Chapter 120
Chapter 120
Finally, she recited the closing incantation. "Sabaha!" But nothing happened. "...
Shit, did it fail?"
Come to think of it, this was a Buddhist temple, right? The incantations she just recited were Taoist mantras, weren't they? Though she wasn't well-versed in the occult, she had taken a class on Understanding Taoism and dredged up old memories.
"It seemed right, though?"
"Oh dear."
A buzzing sound reached her ear. She turned her head to find a tiny creature perched on her shoulder.
"Talk about bad luck, crossing over at the same time. This is all because of you, isn't it?"
"That's my line. I came because our prospective Tenth King was straying down the wrong path, but this wasn't your place to interfere, was it?"
A tiny creature with a fly's face, dressed in a suit. Another tiny creature on her opposite shoulder, clad in judge's robes with a white cloth masking its face.
"You're the one spouting my lines. Lee Seung-hoon is the next president of Lucifer Company. By the way, it's been ages since a human summoned us with such an outdated method."
"We had our eyes on him anyway, didn't we? Anyway, we'll discuss that later—this really is old-school. Coming through a detour instead of a dimensional passage allowed us to cross!"
"Wh-who... are you?"
The bizarre entities answered Lee So-young's question.
"My apologies for the late introduction. I'm Baalzebub, head of the R&D department at Lucifer Company."
"I forgot my own introduction. I'm Chokang Daewang, Chief Director of the Karma Call Center."
They bickered the moment they appeared, but they agreed on one thing.
"I'll help you stop Lee Seung-hoon."
"I'll prevent our prospective Tenth King's rampage."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "That's the problem with old-school summoning rituals. The energy required is fixed, so you can't use 100% of the summoned target's power. And because you tagged along, it got split even further, turning us into these fairy-like abominations—it's a disgrace to demons."
"Keep mimicking my lines, why don't you?"
Baalzebub. One of the demons her professor had casually mentioned in the 'Understanding Christianity' elective. Chokang Daewang. One of the Ten Kings of Hell her professor had talked about in the 'Understanding Buddhism' elective. 'A Christian demon and a Buddhist King of Hell summoned via Taoist rites at a Buddhist temple?' What kind of absurd mess was this? And they looked just like the fairy sidekicks from kids' cartoons?
"Come on, shall we get to normalizing the world?"
"There's a lot we need to do."
And indeed, like true allies, they provided a ton of help.
"First off, we couldn't enter from outside, but we could observe."
"Same here. There was only one way to resolve the issue our prospective Tenth King caused."
"Racing. It's the central concept encompassing this world. Defeat Lee Seung-hoon at it, and the axis holding this world together will crumble, returning everything to the original reality."
They revealed the way to restore the world.
"Then let's check out Lee Seung-hoon's skills."
"You have a smartphone, right? Search him up quick."
But it wasn't easy.
"... Not a prospective King of Hell—an Asura after all."
"Oh dear, now I see what power it is."
"What power?"
"Cravings for what he lacks drew in various powers, turning him into this."
"Hold on—looks like the power of that harbinger's Blue Moon is mixed in? Plus the Unique Lord's power and some unknown force?"
"The last one's from those weird fruits Lee Seung-hoon always consumes. Anyway, think of it as his usual driving inferiority complex amplified by these other entities' powers, causing the same phenomenon in him."
On the screen, Lee Seung-hoon's races were beyond what any human could beat.
"You expect me to beat that? It's just a storm—no, a bomb? If I drive next to it, I'll just get swept up and die. And I don't even have a license!"
"Oh, summoner, worry not. That's why we're here—to solve that."
Baal pulled something out. A tiny vial containing a transparent liquid. The moment Lee So-young saw it, her stomach churned violently.
"Tears shed by our chairman. Pour this into the engine, and it'll unleash tremendous power."
"I brought something too!"
Chokang Daewang produced a talisman pouch to wear around the neck.
"Wear this, and racers from the afterlife will aid you."
"Oh dear, So-young here hasn't been altered into this world's denizen, so she can't use machine spirits. Vehicle enhancement should come first—poor choice."
