Chapter 117: Ashen Wraith
Boom!
Several more trailers were destroyed.
It seemed the situation had finally been understood, as the trailers stopped their charge.
A number of trailers skillfully positioned themselves just outside the range of the explosion magic.
People in unusual attire climbed onto the roofs of some trailers.
"Wow, they really came out looking like that."
Dozens of people dressed identically.
Their appearance was that of "typical" cultists, wearing dingy brown robes pulled over their heads.
It looked pretty cool on the monitor, but now that I was seeing it with my own eyes, it was a lot more embarrassing than I thought.
"I'm sure they didn't climb up there just to show off, so what are they planning to do?"
Cultists can create miracles similar to those of mages.
However, they use different methods to shake the laws of physics and reality.
Instead of incantations, they use prayers and instead of magic power adjustments, they use sacrifices.
They desperately pleaded with the being they believed to be a god.
But nothing came for free.
If they were lucky, their desperate pleas alone could fulfill their wishes, but most of the time, they required sacrifices beyond what a human could bear.
Whoosh!!!
"Ugh, those crazy bastards."
The bodies of the cultists standing on the trailers started to burn at the same time.
"Hahahaha!!"
"Kyahahaha!!"
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Instead of screams, there were bursts of maniacal laughter and words of gratitude.
The fanatics that were burning alive began to dance in a grotesque and horrific manner for a very short time.
It was unclear whether it was truly a dance or merely convulsions from unbearable pain.
Though brief, their dance seemed to have satisfied the god they worshipped.
Screeeech!!!
[Embrace of the North Star]
[System: Area-of-effect enchantment magic has been activated.]
[The environment and climate of the area are being readjusted.]
Suddenly, the surroundings changed.
It's hot...
The air became crisp and dry.
The temperature rose tremendously even though it was late at night.
An air drier than any summer in Korea blew in, like a parched desert.
What East Asians called the North Star was the brightest star in the southern constellation of Piscis Austrinus... and it was Fomalhaut.
Fanatics charged with axes and torches.
"The master of Fomalhaut blesses us!"
"Kill them! Kill them! Turn them into ashes under the night sky!"
"Do not fear death! Become the beacon that illuminates the fiery paradise!"
They were the descendants of Fomalhaut.
"Oh, come on. You could have gone to fight Hellistic; why come here again?"
I told you something good, didn't I? Why didn't you go there and come here instead?
Well, it seems the information wasn't entirely useless. For such a large-scale ritual like climate-changing magic, their numbers were small.
Are they really going to charge with axes? We have machine guns here.
Of course, the enemies weren't fools.
"Look, look over there! What is that!?"
"Aaargh! Aaaah!! The sky, look at the sky!!!"
"A monster! A monster!!!"
Buzzzzzz!
Amidst the continuous explosions, a different noise emerged.
Wow, these guys are really hopeless.
No matter how remote this place was, with nothing around and being the dead of night when no one was around, this was too much.
The trailer crash was just the beginning.
Beyond the wall, an immense amount of magical power surged.
"T'kra-g'nash, t'kra-sivak! Zu-thog, zu-voth!"
A huge monster's form expanded as if to engulf the dark night sky.
I expected something to come out, but honestly, I didn't expect something like that.
No, I wasn't shocked because something incredibly powerful appeared.
It's just that an incredibly strange creature showed up.
That was a monster called the Ashen Wraith.
It's not something just anyone can summon. Only a top-tier cultist who has lived too long and whose brain has turned to mush could control such a surreal minion. It seemed that at least a madman on par with a demon lord was present.
How big is that thing going to get?
The Ashen Wraith grew rapidly by feeding on the smoke, heat, and dust around it.
An enormous amount of smoke was pouring out from the trailers I had blown up. Absorbing that smoke, the Ashen Wraith was growing even larger.
"Oh, this is really giving me a headache."
Although it had a shape that could be called humanoid, it was a giant with a gaseous body that continued to swell and flow.
