Chapter 156: The Shadow of Insu Village (5)

"Ugh..."

I felt dizzy.

It felt like seawater was bubbling and boiling in my head.

My legs went weak, and my vision spun. I'm going to fall. With weakened arms, I barely managed to hold onto my knees.

"Da..."

But my mouth was still moving on its own. Once again, I uttered that name which must not be spoken.

So, so, so. His name, that wicked and filthy name which must not be uttered.

"Da-gon."

A tremendous wave crashed through my mind.

Father of the deep-sea people residing under murky waters, founder of the evil Dagon cult.

[Dragon King of the Murky Sea]. [Great Twin of the Deep Waters]. And [Lord of the Murky Waters].

A village ruled by a being of the abyss.

Isn't it strange? A village that worships the Dragon King, no, Dagon, in such an inland area?

Or was this a part of my forgotten memory? Memories I denied, ignored, and forgot were starting to return bit by bit.

Finally, my vision cleared.

"Th-That name..."

The old man spoke with a groan and his face paled with overwhelming fear. My magic was almost broken. The fear he felt must have been immense.

"...Yes, I shouldn't have said it, but I did."

In the shock of an unexpected flashback and awakening, I had spoken unconsciously.

My lost memories are coming back little by little.

The direction wasn't entirely bad, but the timing was a bit troubling.

In the world of [Cthulhu World], there were dreadful beings whose names could cause madness just by being spoken or even thought of.

There are also lunatics who use those names to send curses or even manifest themselves.

Dagon didn't impose such restrictions on his name.

He preferred to make his name known.

His name appeared several times in real history, so much so that it was mentioned in the Christian Bible as a god of a pagan religion.

But this village is an exception.

This Village. This Insu Village was an earthly colony created by Dagon.

It was as if his name had been spoken right in front of him.

Moreover, I was a distinguished guest receiving special treatment...

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

[A being of the abyss is watching your actions.]

Yeah, that's the kind of thing I was hoping for.

"Damn it, but at least my memory is coming back now."

Not all memories have returned yet. But now, there's no need to wander any longer.

The fog was growing thicker.

I had the strange feeling that everything in the village was watching me. At the same time, ominous sounds came from beyond the fog.

Squelch- Squelch-

The sound of stepping on wet mud.

Squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch, squelch...

The footsteps increased.

"Grurrr! Who is it! Who dares to utter the name of the Dragon King carelessly!"

An enraged shout echoed from afar.

It was a bizarre voice, not one that could be thought of as human. It was so unpleasant that it seemed more plausible that the muddy swamp had opened its mouth to speak.

"Grurrr! Who dares to utter the name of the Dragon King!"

When he heard that sound, the old man started convulsing and went into a frenzy.

"They are coming! They are coming! To devour our flesh for recklessly uttering the name of the Dragon King!"

The old man clutched his face in his distortion.

"Ah, ah, ah! Aaaargh! Aaaargh!"

A bizarre scream burst forth from between the old man's wrinkled hands.

It was a ghastly cry spreading like an alarm. I spoke with a voice filled with power as I infused the old man's body with magic.

[Voice of Authority]

Be quiet!

"Be quiet! Be quiet! Aaaargh! I'm going to die! I will eventually go to the others! To that terrible sea! Losing my homeland, I will die beyond this distant barrier! Be quiet! Aaaargh! Be quiet!"

It was useless. Was it indeed impossible to suppress it with this?

Madness, the deep-sea magic, and the dreadful dominion created by the being of the abyss were driving the old man insane.

"Grurrr, grrr, grrr! Over there, that way!"

"Grurrr! Tear apart the limbs of the one who uttered the name of the Dragon King!"

"Strip the flesh and throw it into the sea well! Grurrr, grurrr!"

"We need a ritual to appease the Dragon King's wrath! Kill! Capture! Kill!"

Their voices were getting closer.

"Damn it. All this fuss just because I mentioned that name once."

I was about to move, but suddenly my feet stopped.

