Chapter 196
Chapter 196
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 196
Chapter Title: Something That Cannot Be Stopped (1)
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“Alright. I'll be moving as Roberto instructed, so make sure there are no hitches on your end.”
[Once your side makes progress, ours will proceed accordingly. You know nothing can start until Tarwi's ritual is complete, even if we're ready, right?]
BOOM!!
The impact was strong enough to make the entire building vibrate, and the screens floating in the air wavered.
-What was that?
“…Just a small disturbance. I'm sorry, but let's talk again later.”
-You don't need to take complete control of the east. The east is, after all…
The man's words were cut off.
Ada had ended the transmission.
Ada slowly turned her gaze to where the door 'used to be'.
“You found me quickly.”
“The Avenger trait allows me to track my designated target anytime, anywhere.”
One person had simply smashed the door down to enter.
His body was covered in caked blood, a mix of his own and his enemies'.
“No matter where that place is.”
Go Yeong-jun gritted his teeth.
Ada narrowed her eyes, assessing Go Yeong-jun's condition.
'There's no way he's unscathed after coming all this way alone.'
This was the place she had taken after starting the rebellion and driving out Jun Bo-ra.
In other words, it was the largest and most spacious location in the eastern residential district of Seoul, staffed with many of her followers.
Unless you were an exceptional player like Kim Se-hyeon, breaking through without taking any damage would be a struggle.
'But that also means I can focus my mental domination more intensely on a single person.'
A smile slowly formed on Ada's face.
“You've had a rough time getting here. If you can actually catch me in that wounded state, then I guess your efforts will be rewarded.”
“Talk all you want. They'll be your last words in this life.”
“Kids these days have no respect.”
Ada pouted sullenly and waved her arm.
A round halo of light appeared above Go Yeong-jun's head, instantly wrapping around his forehead and digging in.
“Kuh…!”
Not a wide-area effect, but mental domination focused on a single target.
It was a method far superior for dominating an individual's mind compared to affecting a group, yet Go Yeong-jun endured, glaring at Ada with bloodshot eyes.
“You think… a power like that… can overcome this thirst for revenge?”
Crack!
With the sound of something breaking, the staggering Go Yeong-jun suddenly lunged forward.
He hadn't just endured Ada's mental domination; he had shattered it with sheer willpower.
'He broke my domination with willpower alone?'
Even Ada couldn't help but be stunned.
An S-rank mental domination ability.
Even Seong Woo-hyeon could only endure and resist it; he couldn't nullify it completely.
But Go Yeong-jun had completely destroyed the power itself.
Swish!
Go Yeong-jun wasn't entirely unaffected, though.
Having forcibly broken the mental domination, his body wasn't back to normal yet.
Ada dodged the sword, which swung in an erratic trajectory, and created some distance.
'Even if I can't completely dominate him.'
To be precise, Ada's power was mental interference.
Depending on how she used it, she could also induce confusion and show her target hallucinations.
“Die!!”
Go Yeong-jun's sword sliced through Ada's body.
As Ada's form blurred and dispersed into the air like ink in water, Go Yeong-jun immediately realized he had struck an illusion.
“You cowardly tricks!!”
Like a wounded beast on a rampage.
Go Yeong-jun swung his sword relentlessly, heedless of the strain on his own body.
He'd cut one down, and it was an illusion.
He'd cut down the next, and it was also an illusion.
A normal person would have stopped to locate the real one, but Go Yeong-jun didn't.
“Where are you! Show yourself!”
“If that's what you wish.”
Suddenly, Ada's figure appeared right before Go Yeong-jun's eyes.
Go Yeong-jun swung his sword like lightning, as if to say 'good timing', but once again, it was just an illusion.
Instead, a new Ada appeared a short distance away.
“Did you really think I'd be alone in this huge building?”
Thwack!
Just after Ada spoke, Go Yeong-jun was struck by something and sent flying.
“Keoheuk…!”
He'd taken a direct hit to his side, likely breaking his ribs, and coughed up a significant amount of blood.