Boom!
From within the smoky Ashen Wraith, a terrifying thunder rumbled.
At the same time, the Ashen Wraith let out a roar in a bizarre language that humans couldn't understand.
"G'lor-t'kra, g'lor-zu! Voth-sivak, voth-thog!"
"Aaaargh!!"
"Mon, mon, monster!!"
"A giant! A giant!"
"What is that?! What the hell is that?!"
Regardless of the smoke, its sheer volume and mass alone were enough to terrify anyone.
The members of the Triad, no, the members of the Cheong-ho faction, screamed as they watched the monster grow to a size that seemed capable of covering the sky.
Ratatatatatata!!!
The ones screaming and firing aimlessly at the sky were the lucky ones. Most threw their guns and ran in random directions or collapsed on the ground.
If left alone, they might end up shooting each other rather than the cultists.
[System: The unique trait 'Madness of the Abyss' has been activated. The effects of intimidation have been nullified.]
Without the "Madness of the Abyss", I might have joined their ranks but that has nothing to do with me anyway.
"Zu-g'nash, zu-t'kra!"
The giant that was swollen to over 18 meters raised its fist and struck the wall.
Boom! Crash!
Suddenly, one side of the wall collapsed.
"The wall has fallen!"
Then the Triad forces charged towards the fallen wall.
Ah, since the ones defending are also part of the Triad, that's not quite accurate. The subordinates of Jeok-du and the cultists were charging in.
"Attack! Kill them all!"
"Let's go!"
"Descendants of Fomalhaut! Let's go!!"
Amidst those loud battle cries, various foreign languages like Chinese and Vietnamese were mixed in. It looked like they had gathered people from all over the place.
Ratatatatatatatata!!!
Unlike the cultists, Jeok-du's subordinates were armed with guns.
Boom! Crash!
This time, the sound of something collapsing came from the roof.
"The watchtower is falling!!"
"Aaaah!! Get out of the way!!"
Ugh, wait.
"Aaaah!! Run away!!"
"We're done for!!"
Unlike the enemies charging at us menacingly, our side was a complete mess.
"Ah, this is no time to be standing around idly."
The list of spells I could cast flashed through my mind in an instant. What was the spell that worked on that fellow again?
Since it was made of ash and smoke, it was completely immune to fire. And if I were to list his immunities, it would be astonishing.
Fire, lightning, explosions, physical attacks, mental attacks, energy, curses, it was immune to all of that.
"Ah, what a ridiculously frustrating opponent!"
An immense pressure of magic was released from my outstretched hands.
Whoooooooooosh!!
The magic, which had grown enormously as it tore through the windows and walls like paper, transformed into a huge swirling hurricane.
[Whirling Fury]
[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]
[Spell Enhancement: Range Increase]
Rumble!!
The raging wind and huge whirlwind responded to my will and struck the Ashen Wraith.
Rumble!!
The powerful whirlwind of magic changed the atmospheric pressure in an instant and even shook the clouds floating in the sky with its tremendous influence.
The Ashen Wraith who was unable to fully swing its raised fist was forced to retreat.
Its body shattered in an instant before scattering in all directions...
"Thog-sivak!"
It was a formless monster made of ash, smoke, heat, and the madness of corrupted souls.
So the effect was no different than hitting a cloud.
The creature reassembled its body several meters away.
For now, I've pushed it back, so I should take care of other things in the meantime.
The cultists and Jeok-du's subordinates were fiercely rushing in on the ground.
[Agility of the Fox]
[Dance of the Swan]
[Protective Barrier]
[The unique effect of the L-grade garment 'Winged Robe of the Night Veil', 'Wings of the Heavenly Steed' has been activated.
// Wings of the Heavenly Steed: Automatically casts the 'Flight' spell.]
The view changed instantly.
The wind roared and threatened to tear my eardrums. After soaring into the sky, I redirected part of the summoned whirlwind toward the ground and struck hard.
