Chapter 150: A Brief Flashback

A quiet room.

I lifted my head for a moment.

And there was a strange ceiling.

"Yes, I remember up to this point."

A car chase, the feast offering, the torrential rain, the appearance of an alien being.

The rocket launcher spewed fire, and the rocket flew towards me.

I had a somewhat creaky mind and vaguely scattered memories.

My head hurt.

"Ugh..."

What happened next? I recalled doing something incredibly stupid.

"Still, I managed to block the rocket."

Like this, I actually waved my hand and pretended to use magic.

So, to put it specifically...

[Chains of Domination]

Four golden chains flew out the car window.

Clang!!

The chains raced through the raindrops and timely wrapped themselves around the rocket.

"Gotcha!"

I injected a new command into the bound rocket.

Return!

The rocket traced its path back to where it had come from.

Wow, it actually worked.

"Wow! Mage-nim, how did you do that?"

"And here I thought my condition was bad today."

Not bad at all.

Unfortunately, hitting the truck with the captured rocket wasn't an option. My goal was always the artifact in the truck. So there were no dramatic explosions.

Boom!

But it did explode near the truck, causing it to shake violently in the torrential rain.

Screech!!

Despite the commotion, the figure in the black coat still stood firmly on top of the truck. Even the fedora remained securely on his head.

Who is that guy? Was there a guy like that in the game?

[System: The penalty trait of 'Feast Offering' has been activated.]

[A being of the abyss empowers its descendant.]

"Wow, they really love him, huh?"

I always considered the activation of 'Feast Offering' in my plans. But this time, it was excessive. Who exactly was he?

Crash! Boom!

The container's outer wall on the truck bulged outward as if something enormous was moving inside it.

Shhhhh!!

Eventually, holes were punched through the container's sides and the wriggling thing inside it was revealed.

"Aaah!"

This was Jang Hyeon-deok's scream.

[What tore through the container and appeared is a gigantic tentacle. It is large enough to easily wrap around a car. Suddenly, something familiar caught your eye. Suction cups are densely embedded along the unpleasantly textured skin.]

Yes, it was a familiar design.

"Get a grip! It's just an octopus!"

"But it's huge!"

"No matter how big it is, it's still just a cephalopod! Think of it as a giant squid and hold on!"

"What are you talking about!?"

The system-induced madness in the [Cthulhu World] didn't manifest just from seeing something scary. It was due to the irrational presence created by a surreal entity. Explaining this to Jang Hyeon-deok would be useless. Anyway, hold on!

[You try to convince yourself that it's just an octopus, but it's not easy. The tentacles before you move in a highly threatening manner. Instinctive fear shrinks your body. You resist with your Mental Strength stat. Mental Strength check... success.]

Luckily, it seemed like the check had a low failure rate. Without the need for the [Madness of the Abyss] trait to activate, the check succeeded. It appeared that Jang Hyeon-deok experienced the same.

"Do something about that!"

The octopus tentacle was literally large enough to easily wrap around a car.

There were three visible tentacles.

The gigantic tentacles shot up into the sky.

Whooom!!

All at once, the massive tentacles swung towards the road!

No! Anything but this!

It was then that I realized why my thoughts had been a bit delayed.

Stop thinking! Just block it!

I reached out of the car and unleashed my magic.

[Ice Blast]

[Spell Enhancement: Range Increase]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximize]

Shreeeek!!

Raindrops caught in the icy wind turned into shards of ice and they rained down with a rattling sound.

Crack!

The suddenly frozen tentacles couldn't withstand their own momentum and shattered. Although the road was saved from destruction, the massive frozen tentacles were now flying towards us.

"Ahhh! Hold on tight!"

Screeech!!

Jang Hyeon-deok twisted the steering wheel to avoid the flying tentacle fragments.

"Ahhhh!"

That was my scream.

Adrenaline surged suddenly, and my heart pounded. My fingertips went cold, and it felt like my insides were being ripped out.

"Right, this is the the Freedom Road!"

"W-What are you talking about!?"

Why didn't I think of this before?

"It's right next to the Han River!!"

"What?"

The Freedom Road runs along the Han River, and the Han River is a very wide river, meaning "those things" live in it.

What a stupid Kim Shin-hwa. Why on earth did you accept this quest!?

I could guess the reason. It was a side effect of my mental illness.

My brain refused to recall or associate certain concepts.

It happened before too.

At first, it was the same when I encountered the giant rat monster. I couldn't remember that a rat appeared at the end of the secret laboratory.

No, this time it wasn't just at that level. Honestly, for a while, I had forgotten that those "things" even existed in this world.

"Drive carefully! Don't go off the road!"

"What's wrong with the Han River? We've been next to it this whole time!"

Right, exactly! Even while driving next to the Han River, I hadn't realized it was the Han River! Ignoring half of the visible background naturally slowed my reactions.

Vroooom!

The truck roared along the road stretching beside the Han River.

Eventually, the truck overtook a passenger car ahead.

Screeeech!

Yes, an octopus has eight legs. Even if you cut off three, five remain.

Newly emerged tentacles wrapped around the passenger car. They wouldn't throw it, would they?

Vroom!!

The passenger car seemed to fly towards us in slow motion.

There must be people inside, right? It's tricky to dodge or destroy it.

I reached out of the car window and cast a spell.

[Disintegrate]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximize]

Boom!!

A green ray emitted from my fingertips struck the incoming passenger car.

This was a fourth-order spell designed to disintegrate inanimate objects.

The car instantly turned into gray ash and scattered car parts.

And then the driver who was flying towards us while screaming,

[Feather Fall]

Screeeech!

Fortunately, Jang Hyeon-deok realized my intention and slowly maneuvered around the floating driver.

