[You have encountered a powerful high ntal body, a being of imnse power beyond human comprehension, soon to gain new strength and ascend as a being of the abyss. The Laughing One’s overwhelming power shakes your soul.]
[Attempting to resist the distortion with your ntal strength stat. ntal strength check… Failed!]
I shouted at both Cheong-ho and the ssage window as I cast a spell.
“Hey! Stop! Stop it!”
[Destruction…]
[System: The unique trait ‘Madness of the Abyss’ has been activated. The result of the check has been changed to success.]
Crackle!
What is this?
Sparks caused by the Madness of the Abyss trait scattered my magic instantly.
Was my spell canceled? Because of the trait activation? At this critical mont?
“What the hell are you doing! You damn son of a bi*ch!”
A brief gap occurred because the Madness of the Abyss trait was activated.
Due to that ambiguous ti loss, I couldn’t stop Cheong-ho’s insane act.
[Those influenced by the high ntal body beco his slaves. However, the Madness of the Abyss that activated at the right mont protected your mind. With a brief sense of relief, a sudden thought crossed your mind. ‘Ah, maybe I could have ended up like that too.’]
Crack, snap, rip.
Rip, squelch…
Aah.
He finally tore it off.
The skin, muscles, and thick skull were torn away, revealing what should never be seen.
Above Cheong-ho’s eyebrows was a glistening gray mass of flesh.
It was uncertain if that flesh really contained the wisdom and power of the abyss. But at least it probably held Cheong-ho’s mories.
“This, this is it. Kim Shin-hwa! This is the gift I’m giving you! Eat this!”
Thick black blood slowly flowed down Cheong-ho’s face.
Blood that had long since coagulated and started to decay.
Cheong-ho had died long ago.
The thing talking to now, the thing with the top of its head torn off, was a corpse.
Should I call it a puppet moving by its master’s command?
|Khehehehehehe…|
Yeah, that bastard.
A skeleton shrouded in a black veil. A grotesque being that kept laughing.
That thing was controlling Cheong-ho’s corpse. It moved Cheong-ho again.
“It’s still okay. Kim Shin-hwa! Look at this; it’s not too late. Eat this!”
I needed a mont to take a deep breath to calm my anger.
“…I’ll pass. I have dinner plans.”
[The human mind, the weak human mind, cannot accept the knowledge contained in that book. What about Cheong-ho? He is no different. His brain has already received great wisdom and imnse power. But his weak spirit could not handle it. Poor Cheong-ho.]
And that piece of trash beyond the ssage window.
He must have dragged here just to show this scene.
And he definitely forced my magic to be blocked to create this situation.
“Eat this. This, hurry and eat it. This is His flesh and His blood; if you eat this you can beco stronger. Eat this. Eat it, haven’t you already done similar things elsewhere? To beco stronger, you tore at others’ flesh and destroyed others’ souls. This is no different from what you’ve already done. Co on, open your mouth. Tear at this flesh and drink this blood! His body will make you stronger and His mind will make you wiser. Hurry, eat this! Eat this! Eat this! Eat this! Eat this! Eat this!”
This was just a prank using a corpse. Though it was Cheong-ho’s voice coming from Cheong-ho’s mouth, it was essentially no different from a ventriloquist’s puppet.
|Ku, kukuku, kukuku…|
I heard the sound of a skeleton in a black veil laughing at .
Really? Laughing?
“I see it. I see the future that we, this universe, will reach! I understand where we ca from and where we are going! Dignity is just a toy invented by chance, used briefly and discarded! We are rely beasts! Let’s kill each other, tear at each other’s flesh, and defile each other’s souls! We must break free from the shell of dignity and the illusion of humanity! We must reclaim our true original form and the real power we were ant to have! It’s too late for , but you still have a chance. Kim Shin-hwa, Kim Shin-hwa, Kim Shin-hwa. Foolish Kim Shin-hwa! The revulsion you feel is rely a hypocritical act to pretend to be human. Eat this! Eat the flesh imbued with the power and knowledge of God!”
No, this was really annoying.
Whether it was actually a corpse didn’t matter anymore.
[All of this happened because of you, Kim Shin-hwa. When you realize that fact, you are overco by sha, fear, and terrible guilt.]
“Stop it, you crazy bastard. It’s annoying.”
“……?”
Cheong-ho, with the top of his head open, looked at with that grotesque expression.
The ecstasy and madness were gone.
The expression on his face was one of pure confusion. The sudden seriousness made it even more creepy.
“What do you an?”
“Don’t you get it? Just shut that mouth of yours now.”
“Refusal? Is it a refusal? In the end, it’s a refusal? That’s unfortunate. Very unfortunate.”
Crack, crack…
Cheong-ho’s body began to decay at an incredible speed.
It seed that the forced facade was peeling away, revealing the true form.
Now, Cheong-ho’s blackened eyes rolled back, and his skin turned a sickening purple.
The ti to save him or do anything is long gone.
Even in that state, Cheong-ho continued to babble without stopping.
“Unfortunate. Unfortunate. Unfortunate. Unfortunate. Unfortunate…”
Shhh, shhh, shhh…
|Kukukuk, kuhuhuh… kahahahaha!!!|
The [Laughing One] burst into an empty aningless laugh.
Rattle, rattle.
Various forms of skeletons poured out from the shadows. The fact that the spot had once been an ordinary wall no longer held any aning. Distorting space was a simple task for such beings.
Clatter, creak, crash, snap, crackle, crunch.
They resembled humans, yet were different and bizarre skeletons.
Bones and skulls of mismatched sizes were forcibly connected and ford grotesque shapes.
Huge hands, huge weapons, and huge horns made of intertwined bones all poured in at once.