Not only was his target of revenge, Ada, right in front of him, but he had also failed to notice due to the confusion she'd induced.
Go Yeong-jun struggled to lift his head and look at the newcomer.
A man with a sturdy build.
At the same time, it was a face Go Yeong-jun knew well.
“Park Tae-min…?”
Go Yeong-jun's eyes shook violently.
“You were definitely dead…”
“Almost.”
CRASH!
Park Tae-min's foot stomped on Go Yeong-jun's head.
Blood from his forehead pooled around him as Park Tae-min scoffed.
“I miraculously survived.”
“Ugh…”
Park Tae-min grabbed Go Yeong-jun by the collar with one hand and lifted him up.
Blood trickled from the corner of Go Yeong-jun's mouth, perhaps because his previously ignored wounds were worsening, but his eyes held an even fiercer glare than before.
“Not gonna look down? Forgotten your school days?”
“Keok!”
THWACK!
With a sound like a punching bag bursting, a large amount of blood was coughed up.
Go Yeong-jun's head slumped forward.
Park Tae-min snorted lightly and turned to Ada.
“What should I do with him?”
“I was originally going to kill him.”
Ada took a syringe filled with a drug from her pocket.
An item concentrated with Paradise's research data, and a catalyst that awakens Madness in those with a talent for it.
“But seeing him on a rampage changed my mind.”
The sharp needle pierced his skin, and the drug inside was injected completely.
Go Yeong-jun's breathing grew heavier.
It was because the drug was beginning to consume his body.
Ada drew close and whispered.
“It was him. The one who bullied you in school, the one who caused the deaths of the other kids and the teacher when you were trapped in the Ghost Shadow's barrier. And this time, he even raped and murdered the girl you liked... Jeong Su-ji, was it? That bastard is right in front of you. Now, go on. What should you do? What is it you must do?”
With every word she spoke, Go Yeong-jun's body flinched noticeably.
The trigger for Madness cannot be activated by lies.
That's because trauma resides in the realm of the subconscious.
However, Ada was trying to awaken Go Yeong-jun's Madness by using a 'fabricated event' as a trigger through suggestion and brainwashing via mental interference.
Park Tae-min was flustered.
“Why use me…?”
“I'm giving you a chance for revenge, aren't I?”
Ada recalled when she first met Park Tae-min.
They were among those who tried to flee the research lab after hearing that Paradise had lost the war.
Park Tae-min was one of them.
Originally, Ada had planned to brainwash all of them to buy time, but her thoughts changed after looking into Park Tae-min's memories.
“You wanted revenge too, didn't you? On them.”
“…”
A twisted smile spread across Park Tae-min's face.
It went without saying.
Park Tae-min raised a hand and caressed his own face.
'I can't let him get away with it, the one who did this to me.'
“Ugh, ughhhh… Kuaaaargh!!”
Suddenly, Go Yeong-jun let out a bizarre scream and threw off Park Tae-min's hand.
With an uncanny movement unlike that of a human, he distanced himself from Park Tae-min, shattered the glass exterior wall, and plummeted.
Park Tae-min, startled, looked for Go Yeong-jun who had fallen outside, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Crazy…! Did he choose suicide because he didn't want to awaken his Madness!?”
“I doubt it. It's not that many floors. With his stats, a fall from here wouldn't even hurt him that much.”
The strength to fight his way through so many people alone.
Even considering the effects of Avenger and Darkening, his average stats must have exceeded 40.
Ada said nonchalantly.
“It's fine. Now that his Madness has awakened anyway, him being outside will stop them much faster.”
“And I…”
“You can't go outside anyway, right? Just wait here and deal with them when they arrive.”
Park Tae-min nodded silently, then vanished as if melting into thin air.
Ada looked down at the residential district through the broken window.
“Did you think you could stop it?”
Ada let out a soft chuckle.
“Madness cannot be stopped.”
***
“Is this the place?”
Jo Min-woo looked around curiously, scanning the building's exterior.
“Yeah. My detection points to this place.”
“…It's probably right. This is the building I used to use when I was in the east.”
