Chapter 30: Ghoul Shaman

A small silver bell with a short handle.

Engraved on its surface were bizarre and blasphemous patterns.

It was a powerful artifact, imbued with a malevolent aura.

And that artifact... was clutched in a bony hand protruding from the wall.

"Tha-that thing... a hand coming out of the wall?"

One of the security team members said something in disbelief, but that wasn't the end of it.

A person slowly began to walk out from the large red circle drawn on the wall.

"...You have ruined our plans."

Small and frail in stature, draped in tattered robes, with long unkempt white hair.

His entire body was covered in grotesque tattoos, and his eyes glowed a sinister green.

Even though he clearly had a human appearance, he was a terrifying being, far more dreadful than any ghoul or zombie.

He stood leaning against the inner wall of the underground parking lot while staring at me.

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

Before that huge and hideous pattern, the old man, no, the cult's high priest, voiced out his seething rage towards me.

Clothed in a robe resembling a sackcloth, with long white hair.

His entire body was covered with bizarre tattoos, and his eyes shone with an ominous, dark green glow.

A grotesque old man who was clearly human in form yet exuded a dread far surpassing any ghoul or zombie approached while shaking a silver bell.

"Our cult's great undertaking, you dare to interfere..."

"A cult?"

"Yes! The prowler among the tombs..."

The old man continued as he slowly raised his trembling arms. A grating, phlegmy voice emanated from his lips.

"The prowler among the tombs, the greatest and mightiest of ghouls, the progenitor of the ghoul species, and the father of all ghouls who has bestowed his magnificent flesh upon this unworthy servant..."

I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh.

What is this bastard?

Was there such an NPC in the Demonic Cult, those who worship the [Father of All Ghouls]?

Judging by his condition, the level of magic he possessed, and the artifact in his hand, he was at least a high-ranking priest, if not the cult leader.

Even if I completed the ongoing "guests from the underworld" quest and followed it with the series of subsequent quests, no such character should appear.

An entity outside the game's settings? Or just an NPC I had yet to encounter?

Numerous questions arose in my mind, but it seemed unlikely I'd get any answers.

The condition of the one who should provide those answers... did not look promising.

The old man holding the bell scratched his furrowed forehead furiously and was mumbling to himself incoherently.

"You came too soon, too soon. If only, if only you had been a little slower, we could have summoned more quality followers... Regrettable, so regrettable. We could have turned this entire building into our sacred temple, but we lacked enough sacrifices to gather more power... What a shame... a shame..."

Kwak Dae-yong gritted his teeth in anger.

"Turn this place into your gathering spot?... This bastard..."

Kwak Dae-yong, who interpreted the old man's words in his own way, raised his hammer and shouted.

"This crazy old man! Who's backing you to commit such filthy acts?"

"Kukuku... Backing? Backing? The only one who can command us is our Lord, only our Lord! Following the divine revelations and commands of our great leader, we prepared to conduct a major and holy ritual, yes, the underground ritual, to prepare for the feast... But then, these worthless trash, not even fit to be ghoul fodder, dare to interfere with the grand plan bestowed by the [Father of All Ghouls]..."

The old man wearing a sackcloth-like robe continued to rant and rave with unrelenting momentum.

Though this was my first experience with such an event, it wasn't my first encounter with this kind of scenario.

The cultists, their minds deranged... no, having peered into the deep abyss and realized the truths of this world.

Their behavior was typically like this. Hmm... It's a chore to listen to such ramblings without a skip button. I wish I could press skip.

Before I could do anything, Kwak Dae-yong had already intercepted the old man's words.

"RItual? Lord? What kind of bullshit is this!"

Kwak Dae-yong, who fell for the provocation, looked ready to wield his hammer and charge out at any moment.

But then again, rushing in here wouldn't make any difference...

[Telepathy]

[Team Leader, forget that. I'll handle this. Just take care of your men.]

"What? Oh... uh... okay."

Kwak Dae-yong was initially startled by my voice penetrating directly into his head, but he maintained his guard and slowly stepped back.

I lightly tapped him on the side and spoke slowly.

"Team Leader Kwak Dae-yong, this old man isn't some fixer sent to lower the apartment's sales price."

"What are you saying? Then why is he pulling this crazy stunt?"

"It's because of religious beliefs. Anyway, he's not someone you can reason with, and if you keep listening, he'll never stop expounding his worldview... no, rambling on with pointless talk. So just stop it."

There must have been a bizarre and grand plan, beyond the comprehension of a normal human perspective or ideology.

The deviation from the original quest flow was probably due to the effect of [Feast Offering]. One of the beings from the abyss must have imparted a revelation to the old man.

****

[Feast Offering]: Increased probability of encountering beings from the abyss; heightened chances of attracting their attention; an increase in the number of monsters appearing; an increased probability of elite monsters emerging.

/ You are the feast prepared for the beings of the abyss.

****

And I suspected that if I stepped in, the true nature of things would soon be revealed.

"Yes, yes, you're the one."

Look at that. His expression changed.

The old man, with his bony and yellowed hand that wasn't holding the bell, pointed at me and said,

"The great, the great Father of Ghouls has bestowed a revelation. The other world, the sacrifice brought from the other world, the feast offering. The Lord desires you, you."

A sacrifice brought from the other world?