I felt dizzy. Memories of the past surged back.

Sea well? A tunnel connecting to the sea. No, is this some kind of [gate]?

That's why a village worshiping Dagon can exist in the middle of this inland.

A direct passage to Dagon...

Was this a flashback?

These were words spoken by Kim Shin-hwa of the past. My eyes were seeing the urgent present, but my brain was painting remnants of a forgotten past.

Back to the present. What was my current situation?

The old man was screaming.

And the good villagers were rushing towards me at an incredible speed.

"Oh, this is driving me crazy."

If Kim Shin-hwa of the past was truly a genius, he would have anticipated that I would call Dagon's name. I hope this was all part of "my" grand scheme.

"Haaah, I don't know. This is easier anyway."

In fact, this was more straightforward.

What did I have to do?

Escape from the approaching enemies.

Squelch! Squelch! Squelch! Squelch! Squelch! Squelch! Squelch!

The footsteps were now very close.

"Gruk, gruk."

"Gruk, gruruk, gruk!"

"Gruuuu... gruk, gruk."

I could hear disgusting breathing sounds.

And their directions... they were coming from all directions. There was a huge number of them.

The enemies had now closed in. Abandoning the old man and running away would be the best option, but...

"I can't just leave him behind."

I let out a brief sigh. Let's consider this a challenge. More memories started to surface. This old man couldn't die now.

"Ahhhh! Ahhhhh! Kkool! Kkululu! Ia! Kkul padan!"

But I couldn't take him with me in this state.

"Old man, please be quiet—no, please go to sleep!"

I reached out and covered the old man's eyes. "Ahhhh! Kkul padan!" Oh, come on!

[Ra's Golden Sand]

Magical sand that induced sleep poured from my hand.

"Uuuurgh..."

When you wake up, you'll be in a safe place.

I caught the old man as he started to collapse to the ground... Ugh, heavy! I cast my magic and slung him over my shoulders.

[Strength of the Bull]

[Endurance of the Bear]

[Invisible Hand]

Even with the spells enhancing my strength, I had to use telekinesis to carry the old man. Damn it, a strength level of 5 is too low! Give me my artifacts back!

[Leap]

I jumped toward the sky which was filled with fog and ominous magical power.

"Aaaargh!"

At the same time, bizarre silhouettes emerged from all directions.

"Gruruk! Where, where is he!"

"He disappeared! Gruk, gruk, gruruk!"

"Aaaargh! There, on the wall!"

One of the figures who could only be seen as a shadow because of the fog pointed in my direction.

"What If I told you this old man had a stomach ache and I was just helping him?"

"Kkul! Futagun!"

"Aaaargh! Aaaargh!"

Wasn't there a way to resolve this through talking?

I leaped again and moved to another nearby roof. Shadows of frog-like figures climbing the wall surrounded me in great numbers.

"Still as popular as ever today."

I leaped again to dodge the frog-like figures leaping at me. The houses in this rural area were too far apart! I kicked a dried persimmon tree, stepped on a wall, ran for a bit, and then climbed onto another roof.

"Gyaaagh!"

"Whanglu, glunama!"

"Huh?"

Some figures leaped at me like frogs, others ran along the muddy path, and some were already climbing the wall again.

They couldn't see well because of the fog either, yet they were very sensitive. I hadn't recovered all my memories yet. How were they tracking me? Did they have good hearing? Or maybe smell?

"Weren't these supposed to be good villagers? How annoying."

Whether they were good or bad was beside the point; these weren't human villagers. The real villagers—the humans enslaved by this different race and held in this village—were fleeing from the commotion.

The figures chasing me had unusual silhouettes.

For a moment, I glanced down at the shadow beneath my feet.

Yeah, it's quite similar.

The silhouettes chasing me looked similar to me now.

"It's because I'm wearing this mask."

A grotesque mask resembling a frog's face. So, were those masked figures chasing me? No, they were...

