Chapter 136: The Main Event
A drastic mutation that was enough to collapse the human form occurred.
Crack, snap, tear!
The growth and mutation were so intense that they reminded me of Lee Chang-hyeok who had previously turned into a monster before my eyes.
The man’s shoulder muscles developed grotesquely. The skin on his arms tore as the muscles underneath spread apart in strands.
No, the scattered muscle fibers quickly transformed into dozens of tendrils.
He emitted a monstrous roar. As if he was vomiting.
Bzzzzzzzzzz!!!
Dozens of tendrils spewed from his maw along with the roar.
The flesh of his mouth and jaw stretched out. The same mutation occurred with his arms.
Dozens of tendrils sprouted from his face.
He was no longer in a state that could be called human.
That was a monster.
“What, what is that guy doing?”
“What is that? How did that happen?”
Those gathered here were cultists immersing themselves in a surreal world.
There were some who had some resistance to such irrational situations since they acquired forbidden knowledge and unbearable madness.
Crackle!
[System: The trait ‘Madness of the Abyss’ has been activated. The effect of fear has been nullified.]
Not quite like the Madness of the Abyss trait, but still.
In any case, everyone’s limits on what they could accept varied.
Some screamed and fainted, while others still didn’t grasp the situation and approached awkwardly.
“Huh? This is a joke, right?”
The cultist who had turned into a monster, no, now a being that should be called a mutant like Lee Chang-hyeok, reached out to those approaching awkwardly.
Bzzzzzzzzzz…
He extended his tendrils. It was definitely not a friendly gesture!
Vwoooooong!!
The tendrils lashed out at a speed imperceptible to the human eye.
Shraaack!!
A spray of blood mixed with human flesh scattered everywhere.
The horrifying trajectory of the tendrils swept through the cultists, mingling their blood and flesh.
“Don’t get close!”
“Run away!!”
“What is that?!”
“Oh! Predator of the Mountains!”
Shouts and commands poured out in all directions, mixed with cries seeking their gods.
Cultists of various types began to run in all directions according to their preferences. This created tremendous chaos.
It’s hard to say it serves them right. Anyway, it’s a complete mess.
They were fools who had been indulging in an inhuman festival and revelry until just a moment ago, ignorant of who the true sacrifice of this festival was.
Meanwhile, some dependent cultists dashed toward the outer edge of the hall before looking up at the gallery above. Pleas burst out at the same time.
“P-Please help us!”
“Branch leader!”
“Judges!”
I hid my body in the darkness behind the curtain and looked up at the upper floor.
Heavy and unpleasant auras gathered upstairs.
They finally reveal themselves.
The leaders, officials, or powerful figures of each cult gathered here, regardless of their titles.
These were the judges who had been hiding in independent spaces until now.
Just like the initiates, they were looking down while their faces were hidden behind masks.
Even though their faces were covered, I could read their atmosphere.
Even though their direct disciples were dying, none of them stepped forward to help. They just watched.
Ridicule. Contempt. Or perhaps anticipation.
“Wh-Why are you just standing there?! It’s a monster! Please help us!”
One oblivious witness threw off his mask and pleaded with the judge of his cult.
The judge who was wearing a mask adorned with colorful feathers replied to him.
“Why should I?”
“Huh? Well, because…”
“Idiot, stop it!”
A slightly smarter cultist approached and pulled him away.
The feathered mask judge laughed loudly. As if he had the same thought as me.
“Hahahaha! I was worried we only brought fools, but it turns out our cult has someone like you!”
“…Thank you.”
“You understand the situation, right? Survive at all costs. And bring back the mask of the faceless one.”
“I understand.”
“May the blessing of [Ninety-Nine Wings] be with you.”
The cult probably forced some bizarre sense of unity under the pretense of being a cult, but this is the reality.
You can see it just by looking at the Hollow Lord.
They were addicts, hooked on abnormal ideologies and surreal powers. Even if they were direct disciples of the same cult, they were ultimately strangers, and just disposable pawns.
Anyone who died this easily was useless from the start.
If they survived, they would become stronger. And what if, by some stroke of luck, they could also obtain the one and only artifact? Even if there was only a 1% chance, the meaningless deaths of a dozen or so disciples wouldn’t matter.
They’re just crazy bastards.
At this point, the magic imbued in the hall was dramatically intensified.
Fzzzzzzt! Snap! Zzzzzt!
The magical power that was secretly injected into the fools who enjoyed the banquet without care in the world has now become a spark that could be seen with the naked eye.
“Gah, ugh!”
One more.
“Bleurgh!!!”
And another.
Those who couldn’t withstand the forcibly injected magic began to appear.
There was only one fate for them.
Mutation.
Bzzzzzzz…!
The bodies of those who were unable to maintain their human bodies and minds became entangled and twisted, and new monsters emerged.
“Four, five, six. Huh? That guy, he’s my sworn brother. Can he turn back into a human?”
“This isn’t a problem confined to one cult.”
“They said the main event to determine the owner of a powerful artifact was starting, so this must be it?”
“Oh, come on, I thought I was getting pork cutlets in this place, but it turns out we were going to the dentist instead.”
(TN: This is a pun like where the father tells his children they’re going to a good place like Disney Land or something, but instead takes them to the dentist.)
The members of Azure Moon Cult, Winter Coming Cult, and Baba Yaga, who had nearly caused trouble earlier, were observing the situation from a distance, much like I was.
It was a wise decision. The main event hadn’t started yet.
If they had stumbled from the start, all the effort I spent marking them would have been for nothing.
Around this time, Dokgo Gyeom should be making his appearance.
Ba, ba-ba-ba-bam, ba-ba-bam!
As blood, screams, and the curses of cultists filled the banquet hall, majestic music began to play. It was the main theme from the musical, The Phantom of the Opera.