"Hey, what does that mean?"

"Kukuku... With more than a hundred of our kind slain and having earned the title of a slayer, we cannot waste our pitiful kin on you... For the grand, the grand advent, the beautiful, the beautiful time of destruction, become the burnt offering, offering."

Crazy, there was no reasoning with him. If I had known it would come to this, I should have struck first instead of wasting time listening to that nonsense.

The old man, a cultist of the Demonic order and a Ghoul Shaman, or Oungan (a voodoo priest), slowly retreated while shaking the silver bell he held in his hand.

Ding—

A sinister green mist charged with dark magic began to gather around the old man.

"Ah, damn it. He's transforming! Stop him!"

"What? Transforming?"

Although I spoke to Kwak Dae-yong, that idiot failed to grasp my intent and panicked. Ah, damn it! Among the spells I could use now, the fastest was...

[Arrow of Destruction]

Ssssssssss... Bang!

The magic from the nether realm burst out, emitting a bizarrely colored radiance.

As the magic projectile flew, I pushed more magical power into it, adding new properties, directions, and destructive power.

[Spell Enhancement: Multicasting]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

Zzzzshshshshsh!!

The magic projectile that received the new will and magical power split in the air, took the shape of spewing buckshot and flew away over a wide area.

Kwagagagagaga!!

But it was already too late. Before the sound of the explosion from the hit could be heard, I had an intuition of what had happened.

The old man had already moved out of the range of the magic projectile at lightning speed.

"He's gone!"

"Where is he? What's going on?"

Chaotic shouts erupted among the security team members.

In their attempt to locate the vanished old man, their handheld lights moved erratically.

But all that was visible were bizarre murals, the sprawled bodies of ghouls, and the shattered, scattered remains of humans.

Ah, really. Aren't these guys employed for their skills? Is this really all they can do?

"There! [Fireball]!"

Whooooosh!!

The magical power escaping from my body condensed into a massive sphere ball of flame, glowing red with intense heat.

The fireball flew through the darkness of the underground parking lot with unhindered speed, the light from the roaring flames clearing away the damp darkness and revealing the figure of the old man hiding among them.

But before the fire could engulf the old man, two ghouls leaped out from the shadows...

- Kieeeeee!!

- Kukieeeeeh!!

Boom!!

The fireball, precisely directed and angled, was unfortunately intercepted and exploded in mid-air when two ghouls suddenly leaped into its path.

"Kuhahahaa! See, see? For the glory of the great, great prowler among the tombs, the children of the father throw themselves like dogs!"

Damn it, his faith and the artifact he held were genuine, despite his cheap incantations and crude magic.

In response to his wish, the great being dwelling deep in the abyss granted him new power.

[The Father of All Ghouls].

"Krrrrrr..."

His face, wrinkled like an old tree trunk, was grotesquely twisted.

His snout elongated, and large fangs emerged.

And then there was the sticky green mist enveloping his body.

It moved like a tangible bundle of ropes or a cloak, stickily wrapping around him.

"He's turning into a monster!"

Someone among Yeonam's security team shouted.

"Shoot! Shoot him before it's too late!"

Ratatatatatata!!!

The ominous green mist and the cold eerie aura.

hundreds of bullets poured out from about ten gun barrels, but for some reason they couldn't penetrate the green mist surrounding the old man, or rather, the ghoul shaman who had now mutated into a completely grotesque form.

As if getting lost in the mist, the bullets that flew under precise aim had their trajectories bent the moment they came into contact with the mist and scattered in a random direction.

Even those who mainly wielded melee weapons hesitated to approach the bizarre ghoul shaman.

"Keh... Kekkekkek..."

A strange laughter erupted from the ghoul shaman.

His body slowly tilted, not falling but swaying in an odd posture. Then, suddenly lifting one foot off the ground...

Boom!!

It wasn't an explosion. It was the sound of the ghoul shaman rolling his foot.

"Aaaaargh!!"

The ghoul shaman, having amassed a great deal of magical power, stamped his foot once, and then his body disappeared.

Incredible speed.

Ssss!

The ghoul shaman reappeared in the middle of the security team and struck the head of the closest team member.

Crack!

With a casual swing of his fist, a person's head was pulled out in an instant by the ghoul shaman.

Whoosh!!!

Blood gushed in an incredible volume from the severed head, which was only left with its lower jaw, staining the ceiling of the underground parking lot, where the concrete framework was exposed.

The ghoul shaman momentarily gazed at his blood-soaked hand before slowly opening his mouth.

The skin on his face had not yet stretched sufficiently to support his mouth, which elongated like a ghoul's snout.

Eventually, his cheeks were unable to bear the excessively stretched snout and tore apart with a ripping sound.

He extended his long tongue and leisurely licked the blood off his hand.

"Kuhehe, kukukukuku... Delicious."

Bizarre speed and unfathomable strength.

And a scene of utter horror.

Regardless of my will or emotions, a message window popped up and obscured my vision.

[Your mind cannot comprehend this horrific scene. You resist the fear with your Mental Strength stat. Sanity check... Success.]

However, among the ranks of the security team, screams erupted from those who couldn't overcome the situation.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

The ranks of the bewildered security team fell into disarray. Amidst the chaos, one person who was afflicted with a different form of distortion burst forth.

"You son of a bit*h!!!"