Chapter 159: The Shadow of Insu Village (8)

H- OOO- O- OO- H- OO- OOO-

Through Red's mind came a faint song. Though it was undeniably beautiful, it felt oddly unpleasant and eerie to me, who was a human.

But it seemed to sound different to the people of the sea.

The deep sea hybrids who were gathered in the warehouse started to react.

After a brief silence.

H- OOO- O- OO- H- OO- OOO-

"Greuk, I can hear the sound of waves."

"Greuk, grrrk. This feeling of longing..."

And then the murmurs began.

"I'm going. Grrr, grrrk. I must leave."

"Grrrk, to the sea where the great Dragon King resides..."

"Ohhh... Grrrk, grrr..."

"Greuk, grrk, grrrrk grrr..."

The melody that stimulated their instincts as deep-sea people led them.

"Greuk, grouk."

"Greak, groak. Grreak."

Now, no words understandable to humans could be heard. They walked with vacant expressions while emitting bizarre sounds from their throats as if they had forgotten how to speak human language.

Following the song of the waves that called them, they slowly moved and trailing the red beast that wielded Dagon's magical power.

"Someone should open the door for them."

They had probably forgotten how to open the door themselves. There was no need to hide anymore. I approached the warehouse and opened the door for them.

Clank—

OOO- O- OO- H

"Grrrk- grrrk-"

"Grrrrrr- grrrk- grrrk-"

"Grrrk- grrrk- grrrk-"

They were no different from a group of frogs in midsummer. They continued to walk through the open door.

"Yes, Red, take them to that far-off dump."

No, that was too difficult an expression.

"Red, fly after the moon."

I couldn't see the moon, but Red instinctively sensed the Great Yin energy of the moon.

Rustle—

The deep-sea hybrids were walking like frogs and Red was flying after the moon.

After confirming they had disappeared beyond the mist, I severed my connection with Red.

"It shouldn't last too long."

I blinked my left eye several times to adjust to my returned vision and went into the warehouse.

"Hmm, not bad."

A huge sailing ship.

The view was different from Red's perspective. They had truly made something outrageous.

This was a ship created for highly ritualistic purposes, based on the knowledge of the deep-sea people.

"It seems to be connected to the earth veins around here."

That explained the contamination of the surrounding environment. It was partly due to the decayed moisture and Dagon's magical power, but mostly because this ship was absorbing all the earth's energy in the vicinity. Was this why the water on the village outskirts had dried up?

When I expanded my senses and looked closely, I saw that there was a huge amount of magic stones inside the ship. Were they its power source? The ship itself had immense value, but just extracting those magic stones would secure a fortune.

"Though I have plenty of magic stones myself."

All the magic stones I had gathered were stored inside Doldol. They were taken from Cheong-ho's fallout shelter and from that... skeleton.

That skeleton from the Hungry Mansion. What was his name again? Damn it.

The positions of forgotten memories and those not forgotten were shifting.

When did it start happening? Could it be a symptom triggered by uttering Dagon's name?

No, that wasn't it. It was a little before that.

Was it from the seizure I had when I saw that thing on the outskirts of the village?

Yes. The symptoms of amnesia started changing from that point.

My mind was filled with pitch-black greedy seawater.

It was the image that came to mind when I first realized my amnesia.

Continuing with that metaphor, my mind was now like ...

A chaotic and turbulent sea.

The newly activated distortion had stirred the once-calm sea.

As a result, memories that had sunk into the pitch-black depths and become invisible surfaced and mixed with current memories.

In exchange, the swirling seawater swallowed other memories.

If this symptom continues to get worse, what state will I end up in?

Kim Shin-hwa, who forgot everything outside of Insu Village? Or something even more horrifying?

In any case, there was no time.

I needed to solve this problem before I forgot something more important.

"I don't have the luxury to think about other things."

My memories were disappearing faster and faster. Of course, something else was coming to mind in their place.

- The worst situation that could happen during the ritual is probably that... right?

- That problem can be overcome using Dagon's ship that the deep-sea people made.

- But to use that ship, there are preparations that need to be made beforehand...

- Hmm, future Kim Shin-hwa will have to overcome it with skill.

Past Kim Shin-hwa's plans came to mind.

"How could you make plans this carelessly?"

If the lost memories hadn't resurfaced at the right time, or if I had been any later and forgotten other memories, it would have been an impossible plan.

I could even forget the fact that I am a mage.

Well, there wasn't much choice.

Past Kim Shin-hwa must have been in a similar situation to mine now.

Desperately holding on to fading memories, he made the best preparations he could.

"I guess I have to do the same."

I cast a spell toward the ship.

[Perception]

This was the third time I cast this spell.

While casting this spell, I became defenseless. Even now, some memories were slowly disappearing.

First, I poured all my magical power into that huge sailing ship made for Dagon.

Crackle!!

Boom!!

What a tremendous reaction. The fog would hide some of it, but it was impossible to conceal everything.

The parts that past Kim Shin-hwa couldn't predict or went wrong were...

In the end, since it was my karma, I had to correct it myself. I revised the plans made by past Kim Shin-hwa and added a new strategy.

Honestly, this plan was even more unstable than what the past Kim Shin-hwa had made...

"Well, the future Kim Shin-hwa will overcome it with brilliant skills."

Just as the past Kim Shin-hwa left notes for me, I had no choice but to leave a message for the future Kim Shin-hwa.

Crackle!!

Alright. The preparations for the ship were complete.

I used my abilities on something too large. I've almost exhausted my magical power.

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

Shit, someone's coming.