“Hello! My beloved madmen, monsters, psychopaths, serial killers, and cannibals!”
“Whahahaha, what’s he saying?”
“Kukuku, crazy bastard, come down quickly!”
Loud cheers and jeers erupted.
Of course, these reactions did not come from those mingling with monsters on the brink of life and death. These were the reactions of the judges observing the situation from a safe place.
“Now, the main event of our masquerade begins!”
It was Dokgo Gyeom, the host of the event.
He wore a pure white mask covering only the left half of his face and a silk hat with an unusual design.
He donned an extremely expensive-looking three-piece suit and a black coat with a red lining, so wide and fluttering it looked almost like a cape.
He even had a stylish cane.
Anyone could see that his attire was inspired by the Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera.
I knew he was crazy, but he’s a real clown.
Was he pleased with his chosen theme song and costume?
Dokgo Gyeom who was standing on stage was quite elated.
“Now, everyone, listen carefully!”
He shouted towards the members, who were still being battered into bloody pulps every minute.
“We are currently in a crisis. The stars are aligning, surreal visitors from other worlds are striding down the streets, corporations armed with alien knowledge are committing extralegal crimes, and the government, colluding with demons, is censoring information containing the true truth under the pretext of security.”
“What is he saying?”
“Crazy bastard! Shut up!”
These were the reactions of the cultists being chased by monsters. The words used were similar to those of the judges, but the emotions behind them were entirely different.
“Oh, how relaxed you all are. This is no time for such pointless chatter.”
Bzzzzzzz!!!
“Aaaah! Get out of the way!”
The response to Dokgo Gyeom’s crazy words was harsh.
Bang! Slash! Crack!
In an instant, three members were dead.
Seeing this, Dokgo Gyeom suddenly began to cry and wail loudly.
“Uuuuuuh… ooh, such tragedy… Look! You are all so weak! At this rate, we will all perish!”
In an instant, Dokgo Gyeom leaped back. With a single leap, he landed on the gallery railing five meters high without any preparation.
“That’s why we have devised a way to quickly grow you weak and foolish ones! Did you enjoy the power of the ley lines we drew from underground in Sejong City? Was the effect of the ritual great? It’s nice to gobble it up, but those who don’t have the right constitution end up becoming monsters like that.”
“Grrraaaagh!!”
“Bwaaaargh!!!”
As if responding to his words, the monsters roared in unison. What a thrilling sight.
Dokgo Gyeom pulled the large lever installed next to the railing.
Rumble rumble rumble rumble!!!
At the same time, the stage split open and a hidden mechanism surged up from the underground.
“Huh, really.”
Is that even possible? I thought no amount of money could prepare for a party like this.
In the game, it was just CG so I didn’t think much of it, but seeing this impressive dynamic spectacle in real life is mind-blowing.
A huge spiral pillar that was about four meters thick shot up and it caused a tremendous vibration throughout the hall.
The pillar soared up as if it would reach the ceiling of this vast hall.
In other words, it’s a ten-meter-high pillar.
At the top of the pillar…
“Look! The unique artifact you all desire is right up there!”
Sitting at the end of the pillar was a treasure chest with an overly ornate design.
How extravagant.
It was a box far too vulgar to appear at a horrific feast tangled with blood, death, monsters, and screams. It looked more fitting as a prop on an entertainment show.
However, Dokgo Gyeom seemed to feel immense satisfaction and excitement, enough to make his body tremble, as he watched the chaotic scene.
“See, it’s a simple structure? Avoid the tagger and grab the treasure chest! But if you take too long, you’ll become the tagger too!”
There were quite a few similar entertainment shows, so which one had he imitated?
“Hahaha! You should have said that from the start!”
A 3-meter giant man wearing a wild boar mask spoke. This was a monster hunter from the Gourmet Garden.
He burst out laughing and charged forward. A mutant swung its tentacles to attack him, but he threw a corpse that was lying next to him with ridiculous strength.
Boom!
The mutant was pushed back by the impact.
However, he wasn’t prepared for the attack of another tendril flying in with a time delay.
Whizz!!
“Ahh!?”
“Excuse me.”
Someone wearing a plain metal mask suddenly interrupted. It was a small cannibal chef from Slow Kitchen.
Slash!!
She swiftly swung her two cleavers and cut off the bundle of tentacles, and then climbed onto the shoulder of the man in the wild boar mask. It seemed like a pretty good combination.
“Hey! Who said you could step on me?”
“I just helped you, didn’t I?”
“Is this really the time for you two to be chit-chatting?!”
“Yeah, hurry and clear the way! I don’t want to turn into one of those monsters!”
The crow-mask Yakuza from the Azure Moon Cult and the lace-mask witch of Baba Yaga had formed a team as well.
And then…
Crack! Boom!
A massive glacier suddenly surged up, pushing back several mutants.
Looking around that area, I saw a shaman from the Winter Coming Cult wearing a wolf mask. He was dancing while holding a small drum adorned with buffalo horns.
Good. I’ve confirmed up to this point.
Everything was unfolding just as it had in the game.
There were no variables outside of the development that have been bothering me so far.
In the poorly optimized game, the complexity of this location and the simultaneous movements of the NPCs had caused lag and stuttering, but this time, there was none of that. Regardless of the difficulty, as long as there were no unexpected variables, I could handle it.
“May I approach you over there?”
Goosebumps rose on my arm. It was an eerily beautiful voice.
Ah, damn it. This was an event that never happened in the game.
It was the cultist from the Yellow Forest Church. He was wearing a mask with three eyes that were hard to look at and he spoke to me.
“Don’t come. Don’t talk to me; just go away.”
“You came from Paju, right?”
I said go away.
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