Chapter 79: Hungry Mansion (3)

Something with claws as sharp as blades scratched the car's bumper.

Judging by the spacing and size, it wasn't humanoid.

A beast with large forepaws was responsible for this.

Among the creatures that roam the wilds of Korea, none could leave such marks.

"Well, it might be possible for a mutant."

[Cthulhu World] was a crazy world where monsters and mutated beings roam freely.

A poor level of common sense or biological knowledge would only deepen your doubts.

"Whatever it is, it's a bit early for something to jump out at us."

Jang Hyeon-deok's voice came from inside the car.

"What-what's out there?"

"Hey, come down and take a look at this."

Jang Hyeon-deok shook his head silently, but as I began to frown and glare his way, he made noises of reluctance and got out of the car.

"Hey, what's with that face, huh?"

"No-Nothing, I'm just scared...."

"I understand, so look at this, will you? Was it like this before?"

"Ah! My car! Oh... No, it was fine when we left..."

"I see."

Confronted with the grim reality of car repair costs, Jang Hyeon-deok seemed to lose some of his fear.

Just moments ago, he had been too scared to move an inch, but now he was pacing around the bumper with a distressed look on his face.

"Oh, my poor car..."

"I'll cover the repair costs, so please, enough already."

"But my poor car... Huh? Mage-nim."

"Yes?"

"What on earth are these marks?"

It seems even Jang Hyeon-deok found the marks odd.

"Claw marks."

"It must have been a monster. A monster came out."

"It appears so."

"So, what I saw wasn't human."

"Isn't it better if it wasn't a human?"

"It wasn't human... It wasn't human..."

Jang Hyeon-deok's complexion changed.

Damn it, the madness is flaring up again.

His breath grew ragged, his body started trembling.

"Ah, damn it."

Though I managed to suppress his madness for a moment, I only repressed the symptoms of its emergence.

The madness itself lay dormant deep within the psyche and was ready to resurface at any moment.

"Hey! Calm down. Stop thinking about unnecessary things! Take deep breaths, deep breaths!"

I infused Jang Hyeon-deok's body with magical power and reactivated the enchantment I had placed on him before.

"Haah... Hoo... Huff..."

He seemed a bit calmer now.

"Let's head back to the car."

"Yes..."

Jang Hyeon-deok staggered towards the driver's seat.

There's a chance it could flare up again later.

Honestly, madness to the point of a mental breakdown couldn't be so easily treated. For a regular person, his resilience was remarkable. Could it be due to his mediumship talent?

As soon as we sat in the car, Jang Hyeon-deok started again.

"It definitely wasn't human..."

"Stop talking about that now."

Jang Hyeon-deok was probably mistaken. It seemed better to send him back at this point.

"A strange, strange woman. It was definitely a woman."

Trembling, Jang Hyeon-deok continued.

"It-it looked like a person, for sure. But... could it really be a person? The eyes, the eyes were definitely..."

Unable to contain his fear, he grasped his shoulders with both hands and curled up.

"The eyes were completely black, and so large. It was clear there was nothing there..."

"Suddenly appeared, you say?"

"Yes..."

It was the ghost of [The Hungry Mansion].

Normally, ghosts without a physical form shouldn't be able to get hit by cars or scratch bumpers.

But it moved outside the mansion?

"Normally, the area outside the mansion should have been safe."

Rumble... BOOM!

The sound of thunder crashing came from outside the car.

And the torrential downpour still pouring down.

The thick darkness where not even the moon was visible.

The dense and damp yin energy enveloping the entire mountain.

The smell of death emanated by the spirits.

I could roughly guess what happened.

"It seems we chose the wrong day."

No, it was the client who had set the date for the appointment.

It would be fair to say that just as I had prepared, so had the enemy.

And to add to that...

[Feast offering].

A penalty trait that increases the likelihood of encountering beings from the abyss.

One of the beings of the abyss interested in me was lending its power to the ghosts.

"If they start attacking us from here, it changes everything."

The development of the game changed due to the intervention of the abyssal entity.

I glanced momentarily at the duffel bag lying on the back seat.

It was from a well-known sports brand.

It was a bag I had acquired because not everything could fit into my backpack.

I've come well prepared, so it should work out somehow...

"Anyway, Jang Hyeon-deok, you should turn back here."

"Me?"

"Plans have changed a bit. I'll get off here, so you go back."

"But, that's..."

"Don't worry, I've deposited the fee for the request and the repair costs with Tudor, so you can claim it when you get back."

"That's..."

I took out one of the items I had prepared.

A large yellow paper with red writing scrawled across it.

A consumable artifact of typical design.

It was a talisman.

"Here."

"What's this?"

"Can't you tell? It's a talisman."

I took out a few more talismans and affixed them to the car windows.

"There, you should be fine now."

"Really?"

"Maybe?"

"......"

"No, no, really, you'll be fine. Just don't get out of the car or respond to anything the ghosts say, and you won't have any problems."

"......"

"And don't look back unnecessarily. If you look back on your way, you might get possessed."

"No, just a moment! Wait!"

"Ah, why worry? Most of them will follow me anyway. You just need to make a U-turn, close your eyes, and drive straight ahead."

They were drawn by the effect of the [Feast Offering].

Even without that, the overflowing magical power in my body was an irresistibly attractive prey for the ghosts. They would likely follow me instead of Jang Hyeon-deok.

Haaah, it's a bit disappointing. If Jang Hyeon-deok had followed me a bit longer, it would have been much easier to proceed.