[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait has been activated]

Crash!

"Ahhhh!"

This was Jang Hyeon-deok's scream.

A completely black silhouette obstructed our view.

The figure in a black coat was now hanging in front of our call van. Wait, he was standing on the truck just a moment ago? When did he jump?

The figure in the black coat swung his fist.

"Don't mess with me!"

[Hardening]

[Protective Circle]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximize]

I hardened the front windshield along with the protective circle.

Crash!

Thud!!

"Grrr!"

This guy was quite sturdy, but not enough to penetrate my protective shield.

"Now get lost!"

[Slippery Floor]

This was only a first-order spell.

It forcibly reduced the friction coefficient on the surface of the vehicle. Normally, it wouldn't be much, but for a fool clinging to a speeding vehicle, it spelled disaster.

"Argh!"

Slip!

The figure in the black coat couldn't hold on and fell off the car.

I watched through the rearview mirror as he bounced several times on the road behind us. His fedora flew off, and his coat tore.

For a moment, I glimpsed green skin hidden beneath the coat, but he quickly disappeared from view.

I couldn't expand my detection range much for fear of it reaching the Han River, but I could still sense that the figure in the black coat was alive.

This fellow really was tough.

"I don't know what this guy is, but he can't outrun a car."

Looking ahead, I saw a bridge in the distance. As soon as my eyes registered the bridge, my slacking intelligence stat kicked in.

Oh, that's Ilsan Bridge, right?

No, I don't need the name of the bridge! My head! Spit out the information I need right now!

The truck's destination was Incheon.

To get to Incheon, one had to cross that bridge. That meant...

"Catch him before he reaches the bridge!"

"Who are you talking to? Snap out of it!"

Yeah, get a grip! My mental illness isn't aquaphobia (fear of water)!

Sitting here and stalling for time wasn't going to help.

Honestly, I wasn't without hesitation, but I eventually opened the car door and summoned my magical power.

[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 Winged Robe of the Night Veil fluttered like pitch-black wings and sent me soaring into the sky.

The pouring rain flowed along the surface of the Distortion Field, which made it look like a giant water bubble was forming around me.

I drew upon my magical power and infused it into the Winged Robe of the Night Veil.

With a pop, the water droplets on the Distortion Field burst, and I shot past the truck in an instant.

I then quickly changed direction and cast a spell toward the road.

[Blade Zone]

Crack!

The shape of the road got distorted and a huge number of spikes and thorns sprouted up on the black asphalt road.

Screech!

The truck driver slammed on the brakes urgently, but it was already too late.

Pop, pop, pop!

In an instant, the tires burst and the spikes on the ground created a horrible cacophony as they shattered.

"Ha, I should have done this earlier."

No, until a moment ago, the situation didn't allow for such actions. Honestly, it was a desperate measure.

If the overturned truck fell into the Han River, it would be disastrous for my psyche.

Ah, the truck was rushing toward the Han River!

[Wall of Strength]

Vreee!

A transparent barrier formed above the guardrail toward the Han River.

Moreover, I had a friend to help me now.

Shraaak!

Five giant tentacles extended from the truck. The creature stretched its tentacles to stop the truck from overturning.

Crash!

The spikes on the ground tore into the tentacles in a horrifying scene, and the magically reinforced guardrail crumpled, but we managed to stop the truck.

"Great job, octopus friend. We're the best team."

I turned the spikes on the ground back into the road and walked toward the truck.

Vroom!

The remaining tentacles flew toward me. Even though I was distracted, I had anticipated this much. I stopped at the precise location and extended my hand.

The tentacles narrowly brushed against my collar, more precisely, the cloak of the robe. At that moment, my magic activated.

[Touch of Hell]

[Spell Enhancement: Explosive]

[Spell Enhancement: Chain Explosion]

[The unique effect of the SSS-rank accessory 'Residual Heat of the North Star', 'Trace of Extreme Flame' has been activated.

// Trace of Extreme Flame: Increases the effect of all fire-type magic by 100%.]

Originally, this spell required touch to activate, but the winged robe of the night veil was such a conductive artifact that it substituted for this condition.

Whoosh!!

Black flames erupted along the octopus's skin.

This was hellfire that wouldn't extinguish even underwater. Additionally, I infused it with explosive power.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The tentacles triggered chain explosions. And with the smoke, a certain smell rose all around the place.

"Aversion or fear of cephalopods is a Western thing."

Koreans liked cephalopods.

"It smells better than I expected."

But the container shouldn't explode. I retrieved the magical power from the hellfire roasting the octopus.

Since they lost the magical power that sustained them, the flames quickly died down under the pouring rain.

"Phew, is it over?"

The road was a mess. The truck was in shambles. The container was full of holes.

In the distance, I saw Jang Hyeon-deok parking his car.

"Haah, I've really been acting pathetically today."

Still, it was fortunate that it ended without major damage. I needed to be careful not to approach the water until the mental illness in my head disappeared.

Actually, it was pointless. I hadn't even remembered that the Han River was next to Freedom Road.

"By the way, who was the being of the abyss that intervened this time?"

It was a slightly different pattern from other abyssal beings that had been bothering me for a while.

Usually, they exerted their power to attack me, but this time it felt like this being of the abyss intervened to protect the container.

"A being of the abyss who is related to octopuses and has a tribe of kin that it affectionately cares for."

Strange. I couldn't think of anyone like that.

Why?

Could it be related to when I couldn't recall that "those things" were underwater?

"..."

If so, it's better to ignore it. My thoughts were creaking. It felt like there were holes all over my thinking.

Let's just get what's in the container and run away quickly.

I waved my hand horizontally and stirred up my magical power.

Crack!

The container got split in half.

And inside it was...