“Then it's definitely the right place.”
The building was not in good shape, as if to announce that a rebellion had taken place.
Traces of destruction were everywhere. Blackened, dried bloodstains.
The strange thing was that none of Ada's followers were in sight, but the reason for that was nearby.
“Huh? Isn't that Yeong-jun?”
Jo Min-woo pointed to a spot.
Someone was surrounded by a large crowd, mercilessly cutting people down.
He looked like an Asura.
Jo Min-woo, despite being the one who spotted him, could only move his lips, unable to form words as if in disbelief.
“Oh, my god…”
Jo Min-ah covered her mouth with her hands.
That figure, increasingly drenched in blood and hell-bent on killing, was more than just an Asura.
A demon.
He was simply a demon.
Even Jun Bo-ra, who had helped Go Yeong-jun escape, had turned pale, clearly not having expected this outcome.
“Don't just stand there, stop him!”
Jeong Ha-yeon was the first to snap out of it and made her move.
But Go Yeong-jun wasn't the only one they had to stop.
The brainwashed individuals spotted us and began moving in our direction as well.
In the end, Jeong Ha-yeon couldn't advance any further and was busy holding back the crowd.
'Something has changed.'
I narrowed my eyes and watched Go Yeong-jun.
His condition was strange.
His movements weren't those of someone killing those who blocked his path, but rather someone killing just because they were in front of him.
Before, Go Yeong-jun at least had the goal of 'revenge'.
But now, he was just trying to kill everything in sight without any purpose.
'Could it be?'
I suddenly recalled something with similar symptoms.
[Using skill, 'Extreme Eye'.]
[Character Information]
Name: Go Yeong-jun
Gender: Male (15)
Strength: 41(+24) Stamina: 40(+24) Agility: 42(+24) Mana: 21(+24)
Unique Ability: One Who Lost the Light (B)
Traits: Cold-blooded (S), Swordsmanship (B), Darkening (S), Killing Intent (A++), Avenger (B), {{Madness}}
Held Skills: Killing Intent Emission (C++)
“…”
There was no doubt.
The two characters for 'Madness' were burning in a distinct violet on Go Yeong-jun's status window.
Go Yeong-jun had awakened as a Guide of Madness.
I immediately shook off the question of 'How?'.
This wasn't the time to figure out the cause.
“Stop the brainwashed people! I'll handle Go Yeong-jun!”
[Using 'Army of Darkness'.]
Alpha and the other soldiers of darkness appeared and immediately took action.
While the brainwashed individuals' aggro was drawn to them, I leaped high and closed the distance to Go Yeong-jun in an instant.
Go Yeong-jun, who had been attacking people, sensed my presence and immediately turned.
Inverted eyes, where the whites and blacks were reversed.
The fact that even the white parts were bloodshot and appeared red was undeniable proof that he had become a Guide of Madness.
“Kuaaaaargh!!”
KWAAANG!
When my weapon clashed with Go Yeong-jun's sword, a considerable shock traveled up my arm.
It wasn't threatening, but his destructive power had clearly increased compared to before.
I pushed him back with force, but Go Yeong-jun immediately attacked again.
“Die, die…!!”
Go Yeong-jun suddenly stopped his attack, grabbing his head and shaking it.
“Aaargh, kill. Kill. Who? Don't know. Everyone's an enemy. Kill. No. Kill that bastard.”
'His awakening is incomplete.'
He's become a Guide of Madness, but he hasn't been 100% consumed by it.
His sanity is returning intermittently.
An idea on how to turn this situation to my advantage quickly came to mind.
Normally, Go Yeong-jun had no trigger to awaken Madness.
So, it's highly likely that a trigger was forcibly created through mental interference.
To activate a trigger with false memories, one would have to use a lie based on some truth, with a believable connection.
In that case, there's likely only one method Ada would have used.
“Go Yeong-jun.”
CLANG!
I deliberately met his attack head-on, closing the distance between us.
Staring into his constantly shifting eyes, I mentioned the words most likely to be the trigger.
“Who was it that killed Jeong Su-ji?”