“In the end, this was going to happen anyway. Yapping endlessly. Wouldn’t it have been easier for both of us if you’d just shut up and attacked with a simple ‘Kkieeek’?”
Snap, crackle, crunch, snap, crackle, crunch, creak.
Hmm, but there are quite a lot of them. What should I do?
Eh, too lazy to think further.
“Ah, forget it. Help , Living Fla guy!”
[The unique effect of the SSS-rank accessory ‘Residual Heat of the North Star’, ‘Trace of Extre Fla’ has been activated.
// Trace of Extre Fla: Increases the effect of all fire-type magic by 100%…]
[Fla that Burns Sin]
[Ibn Ghazi’s Beacon]
[Holy Fla]
[Fire that Illuminates Darkness]
[Burning Rage]
Whoooosh!!
Five flas of different colors rose up.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!!
The darkness was instantly pushed away and the approaching bones turned to ash and disappeared in a breath.
A unique being, or a high ntal body.
Entities just below the great old ones. They were simply ancient beings.
They go by many nas, but this tier includes the [Laughing One].
The recent ssage window ntioned it would one day reach the abyss, but compared to true beings of the abyss, it was far inferior. It wouldn’t stand a chance against the true power of a being of the abyss.
“Well done, well done.”
The will or spirit of the living fla hadn’t descended; only the magic power collected previously had been unleashed.
Despite this, the magic expanded the area with overwhelming firepower, as if it were the power of the living fla itself.
Whoooosh!!
“Argh!!”
Cheong-ho, or rather the spirit inhabiting Cheong-ho’s corpse, quickly retreated along with the barrier of darkness and skeletons it had gathered.
If I use the power of the living fla to burn it away like this… this place will be completely incinerated and the book itself will escape to another dinsion. What a waste.
The opponent had precognitive abilities. It could predict this level of situation.
But why did it retreat so helplessly? What had it been doing underground? It was puzzling. Was there a problem with its precognition? Perhaps this was all part of a larger plan.
“You foolish Kim Shin-hwa! Consu the flesh of your kin, accept my spirit, and beco my servant! Don’t you see it’s your only way to survive in this world?”
“What, are you done mimicking Cheong-ho now?”
Regardless, it didn’t have a personality of its own. Even if it stopped mimicking Cheong-ho, it could only act and speak based on Cheong-ho’s traits and personality.
“You foolish sacrifice! You ignorant monkey, swinging power beyond your control! You have no idea what you’re dealing with, what you’re wishing for! You mistakenly think the power borrowed from the abyss is yours! You’re clueless about what awaits at the end!”
“Who are you calling a fool? Ever heard of hard betting?”
If everything was dood to fail anyway, it was better to borrow to the limit and fail spectacularly.
What was the point of submitting to sothing that wasn’t even a being of the abyss?
“Only I can save you. Realize that I am the only one who can prevent the future of destruction you will reach!”
“Wow, you talk a lot. It looks like Cheong-ho’s body lacks psychic traits or even spiritual qualities and is hindering you, huh? If you have nothing more to show, let’s wrap this up.”
I waved my hand and gave a new direction to the flas expanding all around.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!! Fwoosh!!
The flas which had been spreading in five directions now greedily devoured the darkness as they surged toward Cheong-ho.
They couldn’t be stopped. Each of these flas possessed the power of forced purification, spirit sealing, evil expulsion, the destruction of supernatural abilities, and the annihilation of surreal entities.
The [Laughing One] who was wrapped in darkness, bones, and Cheong-ho’s corpse was driven back and back until it was finally cornered in the cramped room.
Just when it seed like the end.
The [Laughing One] spoke through Cheong-ho’s mouth.
“Yes, you’re right. Kim Shin-hwa, there’s too much this human body can’t do.”
Kukukukuku, Kikikikiki, Ihihihihihih….
That annoying laughter echoed once more.
It was the signal that the power twisting cause and effect and distorting the laws of this world was at work.
The wall behind the cornered Cheong-ho split open.
It wasn’t like a door opening or a closed box being opened. It was a grotesque sight, like the maw of a beast opening wide.
Beyond the revealed space,
“Ma-Mage-nim?!”
“Aaaaah!!!”
It was the first room where Jang Hyeon-deok and Goo Jin-cheol had been waiting.
“A living altar! Leaving the highest-rank dium prepared for the descent of a god in my domain, kukuku, what a pitiful foolish act!”
Crack!!
As instructed, Achilles moved to secure a retreat route but he shattered into pieces without lasting even a second.
“Argh!!”
Goo Jin-cheol couldn’t accept the situation and erupted into madness. He tore at the bandages wrapped around his face, slamd his head against the wall, and fainted.
“Ah…”
Jang Hyeon-deok realized what the [Laughing One] was hoping for, what he wanted.
More like a living altar than a human, fear no longer existed for him. He rely carried out his task silently.
Ssss…
The [Laughing One] evaded the flas rushing toward him and began to seep into the altar prepared for him.
“Hey, I’m warning you—”
But it didn’t stop. It wasn’t sothing I could interfere with and stop in the first place.
Cheong-ho’s body spoke to mockingly.
“It’s already too late, Kim Shin-hwa. It’s already too late. This altar you prepared, the one you cherished, will now be mine.”
“No, not that. It seems your precognitive ability is broken, right? You’ll regret it if you go in there.”
“You foolish sacrifice! How dare you pretend to be a prophet in front of !”
Just then, I caught sight of Goo Jin-cheol who regretted not listening to my warning.
But he didn’t listen.
Finally, the true form revealed itself. The sound of beasts’ laughter echoed from sowhere. A book made of the fragnts of a dying star and empty void. The one who foresees the future and destroys the human mind solely with the truth.
In the end, it possessed Jang Hyeon-deok’s body.
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