Chapter 27: Crazy Mage

Twenty-eight minutes or rather now twenty-nine minutes had passed since the ghoul eradication operation began in the underground parking lot.

Kwak Dae-yong, the team leader of Yeonam Construction's security team, thought to himself.

Something is wrong.

There were far too many ghouls.

This couldn't be happening!

It was inconceivable.

In the beginning, Kwak Dae-yong had estimated about thirty ghouls.

He had even stretched his estimate to a maximum of around sixty, but even that was a very conservative calculation.

Therefore, it was supposed to be a mission that Kwak Dae-yong's team alone could sufficiently handle.

The suggestion to hire a mage from outside was solely Moon Seung-hee's idea.

For the sake of the operation's swiftness and precision, to minimize damage, and to prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

- Gyahhaaaaaaaa!!!

A ghoul emerged from the darkness and attacked Kwak Dae-yong with its swinging vicious claws.

"Get lost!"

Kwak Dae-yong swung the battle hammer he held in both hands with lightning speed.

Baaaaang!!!

The ghoul's head struck by the hammer that was infused with magical power shattered instantly, and the floor of the underground parking lot was stained bright red with blood spurting from the ghoul's head.

"Huff... Huff..."

It's my limit now... There are too many ghouls!

Before he knew it, he had knocked down all the ghouls that had been charging at him.

Even though it was a brief moment of rest, Kwak Dae-yong couldn't find proper peace or even relax his guard.

Kwak Dae-yong blinked his large eyes and started scanning his surroundings.

His gaze was anxious, his breathing unstable, his complexion pale, and his stance tensely poised for attack.

Over-the-top violence and exaggerated speech.

Signs of fear, madness, and confusion were becoming apparent on him.

"Where the hell is this...?"

Was this parking lot always this vast?

The surroundings were dark, wide, and openly spacious in every direction.

He could only see the repetitive large gray columns made of concrete.

The finishing work was still not done. There was no paint or sign to indicate anything.

The same scenery kept appearing in the deep darkness.

Kwak Dae-yong, who was in a state of confusion, felt as if he was trapped in this endless space.

"What the fu*k is going on..."

At that moment, a strange name popped into his head.

Kim Shin-hwa. That rookie mage...

Kim Shin-hwa's voice echoed in his head.

He initially thought that the guy was either crazy or that he was empty bragging to inflate his own worth.

But his words turned out to be true.

Indeed, more than a hundred ghouls were swarming in this underground parking lot.

"Fu*k it... Fu*k it all..."

After a moment of restless agitation, Kwak Dae-yong shouted in a vague direction.

He couldn't help but scream; it was unbearable to remain silent.

"Everyone! Where are you! Gather here! Yeom Cheol-min! Hyung-gu! Choi Mi-na!"

It was already too late.

An abnormal darkness lay in all directions, and his subordinates were nowhere to be seen.

The moment he entered the second basement level, he started hearing a strange bell sound.

Ding.

Yes, that sound.

Everything started to go wrong right after he heard that sound.

Ding.

Come to think of it, why did I rashly dash down to the second basement level? Shouldn't I have moved more slowly as originally planned? (Ding) That bell sound again? What is it? Why is such a sound heard in this basement? Every time that bell rings, ghouls pour out. (Ding) And as the world darkens, I'm engulfed in an unpleasant, maddening rage, and at some point, I lost all my men. Where am I exactly? (Ding) Kim Shin-hwa, that rookie mage, where did he run off to? He was so confident earlier, but where did he go now! Save me! Please, get me out of this darkness! (Ding) Ghouls appear. I must fight, kill them. Kill them all. I will survive. I will outlive them all by killing them!

Crash! Crunch!

Where am I?

It's so dark!

- Screeeeeeech!!!

Enough!

Crack! Bang!

Enough, come out! You monsters!

Bang! Crash! Bang! Crack! Crunch!!

Kwak Dae-yong kept swinging his battle hammer around.

Swinging and swinging, he just continued to swing.

Thud, thud! Thump, crack!!

The ghoul he had been pounding had long since become a shapeless mass of flesh, pulverized beyond recognition, but Kwak Dae-yong did not stop hammering.

