Chapter 169
Seo Dawon walked through the downtown without hesitation, as if he knew his way.
I thought it had been less than an hour since the sirens went off and we were ordered to evacuate… During that short period of ti, all the asphalt roads were destroyed, and many of the shops on the ground floor were engulfed in flas. Even the parked cars were not left intact. Most of the car’s hoods were crushed and on fire; there were several that were completely turned upside down.
In addition, I couldn’t see other people anywhere. However, bloodstains could be clearly seen on the road or the broken windows, amplifying the bleak image.
[Kyaaak!]
[Beep–]
Furthermore, aside from the [Gargoyle], all sorts of other monsters were making a ss of the city center. Where and when did these monsters–like an ant swarm–pop out from? These bizarre looking monsters roared and demolished the surrounding buildings.
At that mont, an intact car slowly crossed the road; I looked inside, wondering if a person was driving… As expected, the speed was far too slow. There was a monster instead of a person behind the wheel. A spider the size of an adult man was gripping the steering wheel; it stopped after ramming into a telephone pole. The spider slowly crawled out of the shattered window.
The situation skyward was even more severe.
On the other side of the road there was a 50-story building. On the upper floors, a humongous black band-like, snake-like thing wriggled around until it had wrapped once around the circumference. Black scales flashed brilliantly when sunlight occasionally pierced through the ash-covered sky when the wind scattered the clouds.
Of course, no snake could ever be that large a size, so that thing was also probably a monster. I had no idea what that snake monster’s goal was, but it steadily headed towards the top floor. During its ascent, I could hear the small chiming bursts of windows shattering as the glass couldn’t withstand the force.
Huge flying objects that didn’t appear to be airplanes or helicopters cast dark shadows onto the ground, terrible screams heard from afar, gunshots that sounded like fireworks… All this combined made wonder if I had entered humanity’s hell.
However, no monster rushed towards us even though we penetrated through to the center of this bedlam. Obviously, Seo Dawon must have done sothing. While staring blankly at the grueso monsters destroying the city from within the mage’s embrace, I hoped that no humans would appear in front of .
“What…is that?” I asked.
Seo Dawon soon stopped walking; before us stood a giant altar that seed anachronistic with today’s modern urban aesthetic.
I had thought the thing before was an altar because it looked like a pyramid cut in half with a staircase in the middle that led to the top. There, a dark blue fla wavered gently as it burned… I lacked the vocabulary to describe such a sight other than ‘altar.’
Furthermore, the monsters placed sothing into the fla as if they were offering tribute, bowing their heads politely as if humbly bowing.
Naturally, I had misgivings about the ‘thing’ the monsters were offering. I had thought, ‘No way’… But, as I looked around my surroundings, I was shocked to see human corpses piled along the side of the road. I had even seen a hole carved into each body’s chest.
Simultaneously, I noted the faint sll wafting from the altar.
The sll of roasting at…
“Urgh!” Eventually, I shuddered and closed my eyes. No matter how ‘unreal’ this world may be, my ntal state wasn’t strong enough to endure the implications.
Rather, at this point, I wasn’t sure if I had entered the [Vengeful Ghost mory] or if this was really happening.
In the midst of such confusion, a clear voice caressed my ears. “I needed a large amount of mana to get here.”
It was Seo Dawon.
And, his tone felt sowhat ominous. My eyes opened reflexively; Seo Dawon opened his mouth to speak while looking down at . “At first, I thought about using my lifespan… But that wasn’t enough to cross worlds.”
“What…”
“That’s why I decided to accept the scenario.”
Rather than directing those words at , it was as if he were speaking to deride himself. So, even without an explanation, I could guess that sothing fatal had happened to him.
“Are you….okay?” 1
My question tumbled out instinctively, but Seo Dawon still adopted a smooth smile. In the end, he didn’t respond to say he was fine, but he lowered to the ground. Then, he slowly walked ahead.
He motioned for to follow him imdiately.
However…my feet stopped moving at the scene that soon unfurled before . As soon as Seo Dawon started walking ahead, the monsters flocking at the altar began retreating, giving a wide berth to avoid him.
At first, I had thought Seo Dawon had used so skill, but I soon realized sothing was off. The retreating monsters all politely bowed their heads to the ground; as soon as the monsters fully backed off, I could see a white ride standing upright in front of the altar, hidden by the monsters’ bodies earlier.
It was a staff. Where there should have been a jewel encrusted into the staff’s head, a skull had been embedded.
Seo Dawon picked up the staff. As soon as he gripped it, blue light poured from the skull’s eye sockets. It was as if the staff recognized its own owner.
Bizarrely, the altar’s fla, which seed like it could burn forever, had disappeared instantly as soon as Seo Dawon had grasped the skeletal staff. Because the color of the altar’s fla and the light gleaming from the staff was so similar, there was obviously an eerie connection between the two.
Furthermore, when Seo Dawon lifted the staff into the air, the altar began to collapse on its own–as if it had finished its role. There was no sound as it collapsed in on itself. As if it were a balloon losing air, it lted into the soft ground; only a pit–a gaping black maw–remained.
That pit was filled with piles of ashes and burned corpses. As if the sky that had covered this ravaged city and its inhabitants had been preserved there.
“That’s not…?” I hurriedly asked before I could even untangle the ss that was my thoughts in my head. Seo Dawon calmly looked back at . He opened his mouth as if to answer , but, before that, the shadow beneath his feet started to grow rapidly.
The shadow, which had reflected an ordinary person’s shape, gradually increased in size until it transford into a gigantic horned devil’s face. The enlarged shadow opened its mouth wide and began to laugh.
[It’s as you can see]
It answered, mockingly.
* * *
Imdiately afterwards, Seo Dawon turned around, staff in hand, and approached . On the surface, it still looked like Seo Dawon, but, on top of his head, a [label] that only appeared for Nad Boss Monsters had appeared.
However, I couldn’t identify what monster it was because the letters were all broken. Either way, since that naming convention was usually attached to monsters, I was definitely shocked.
Users becoming monsters… Seo Dawon, what on earth did you do?
“How did this…” I started.
[It’s all thanks to you.]
The monstrously transford Seo Dawon looked like he would be able to exert a trendous force, even at a first glance. As he walked closer, step by step, the far-off buildings collapsed–one by one–like the altar that had collapsed not so long ago.
I hadn’t necessarily checked where the buildings collapsed, but I supposed a similar black pit might have been left behind. If that was the case, then how much power did this Seo Dawon have? Wouldn’t he have enough power to just destroy this world…?
What’s worse, the courage to boldly move at my own pace had long since crumbled with Seo Dawon’s appearance; my belief that this place was simply within the scope of the [Vengeful Ghost mory] had cracked. If, as the other had said, sothing bad had happened in the real world, and Seo Dawon made a horrible choice in order to arrive here, then…
Then who was I? And what was this world?
So, bewildered and frightened of the Seo Dawon in front of , I trudged backwards and eventually turned my back on him. While running, I honestly didn’t think I could escape. I just wanted to look away from that scene.
At so point, I couldn’t hear the sound of chasing footsteps. By the ti I realized, Seo Dawon’s chest was already right in front of my nose. I couldn’t stop myself, so, with a thump, I crashed into his arms. The tip of my nose stung painfully. It was all so futile.
‘What should I even do to escape from here?’
No matter how hard I run, I’m still within this guy’s grasp…
I bit my lips, panicked. It was then–
“Choi Lee-kyung!”
Just then.
‘Seo Dawon’ called for from behind.
TL: Happy New Years! This is my belated present to you all
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