducing a village girl with his tongue.
This ragged old excommunicated cardinal, hiding in these hills, still deceived people for his own gain. Faceless sneered and kicked the cabin door open.
Bam!
"Kyaa!"
"Wh-what?! Who the hell are you?!"
The excommunicated cardinal fumbled to pull up his pants, on guard. If it'd just been the pale girl who'd opened the door, maybe—but dozens of meat puppets loomed silently behind her.
Sensing the ominous vibe, the village girl grabbed her clothes, dressed hastily while eyeing them warily, and fled.
Faceless snapped her fingers at the girl's retreating figure down the slope. One meat puppet chased her up the mountain path. Better no witnesses.
"Cardinal. There's someone else inside me. You need to heal me. Or I'll show you—alive—just how far your body can stretch."
"...Y-you brat. I am blessed by the goddess! How dare you...!"
"Still not grasping the situation? Fine. I'll make it crystal clear."
Snap.
Faceless snapped her fingers. Three meat puppets charged inside and unleashed merciless violence.
"Guh! Aak! Aaagh!"
Dull sounds of breaking and cracking echoed nonstop. But no one was there to heed the screams.
Bloody and battered, the excommunicated cardinal dragged his aged body to prepare the ritual. He placed a large bathtub in the cabin's center, lit candles at the cardinal directions around it, and set a huge mirror in front.
"H-here... strip completely and get in..."
"Keep your eyes where they belong. One creepy glance, and I'll pluck one out."
Swish. Swish.
Faceless stripped naked and entered the tub. Her reflection stared back from the mirror—arrogant and fierce... but fear flickered in her eyes.
That fact infuriated her. Fearing something like this wounded her pride deeply. Faceless clenched her fists.
The cardinal didn't dare look, tilting a pitcher over her head to pour holy water. Streams ran down her cheeks, jaw, and neckline.
Flicker. Flaaare.
The candles swelled and shrank in eerie rhythm. The mirror's surface rippled like water. Faceless swallowed dryly.
No. Don't be scared. What is there to fear?
To hide her fear, Faceless bared her teeth in a grin. But—
"......"
The Faceless in the mirror wasn't smiling.
Chill. Her heart pounded wildly.
Indifferent. Her reflection looked like someone else entirely—gazing at her with dreamy, vacant eyes. Her fingertips trembled.
The cardinal spoke.
"Purified by holy water, the mirror will now show the filth washed away—your impurities. Converse with it to discern what it is..."
Converse. Right.
If it was a possessing evil spirit, it'd reveal things she didn't know. If a split from herself, it'd only say what she already knew.
"You... who the hell are you?"
"White."
The girl beyond the mirror answered. Blandly. Tension thick, Faceless stammered on.
"Where are you?"
"You."
"...What's your goal?"
"Doing as I taught you."
What? She couldn't make sense of it.
"What did you teach me? All you've done is torment me, you bastard?!"
To Faceless's question, the girl beyond the mirror—
"Sa'raml Zuginun gun Na'aphn zitIdam'onn."
"......Huh?"
—replied in a bizarre language she'd never heard, laced with strange rhythm and cadence. Its inscrutability, its alienness, ignited terror.
"Why are you tormenting me? Tell me what you want!"
"I told you."
"Answer me! Answer, you damned freak—what do I have to do to make you stop this shit—!!"
"You already know."
Bam!
Faceless pounded the mirror with both hands. Crack—spiderweb fractures spread. But the girl beyond didn't vanish.
In the shattered, misaligned fragments—
"Hahaha."
The girl laughed like a doll. A forced twist of facial muscles, a dead pig's grin—utterly parched.
Whoosh. Candles snuffed out. Now the mirror showed only her own distorted face.
Grind. Grrrind.
Faceless gnashed her teeth. Fine. Message received loud and clear. The thing inside her... planned to torment her until death. That smile was a declaration of war—and mockery.
As if asking how she could possibly resist.
"Don't make me laugh. I'll win. I won't fall for your tricks—watch me, just watch—I'll kill you—!!"
Faceless gripped the mirror, spewing curses at her scowling reflection for a long while.
A futile, meaningless act.