"You have to strengthen yourself, not the machine, to win anything!"
"Mind over matter? That's why your lot never cuts it. Still chanting 'all is created by the mind' and blaming everything on yourself instead of the tools."
"Th-that's not true!?"
"Anyway, let's get on with it."
Baal diligently wiped his fly eyes with his hand.
"Our chairman's gonna get seriously pissed at this rate. I worked hard convincing him to eye this dimension again, and now look."
"Ours too. King Yama's in a foul mood. Souls that should come to the afterlife are wandering the nine heavens or vanishing elsewhere—ugh."
From there, things progressed smoothly. They pooled their powers, scurrying about to build her a vehicle, with other strange entities lending aid.
"VVIP customer or not, this is tyranny! Everyone's obsessed with racing and ignoring our company! More interested in tire rubber, chassis iron, and plastics than gold—what a world!"
A bizarre company where all the employees had identical faces; they introduced themselves as the Suits.
"So we'll help you! No gold required!"
"Ooh, you're really pissed, huh."
"Wow... you must be furious." At their gesture, a golden-bodied race car materialized.
"Our Suits collective crafted this race car ourselves! Indestructible and mighty—just drive well!"
"Won't the chairman step in?"
"Our chairman's in Golden Rage Time. Probably sleeping till next year."
"Oh, what a shame."
Next came a six-armed monster running a shop in some weird space.
"Lee Seung-hoon's tyranny has made my customers forget me. Truly lamentable. Thus, I'll help too."
The monster handed over a ring.
"The Hero's Ring. Wear it, and you'll gain the physical prowess of a hero who once saved a dimension. Full bodily enhancements, plus the ability to sense mana—and if you believe in gods, divine power too."
Race car. Special fuel. A ring boosting racer physique. But she still lacked the most crucial thing.
"Um, hello? Everyone forgetting—I don't have a license?"
A driver's license.
"Oh, what have you been doing all this time without one?"
"Public transport gets you anywhere?"
"Hmm, we'll need to train your driving skills..."
"WEE-OO-WEE-OO-WEE-OO-!"
Franken Corps, who had been asleep the whole time, suddenly blared a siren from her mouth.
"Connection failed! Rerouting! Multidimensional disguise preliminary connection! Success!" 『Oh, Franken Corps! Got spooked by the emergency signal! What in the world happened!?』 "Doctor!"
The girl's mouth acted like a speaker, another voice emerging alongside. 『I want pudding!』 『Haha! Franken Corps, you'll get pudding once the world's normal again. No need to explain the situation—I just downloaded all your memories into my brain. Everything up to the stories you heard while asleep!』 The voice sought out Lee So-young. 『Miss So-young, you're the protagonist saving this warped dimension? But no license, so can't drive? Janus Doctor will help!』 "Urk!"
Franken Corps suddenly vomited something up. A large glass bottle, impossibly big for the girl's mouth, appeared pristine in her hand—who knew when it had been regurgitated?—containing a single pill that seemed too small for the container. 『Behold, the 'Ultimate Racer Pill Final Edition'! Made to beat Jongno 3-ga’s legendary racer, perfected after countless iterations! One pill, and you'll be a phantom racer too!』 "Ultimate Racer Pill?" 『Oh, dimensional signal's cutting out. Even the workaround's blocking fast—terrifying! Anyway! Take good care of Franken Corps!』 Once the connection severed, Baal and Chokang Daewang finally spoke.
"Who'd have thought this kid was tied to Dr. Janus. Felt familiar somehow."
"This child—was made by that madman? Up close, no soul?"
"You only notice now, Your Kingship?"
"You didn't know either."
"I was weakened because of you."
"Same here. Anyway, preparations are complete."
The two stared intently at Lee So-young.
"Only real-world practice left."
"Practice is all that's left."
"No, you're really making me take this shady thing?"
"Yes, for the world's sake."
"You're the protagonist, aren't you? Don't you want to live a special life? No worries—eat it."
"Uh..."
Unable to withstand their pressure, Lee So-young swallowed the pill.
"We have to restore the world quick!"
"Let's restore the world to normal fast."
"Pudding!"