[Strangely staggering steps, hunched postures, grotesquely twisted faces, pale and lifeless skin, excessively protruding huge eyes, flapping wrinkles under their chins. Monsters with bizarre shapes that look like they are wearing human skin inside out. They are the true residents of this human village. Sinister hybrids who inherited the bloodlines of different races living beneath the murky waters are tracking you.]

"I know."

They weren't wearing masks.

Once again, I pushed away the reality before my eyes, and the echoes of the past took over my mind.

Deep sea guys. Did they imprison people here to increase their kin? There are hybrids everywhere.

Humans who inherited the blood of the deep sea people.

They look human on the outside, but they're monsters in essence. As they grow, they transform into monsters, and when they become complete monsters, they return to the sea.

Residents of the deep sea who worship Dagon.

And the people of the deep sea who are favored by Dagon.

Monsters with scales and fins who breathe through gills.

[Just imagining the true form they will eventually attain causes a horrifying crack in your soul.]

"Damn it, just let me be for a bit."

I eat my carrots well, and I only play games for an hour a day, right? Let's help good Kim Shin-hwa just this once.

Fortunately, I didn't get the whole mental strength check nonsense with that brief flash of memory.

"Graaaah!"

Finally, one of them reached the roof where I stood. Crack, snap. I heard the noise of artificial tiles made of plastic breaking apart.

"Hey, watch your step."

[Slippery Floor]

"Grurrk?!"

It was just a spell that made the floor slippery.

Unable to stay long on the roof set at an unstable angle, the creature slid down with a whooshing sound and fell beneath the roof.

Those creatures were not yet "adults". They were hybrids with the blood of deep-sea people and they were destined to become complete monsters as they grew.

But for now, they still retained their human appearance. Just as the village chief's appearance hadn't been a very big issue for me, I could barely accept their current form.

I guess it was their sense of smell after all.

It didn't really matter if it was their hearing or some other sense.

I decided to add a spicy smell to the mist.

I stretched out my arms and cast a spell.

[Explosive Smoke]

Whoooosh!!

A huge amount of white smoke burst from my hands.

The smoke got mixed with the milky fog covering the village and became one. Even I couldn't distinguish anything through it.

This wasn't just ordinary smoke.

[Leap]

I used leap again while carrying the old man.

"Grurrk! Chase them!"

The deep-sea hybrids climbed onto the roof without any preparation.

Boom! Bang!

A sudden explosion happened.

The deep-sea hybrids were caught off guard by the sudden blast and were thrown off.

"Tadaaa~, this magical smoke explodes at the slightest touch."

Boom! Crash! Kaboom!!

A chain of explosions followed.

As expected, gathering them neatly and hitting them with an area-of-effect attack is the way to go.

I intentionally didn't fight back and lured them in.

Of course, they weren't weak enough to be wiped out by this.

This should be enough.

The tremendous noise and the unique smell of gunpowder. The flashing lights and the shaking magic. No matter how they were tracking me, they would inevitably lose my position.

"Just in case, let's add one more thing."

I created one more new spell at the peak height of my leap.

[Mirror Image]

[Spell Reinforcement: Multicasting]

Swoosh!

Dozens of Kim Shin-hwas scattered in all directions. Each one ran in a different direction.

"What, what is this!? What's happening!! Grurrk!"

The deep-sea hybrids lost their direction and were left floundering.

[Invisible Hand]

Crash!

The roof tiles collapsed, and the pursuers fell from the roof.

[Magic Bullet]

Boom!

The wall crumbled, and windows shattered.

Boom!

And still, the explosive smoke kept causing explosions.

"Grurrk! Where are you!"

"Grurk, grurk! Over there! That way!"

"Grurrk!! Stop! Stop it!"

By this point, there was no need to struggle to escape. I confidently ran across the rooftops while examining the shapes of the buildings.

Let's see, was it that house?

It was the home of the old man sleeping on my shoulder. It wasn't yet a situation where I could face the deep-sea hybrids head-on.

I still have memories that haven't returned yet.

I would fill in the missing parts there and then move on to the next stage.