Chapter 145
Chapter 145
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 145
Chapter Title: The Colossal Eye from the Rift
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The massive pupil emerging from the rift.
And the moment I saw its body, enormous enough to match that scale... and felt the power surging from it in waves, I couldn't help but let out a sigh.
If I hadn't come here, the entire city of Busan would have been obliterated.
This wasn't an exaggeration—it was a stone-cold fact.
Just its existence alone contaminated the surroundings.
Suddenly, I recalled what Nia had told me before.
Erosion Entities are twisted versions of Paradise's beings, right?
That thing was probably one of the stronger specimens among them.
If I hadn't been here, the damage would have been catastrophic.
If I hadn't deployed the mana barrier right away, Busan would already be a city in ruins.
Most people probably couldn't sense the gravity of what I'd felt.
Beyond the mana barrier, the moment it appeared, I'd briefly overlaid a subspace onto reality.
In effect, a double-layered barrier.
That's why the sea remained pristine even after I mimicked the sun to vaporize the Erosion Entity.
Even with all that, a faint ripple from its presence had spread around.
If I hadn't reinforced the barrier immediately upon noticing, something horrific would have happened.
Even Yeon-hwa unnie would have struggled against it.
More precisely, while she could have dealt with it, preventing the damage from spreading would have been impossible.
Anyone with weak mental fortitude would go mad the instant they met its gaze.
I let out a sigh.
If things like this start appearing more frequently... that would be pretty disastrous.
I needed to discuss this with Nia soon.
Countermeasures or whatever.
Ah, no.
Wouldn't it be better to just blanket the entire country with a mental barrier?
That's why I'd deliberately erased every trace of its corpse. The moment researchers swarmed it for study, they'd all fall under its sway and turn into lunatics.
Its very existence was filled with malice meant to corrupt the world, so I couldn't even leave the body behind.
...Tch, such a shame. Something that size could have yielded insane research results.
The only salvage was... the corpses of the Erosion Entities that came out with it.
I'd collected those for now.
They were minnows compared to that colossal one, but they gave off a similar vibe.
The researchers at the National Institute of Science and Technology would love them.
Of course, even these tiny ones could harm human minds, so I'd have to babysit the researchers myself.
My head was starting to ache with complications.
Time to crunch some numbers.
* * *
"Unnie, are you still streaming?"
"Ah, I turned it off the moment the situation ended."
"Good. Then I can tell you."
"Tell me what?"
"The thing that came out this time was seriously dangerous."
"In what way?"
I explained to Yeon-hwa unnie just how dangerous the Erosion Entity that had appeared was.
"That dangerous?"
"It had the ability to interfere with people's minds."
"What? For real?"
Seo-ah gasped at my words.
It was only natural. No Erosion Entity with mental interference had ever appeared before.
This was the first of its kind, so everyone wore grave expressions.
"If it weren't for me, it would've been a disaster. These probably won't come pouring out en masse... but now that one's appeared, there's no guarantee stronger ones won't follow."
"Shouldn't we prepare some countermeasures?"
"That's why... for now, those small Erosion Entities you took down, unnie? I'm planning to hand their corpses over to the researchers. But."
"But?"
"Just looking at their corpses could cause mental breakdowns, so I'll have to stick around nearby."
"No way, even those little ones?"
"They can't affect Mutants like us, but normals could hallucinate or worse from them."
"Doesn't that kind of ability fade with the body?"
"Probably some kind of external contamination... something like that. Nia said Paradise's beings got twisted, and this might be the cause."
"The scale's getting massive... Ah, but you erased every trace of that giant one for the same reason, right?"
"Exactly. If even a scrap remained, the whole city could've turned to chaos just from the corpse. If I hadn't put up the mana barrier, this peaceful scenery wouldn't exist."
"What a vacation this turned out to be..."
"Tell me about it. I have a bad feeling things are about to get more complicated."
* * *
In the end, the vacation fizzled out.
With something this serious happening, we couldn't just relax.
However...
We were left pondering.
Whether to make this public or not.
And that was somewhat resolved through a conversation with Nia.
-Seo-hyun. You reached out.
"Ah, Nia. I have something to discuss."
-Is it about the incident in Busan?
"Spot on."
I detailed everything that had happened in Busan to Nia.
-This is troubling.
"Any solutions?"
-It'll take some time... but yes, there is one.
"Really?"
-Yes. It requires collaboration between the Dwarves and you, Seo-hyun.
"Me and the Dwarves?"
-Indeed. Dwarves can imbue magical functions into objects through crafting.
"Ah, so you mean..."
-Exactly. We can seal your magic into Dwarven accessories. Use those to install mental barriers.
Good thing I'd asked Nia. I hadn't expected an answer so quickly.
Sealing my magic into Dwarven crafts to make artifacts.
With those, we could block mental erosion... so installing them across cities makes sense.
Artifact distribution will take time, so until then, I'll have to push myself and maintain the barriers.
...This is gonna be rough.
Think of it as payback for the easy times.
* * *
"Deputy Bureau Chief. I think it's time for a national address."
"About the recent incident?"
"Yes. After discussing with the World Tree, we've got a plan for countermeasures."
"That's fortunate. Will you announce it yourself?"
"Of course."
"But how exactly do we block the Erosion Entities' mental attacks?"
I explained the artifacts to the Deputy Bureau Chief.
"So, install artifacts infused with the Director's power in each city... something like that?"
"Yes."
"That'll cost a fortune."
"Ah, don't worry about that. It's just more work for me. Nia will provide the Dwarven crafts. In exchange for installing artifacts in other countries too."
"Aren't you overworking yourself? You'll have to strain until the artifacts are distributed."
"What can I do? I'm the only one who can."
"...Understood. I'll prepare the national address."
And so, the national address proceeded.
I covered the massive rift in Busan and the details, emphasizing how Erosion Entities are growing stronger.
With one launching mental attacks that even typical Mutants can't handle, people need to stay vigilant.
But no need to worry excessively—I'll blanket the country with a mana barrier for now, so no mental erosion effects.
And we'll create artifacts using Dwarven crafts to deploy barriers per city, so daily life won't be disrupted.
"So, citizens, please just carry on with your lives."
* * *
[GOAT]
(Photo of Seo-hyun.)
We gotta worship her, right?
- Fr fr fr fr fr
-Look at Haeundae last time, Korea would've been done without her
[While we're at it, check this footage from then]
(Video of Seo-hyun turning the Erosion Entity to ash with a mini-sun in an instant.)
Just unreal lol
While unnie mops up the small ones, Director one-shots a 1km-tall monster
- Goosebumps x5
-But tbh the best part is Director in a swimsuit...
-Director was a guy tho
-So what? Not a tranny, body fully changed to female after mutation
-Fr, if she looks good that's all that matters lol
-Heh heh
-But honestly looking at her you don't even think that way...
-Fr, isn't she the Messiah of modern times?
[Overseas it's chaos with mental Erosion Entities too]
Cambodia's Mutants took over the government
But they all fell to the mental ones, turning the whole country into a killing field?
World Tree side sending support to rescue Cambodian citizens
-Wait, Director's going too?
-Fr?
-Yep;;
-Cambodia's saved then
-Fr, she'll snap her fingers and wipe out all Cambodian Erosion Entities lol