Whooooooooooosh!!
The air and atmospheric pressure in this area were completely under my control. I imparted new properties to the wind and whirlwind.
Rumble!! Rumble!!
A thunderous sound, like a dragon growling, echoed from somewhere. It was the noise created by the friction of clouds and air.
Yes, attack just like that!
[Storm's Faith]
[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]
[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]
Whoooooooooosh!! Rumblllleee!! Crashhhh!
Massive bolts of lightning and storms poured down on the enemies.
In an instant, their formation crumbled and the enemies' momentum was broken.
Even the fanatics who had charged with a resolve to face death hesitated in the face of such overwhelming bombardment.
[Your heroic actions inspire those around you. Exempts the sanity check of nearby allies temporarily.]
"We have the mage with us!"
"Kim Shin-hwa! Kim Shin-hwa!"
"Fire! Fire at those crazed fanatics!"
"Kim Shin-hwa! Kim Shin-hwa!"
"Yaaaaah!"
Why are those idiots chanting my name?
[You have enraged Jeok-du.
One of 'the three heads of the Triad - Jeok-du' becomes hostile toward you.]
Tsk, now achieving the Three Heads integration feat is impossible unless Jeok-du dies. There's a bug where Jeok-du's affinity resets if you trap him in a dungeon and then restart the game. If I can find a way to reset this world, there might be a chance to befriend Jeok-du... but now's not the time for such thoughts!
What I need to focus on now is,
"Zu-g'nash, zu-t'kra! Sivak!"
The giant over there lifting the burning trailer. Ugh, how unfair. My attacks don't work, but it can touch, hit, and throw everything.
Bwoooooong!!!
Ugh, he threw it. That crazy bastard!
"Ugh... so it's an aerial battle, huh?"
The trailer grew larger at an incredible speed.
I approached to a distance where I could minimize the loss of magical power and directed my magic at the giant trailer flying through the night sky.
Dozens of magic circles blossomed like fireworks.
[Invisible Hand]
[Chains of Domination]
[Prison of Wind]
Crashhhh!!
Ugh, it's quite heavy!
Anyway, I... caught the flying trailer!
"Sivack!"
"What ... Did you just say Fu*k?"
That can't be, but it feels irritating.
[Waterfall]
[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]
Swooooosh!!
There's too little water energy I could draw from around here.
The enemies didn't change the climate and start the battle for no reason. Could I seize control of the weather?
Amidst the chaos, I briefly looked up at the night sky.
Was it a new moon of all times? The season, time, latitude, and atmospheric pressure were all unfavorable. Reversing the area of effect environmental change magic the enemies had laid out first would require an immense amount of time and resources.
I sent my will through the Chains of Domination toward the trailer hovering in the air.
Stop, stay still.
Then, I waved my hand toward the side of the trailer.
[Fireball]
[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]
Whoosh!!
Boom!!!
I launched eight fireballs at the trailer. The concentrated impact in one direction created a potential force for the trailer to bounce away in that direction, but...
Stay still!
I poured my magical power to strengthen the compulsion to the extent that it ignored the laws of physics.
The Ashen Wraith and the cultist controlling it didn't seem to understand what I was doing, but at least I had successfully drawn their attention.
"Shivak! K'lak-shivack, Sivack-thog, sivack-t'kra!"
"I'm telling you, it sounds like you're swearing!"
[Azure Elemental Explosion]
[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]
Boom!
A tremendous explosion erupted from the Ashen Wraith's face, torso, and legs. I had gathered the water elements floating in the air and struck with them. That must hurt, right?
Ah, that thing? The Ashen Wraith reassembled its scattered body, and, huh? Its legs turned into hands and its hands turned into legs? Then the hand that was a leg picked up the trailer on the ground and... swung it!
"Ah, that's too fast!"
Damn it, there's no angle to dodge!
With a deafening crash that felt like the whole world was exploding, everything around me went dark.
Boom!