I quickly turned my body and watched the door of the warehouse. Someone was approaching through the writhing gray fog.

Is there no good way?

Even with the things I had... Ah, this one I would never lose.

I squeezed out all the remaining magical power and began to take very complex measures.

"Grrk, young man, you're too much."

A deep-sea voice mixed with a distinctive throat resonance and metallic sound.

This was the worst. It was the village chief. No, in some sense, it could be the best.

"I told you not to leave the house, didn't I?"

"Wow, it's an amazing ship."

I turned to look at him.

The village chief rolled his eyes for a moment and then said in a discontented tone.

"Grrrk- while I went to get food, you turned the whole village upside down."

"Ugh, there was a misunderstanding."

I briefly twisted the corners of my lips into a smile under the mask.

I wasn't fully prepared yet.

I needed to buy time. In that sense, the chief was the best one for that. He was probably the most communicative among the deep-sea hybrids in this village.

"Misunderstanding? You may not understand because you're from outside, but this is an important faith for our villagers."

"Faith, huh? It didn't seem like everyone in the village agreed with your opinion, Chief."

"The villagers? Haha... what nonsense. Just as you use cows and pigs as livestock, to us, you are no different from livestock."

What was he talking about? Hearing such things was unbearable.

"Chief, if you put it that way, it means you were born from the belly of a cow or pig."

"Shut up! I have transcended Homo sapiens and been reborn as a great deep-sea race destined to rule this earth!"

Ah, he was angry, very angry. Luckily, I had finished my preparations too.

It was better to get to the main point now.

"Well, regardless of my opposition to your faith, fulfilling the contract is a different matter. How about it? How about getting along with cows and pigs in a business sense?"

The village chief ground his teeth and glared at me. What was he going to do by glaring? He couldn't attack me anyway.

Didn't he need me for the Dragon King Festival tomorrow? Was he not going to hold the Dragon King Festival?

"Young man."

"Yes."

"You said you were here on the request and introduction of Yong-soo who went beyond the barrier, right?"

Is that the story? I don't know who Yong-soo is, but I do remember some parts.

"Yes, that's correct. They say that those who help with the ritual here are given the right to make a wish to the Dragon King, right?"

"Because of the wish. That's right. In the past, there have been a few people like you who crossed the barrier carrying offerings."

It seemed there was nothing wrong with what I said, but the village chief let out a strange smile and said something peculiar.

I feel like someone spoke to me like that before.

I didn't remember who, but I vaguely recalled not feeling very good about it at the time.

"Hmm, you seem to be preparing to say some profound and impressive words, aren't you? What's your point?"

"Profound and impressive words? Haha, that's a good expression. Yes, I'll give you some profound and impressive words."

The village chief paused for a moment and then continued.

"Do you know what happened to the outsiders who obtained the right to make a wish in this Insu village before?"

I don't remember. But it sounds like a clichéd story.

"Aha, I get it. In the end, they all died. Is this going to lead to a 'you die too, Kieeeeeh!' kind of story?"

At my words, the old man made a disgusted face for a moment and then gave the answer.

"No, they all had their wishes come true. They all came with different wishes, but the last wish they made was the same."

"What was it?"

"To become a member of this village and live forever."

For the deep-sea people, the concept of lifespan did not exist.

As long as no one beat them to death, they continued to grow, and the more they grew, the more they ate, and the more they ate, the larger they became.

This meant that becoming a deep-sea person granted the blessing of immortality.

"Hmm. I think I might be a bit different."

Turning into a frog in exchange for living forever was not a choice any sane human would make.

However, the village chief spoke firmly.

"No, you're not different at all. By the way, that mask you're wearing. You've been wearing it diligently. Well done. Very well done."

The mask I was wearing now? Suddenly, I recalled the message left by the past Kim Shin-hwa.

And Kim Shin-hwa 6 didn't understand the game's system, so he went crazy and died after circling the same place back in the game.

When I was about to gain some insight, the village chief's mouth emitted strange words.

"E Khomo mhai, cka po'e hiruru hriu o kawa! Iä! Iä! Dagon! Iä! Iä! Cthulhu fhtagn!"

Shit, was he using a spell? But I had neither the strength nor the magic left to counter it.

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

[The mask you are wearing is imbued with the blessing of the deep sea.]

"Ah, now I get it."

At the same time, a lengthy string of nonsense appeared before my eyes.

[A new power has been imbued into the mask, which is modeled after the form of a deep-sea person. You cannot remove this mask. You do not want to remove it. The desire to become one with the villagers and to be a part of the deep sea community starts to take root in your mind. Your consciousness is drawn to the beautiful deep sea, the ocean. You are being pulled deeper and deeper underwater. You can live an eternal life as a member of the deep-sea people.]

I started to feel like I was being sucked into the murky dark sea.

This too was prepared by the past Kim Shin-hwa...

Kim Shin-hwa collapsed to the ground without any resistance.

"A mere rookie from beyond the barrier giving us such trouble."

The village chief made a grating sound as he approached the fallen Kim Shin-hwa.

At that moment,

Crackle!

Blue sparks erupted around Kim Shin-hwa's temples.

"Ugh!?"

This was the first time he'd seen such a reaction. Had the hypnosis spell, which had never failed before, actually failed?

"What the...? What was that?"

As expected, this one was the most peculiar he'd ever seen. The village chief maintained his vigilance and watched the fallen Kim Shin-hwa for a moment.

But that was all.

No further unusual signs were found in Kim Shin-hwa.

"Indeed, how could a mere human mage block the power of the Dragon King?"

Such magic or abilities were unheard of. The village chief made a grating sound and smiled with satisfaction.