"Heh heh... Fu*k it... Damn it... Die! Fu*k you, die!"

Crack, crasssssh!

Eventually, he lost direction and ended up striking the empty floor.

"Cough, damn it... Heh heh, heh heh... Fu*k it, hahaha..."

His hands trembled from the shock.

The hammer, loaded with excessive force, rage, and madness, had shattered the floor, which was smeared with disgusting mucus and blood.

When he lifted the hammer slightly, he saw that the floor was crushed, leaving a hole the size of two human heads.

"Shit..."

His hand felt numb from the unnecessary flailing. He paused for a moment and endured the sharp pain in his hands.

Ding.

"Shit... not the bell sound again!"

He had forgotten that every time he heard the bell sound, in his excessive excitement and anger, ghouls always rushed towards him.

Kwak Dae-yong momentarily looked in the direction where the bell sounded and cursed.

And he immediately paid the price for his complacent actions.

- Screeeeech!!!

A new ghoul rushed out from a completely blind spot.

"Damn it—!"

Kwak Dae-yong spat out a curse and tried to retrieve his hammer, but he was a beat too late.

There was no other choice.

Kwak Dae-yong accepted the risk of further injury to his side and channeled his magical power into his fist before swinging...

[Arrow of Destruction]

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

[Spell Enhancement: Toxicity]

Boom, crash, Baaang! Bang bang bang!!!

A sinister purple magic shot that was filled with malevolent energy flew in and deflected the ghoul that was attacking Kwak Dae-yong.

It was a spell cast by Kim Shin-hwa.

Although it was a spell that saved his life, Kwak Dae-yong found it difficult to feel grateful or relieved by the spell.

Hiss...

- Screeeech!!

The ghoul that was struck by Kim Shin-hwa's magic rolled to the ground and let out a chilling, ghastly scream.

Even Kwak Dae-yong who went through various battlefields found the spell to be bizarre and hard to get used to.

The parts of the ghoul hit by the magic arrow began to swell with black inflammation, and soon, yellow pus started to flow out, dissolving the ghoul's body.

- Gyaaaagh! Gyaaaaaaagh!!

Horrible and repulsive holes began to form all over the ghoul's body.

Kim Shin-hwa's magic was incredibly accurate and astonishingly powerful.

But... What is this horrific spell? This rookie mage infused his spell with some kind of malevolent poison!

"Ugh...!"

Kwak Dae-yong clutched his mouth to suppress the rising nausea and urge to vomit.

His head was spinning. He felt as if he might go insane at any moment.

He had heard that many mages were sociopaths or psychopaths, but he had never encountered one like this.

Rrrrrrrrrrrr—

He started hearing the sound of rolling wheels.

What was that noise? Kwak Dae-yong looked momentarily puzzled, but quickly raised his hammer as he realized the sound was approaching him.

And then, emerging from the darkness...

A hideous mask with four eyes.

If not for the magical light and the intense glow of its eyes, he would have failed to recognize the figure in the pitch-black darkness.

It was a mage wearing a bizarre mask.

It was Kim Shin-hwa.

Only when he came fully into view did Kwak Dae-yong identify the strange source of the wheel sound.

"Huh... You were riding that?"

A skateboard.

Kim Shin-hwa was riding a large skateboard.

"I didn't think I'd need to use it today, but I had to because team leader went too far ahead. It took me a while to find you."

"Thanks... I owe you my life. And I'm sorry for the disgraceful scene."

After receiving Kwak Dae-yong's sincere gratitude and apology, Kim Shin-hwa scratched his mask for a moment and appeared to be contemplating what to say.

"Hmm... I'm glad you managed to break free from the madness on your own. Otherwise, I was wondering if I should beat some sense into you."

To Kim Shin-hwa, the most straightforward way to awaken someone engulfed in madness was through attacking him. That had always been his belief.

"Uhm..."

Although Kwak Dae-yong felt a mild anger towards Kim Shin-hwa's ruthless attitude, he wasn't in a position to openly express his anger. After all, this man had saved his life.