Idiot. Low comprehension. Hayang had told her everything. She knew, yet kept pretending otherwise. She could read writing, so surely she understood speech?
And so naughty. Despite repeated warnings, Faceless hadn't changed. She didn't grasp that causing herself pain meant others felt it too.
She even showed her naked body to strange men without shame. Why was the embarrassment always Hayang's burden?
"Answer me! Answer, you damned freak—what do I have to do to make you stop this shit—!!"
Stop the naughty deeds and bring smiles to everyone's faces?
Then it'd stop.
Words wouldn't work—she'd feign ignorance again. So show her with actions. Hayang smiled with all her might. Even added a joyful laugh. Hahaha.
"Don't make me laugh. I'll win. Your tricks—"
But she didn't get it...
Faceless tortured herself.
Crack—whip!
Using meat puppets, she lashed her back relentlessly. Dizzying agony surged up her spine. She drooled, gasping.
But right now, this pain was a blessing. It chased away sleepiness.
And more—it was part of the exorcism. To drive out whatever lurked inside.
"Urgh... Ah—hahaha! How's that? Hurts, right?! Must hurt! Nothing good stays inside—so get out... please, just get out..."
"......"
"GET... OOOOUT—!!"
No effect. The mad mage's soul reinforcement was meticulous and functional, shielding Hayang's persona from pain. Only Faceless suffered. Thus—
No remorse meant no atonement. Just meaningless motion.
Her soul felt like shattering. She wanted escape from the pain. Faceless collapsed on the cabin floor, sobbing. Her body moving on its own was this terrifying?
I'm the one who controls. Me—the controller. Not the controlled. Never the victim!
Wait... soul...?
"Heh... hehehe... Kkh... Ahaha, hahahaha—!"
Faceless burst into laughter.
It hit her.
With her powerful metaphor, she didn't need black magic methods. Until now.
But now was different. Black mages could burn not just others' souls... but their own to empower spells. Yes—souls!
"I'll burn your soul for you. Then... you won't come back. Right? Yeah?"
Faceless drew a magic circle with her blood, fumbling through the incantation. Midway, she botched it and vomited blood; her left arm twisted unnaturally.
Didn't matter. Relying on memory... she recreated the human sacrifice circle Duke Redburn had once shown.
Vrrr—!
Finally—visible. Two souls in this body. One small and frail, one large and sturdy.
But Faceless, unskilled in black magic, couldn't tell which was hers.
But—the large, sturdy one had to be hers. Right?
Faceless gripped the small soul with a hand of mana. Like throttling a throat. Burn this... and the nightmare ends.
"H-how's that? Now... you're the scared one. You!"
"Don't... do it."
"Don't? Finally grasping reality?! Yeah, you're done. I'll crush your soul completely—give you a painful death!"
"Look."
It's over. Pay the price. Face karma!
"Regret it—die regretting—!!"
Squish.
Faceless twisted the small soul with all her might.
"Ah."
Then, excruciating pain hit, and she collapsed forward. Watching her life shatter and spill, she realized.
That soul—the small, pathetic one... was hers.
It made no sense. Why? Why was her soul so insignificant? It didn't add up. She was a skilled assassin who'd killed so many...
......
"Mooo."
And where Faceless died, Hayang bloomed.
Why such an extreme choice? No idea. But she could guess. Screaming to regret and die, she crushed her own soul... so maybe she reflected?
Her accumulated sins too shameful to live with.
Then Teacher Kim Hayang had taught her student well. Still, atoning with good deeds would have been better than death.
"Then I'll help a little mong."
She could do that much. Hayang was kind, after all.
First, her ability... metaphor, right? She'd learned it all by peeking over shoulders. The one useful thing from Faceless. Using "Flesh Mastery," she healed her wounds.
She washed her clothes clean by the stream. Spotless now.
Finally, descending the mountain, Hayang retrieved the money pouch she'd secretly buried. In the village, she found a cab... carriage. Hopped aboard.
The driver asked the pure white girl,
"Little miss, where to?"
"Seoul—or Crown Hall."
"Dunno Seoul, but the imperial capital? Sure."
"Moong."
Rumble. Wheels rolled. The carriage pulled away slowly. What was once one became two, then returned to one.
Baptized in untainted purity.