Moreover, Kwak Dae-yong realized the desperate need for Kim Shin-hwa's help, not just for himself but also to ensure the safety of his subordinates.

"What about the others... my men?"

"That's a good point you raised. I'm currently busy. I can't keep attending to you alone."

After saying this, Kim Shin-hwa activated a spell in a certain direction.

[Aiming Correction]

[Arrow of Destruction]

Whooooosh-Boom!

- Screeeeech!

Even as Kim Shin-hwa engaged in conversation and observed Kwak Dae-yong's complexion, his senses were extended throughout the entire underground parking lot.

Understanding the situation, Kwak Dae-yong picked up his battle hammer and said,

"Now that I'm back to my senses... go save the others!"

"Understood. I'll guide them to gather nearby. Don't stray too far away from me."

"Got it."

Rrrrrrrrrrr—

Kim Shin-hwa stomped his feet on the ground a few times. Then he disappeared in a way that even Kwak Dae-yong found absurd.

[Hardening]

[Leap]

[Fireball]

Boom!!

He triggered a fireball beneath his skateboard that was protected with a spell from the impact, catapulting himself into the air with the explosion's force. This was a technique Kim Shin-hwa self-titled "Explosive Leap".

He made use of the explosion's very force to move at an explosive speed while casting spells.

[Chains of Domination]

[Spell Enhancement: Range Increase]

Swishhhhhhhhhhh!!!

Golden chains sprang from Kim Shin-hwa's palms, shooting out like snakes with a will of their own in every direction.

They coiled around their targets, stripping away their freedom, and...

Magical chains that could force desired actions were wrapped around several ghouls.

- Screeeeech!!!

Once they were wrapped with the Chains of Domination, the ghouls moved in bizarre ways like marionettes controlled by a puppeteer's will before they started attacking their own kind.

With fists, claws, feet, heads, and teeth.

The ghouls that were too damaged to be of any further use were forced to perform bizarre movements that no normal living being could handle.

Grgrgrgrgrg!!!

Crack, snap, crunch! Crack-snap-crunch!!

The bodies of the ghouls, forced into movements beyond their joints' limits, emitted horrific tearing sounds as they were ripped apart.

Each time Kim Shin-hwa cast a new spell, ghouls lurking in the darkness were destroyed in truly gruesome ways.

"Is that really a human?"

This was not said by Kwak Dae-yong.

Kwak Dae-yong hurriedly turned in the direction of the sound.

It was one of his subordinates from the security team.

A veteran agent and a former fixer who had worked with Kwak Dae-yong several times with efficient coordination.

Yet currently, he let his weapon hang loosely at his feet as he stared into the darkness with a dazed expression on his face.

Forgetting his own mission and the crisis at hand, he simply stared at Kim Shin-hwa's movements.

"What are you doing, dumba**! Snap out of it!"

"Ca-Captain...!"

"Have you lost your mind? Just going to stand here and watch what others are doing?"

"But... look at that..."

Kwak Dae-yong's subordinate didn't finish his sentence, but Kwak Dae-yong felt like he already knew what he wanted to say.

Do we even need to do anything?

"Hmm..."

Kwak Dae-yong swallowed hard and turned his head in the direction his subordinate was looking.

Kim Shin-hwa reappeared from an unexpected direction and activated a new spell.

This time, a bright fluorescent blue light illuminated Kim Shin-hwa's body.

The mask was revealed beneath the flipped black hood.

Why did I think that mask looked funny before?

It was a bizarre mask as if it sprung from the midst of a nightmare.

The four eyes on the mask lit up at the same time, casting a chilling glow.

Crackle-crack-crack!!!

Huge ice spikes formed in mid-air, tearing through the bodies of the ghouls.

Kim Shin-hwa who created yet another hellish scene stared into the air at a strange angle before shaking his head.

"Oh, get out of my way! I can't see anything!"

Even though it was such a tense situation, Kim Shin-hwa shouted something that didn't make any sense and waved his arms in the air as if shooing something invisible.

At the same time, he kicked the back of his skateboard and leaped to an incredible height before disappearing into the darkness.

"This guy... why is he acting like that?"

"Perhaps, he's a bit crazy in the head?"