"No, that's not it. I won't be turning back."

"What?"

"You may not think much of me, but I'm a professional."

Looking at him, I noticed something different in Jang Hyeon-deok's eyes.

It's not that the fear or mental shock has disappeared.

Determination, resolve, and a bit of unnecessary stubbornness were mixed in his gaze.

"I've been driving through this crazy city, dodging bullets for six years now."

"And your point?"

"My job is to take my clients to the destinations they've requested. Don't interfere with my work."

"Hmm..."

What is this guy rambling about?

It'd be better if he just left, it's more troublesome with him around.

...Though it's a bit hard to say that out loud.

Then again, it would be much easier if Jang Hyeon-deok kept driving.

"Ah, forget it. Do as you wish."

"Yesss!"

...He sure is happy about it.

"Alright, let's get ready then."

After all, it's not like we have to travel a great distance.

The building was already visible beyond that hill... 5 minutes? No, maybe about 10 minutes?

If it were a well-maintained road, it would take less than 3 minutes.

Given the unpredictable circumstances...

I further enhanced the distortion field enveloping the car with my magical power.

[Spell Amplification: Maximization]

Buzzzzzzzzz...

The range of the distortion field expanded to about a 5-meter radius.

Next, I activated various detection spells.

[Magic Detection], [Sound Detection], [Life Detection], [Spirit Detection], [Curse Detection], [Temperature Detection], [Invisibility Detection]...

"What a pain in the ass."

There were a few patterns to this quest.

The most common was the pattern where invisible ghosts appeared first.

Otherwise, it's the pattern where entities possess human bodies.

From afar, the faint cries of ghosts could be heard.

- Aaaahhhh...

- Together... together...

- Let's die together... so lonely...

At the moment, the current pattern was one in which ghosts appear.

Spirits with malevolent intent writhed within the unseen darkness.

Would it have been dangerous if I hadn't stopped to detect them around here?

It seemed that the ghosts of those who had met their end in the mountains, the souls of animals, and various wandering spirits from the vicinity had all converged here.

Last time, in that place where only a zombie or two should have emerged, over thirty appeared, along with a giant zombie that was supposed to appear elsewhere.

"No choice then."

"Is-is there a problem?"

"It seems all the wandering spirits in this mountain have gathered."

"What should I do?"

"Just be careful and drive well."

[Ibn Ghazi's Beacon]

Paaaaaaaaa—

A lump of burning light appeared in an ethereal form in front of the vehicle.

"I'll block those that charge at us."

It was a magic that revealed the forms of those without substance.

The lesser ones couldn't even approach.

Issues like the invisible ghost earlier, suddenly leaping out and crashing into the car, could be prevented.

And a few other things besides that.

[Prayer of Protection]

[Protective Circle]

[Power Expulsion]

"This should suffice."

"Th-that's great!"

Oh, there's one problem left though.

If Jang Hyeon-deok who was holding the steering wheel lost his mind, there would be a major accident.

The car began to move.

This is beyond my control.

Even I lack magic to prevent distortion.

Isn't there some spell to instill a sort of baseless courage in him?

Among the rituals of cultists, there were such practices.

But those were actually meant to induce madness which would create something akin to berserk warriors.

Such a spell wasn't appropriate for use now.

The sounds of the car navigating the bumpy road filled the air.

Intermingled with these were the faint sounds of ghostly laughter.

Chijichik... Chijijijijik...

The radio turned on by itself.

Strange shapes writhed in the pitch-black void.

"This is turning more into a horror show by the minute."

As the mansion drew closer, the paranormal activity intensified.

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

Wasn't it activated earlier? Notify me quickly then!

Bang! Thud... Thump!

Red handprints began to appear on the window.

"Uuuuuuuu...!"

A strange noise emerged from Jang Hyeon-deok's mouth,

"Focus on driving! They can't get inside the car anyway!"

"Look there, there!"

- Where are you going!

- Come with us!

- Together! Forever together!

Bizarre cries echoed from outside the window as the number of red handprints increased.

Tadak, Tadak! Tadadadadadadadadadak!!

Dozens of ghosts clung to the car and started obscuring the view.

But they couldn't enter.

The eyes of the ghosts, perhaps dozens or even hundreds, glared at us.

They were the dead filled with hatred and envy for the living.

"Ah, get lost, you bastards!"

[Tindalos' Shell]

Buzzzzzzzzz—

A brilliantly glowing magic circle formed around me.

It was a second-order defensive spell.

A transparent barrier that resembled the shell of a turtle repelled the ghosts.

- Aaaaaaaaaaah!

A chilling scream, indistinguishable between human or beast, pierced the air.

Being that had tasted death could not cross this barrier.

"Look ahead! Jang Hyeon-deok, in front!"

As soon as the view cleared, a cascade of trees and earth rushed towards us.

Vroooom!! Screeeech, Boom!

Jang Hyeon-deok's hands and feet moved with dazzling speed.

He actually accelerated and started navigating the car in an almost acrobatic fashion to dodge every obstacle.

"Ah... Didn't I tell you I'm a professional?"

Even as he trembled, Jang Hyeon-deok more than held his own.

"Yeah, buddy. You're doing great!"

Thump! Crunch, Crackle!

A bizarre impact was felt from the back of the car.

"Behind us! The back, back, back, behind!"

"I know."

Ibn Ghazi's beacon was sent flying to our rear.

It revealed the true nature of the creatures pursuing us from behind.

Some things in the shape of animals were charging at us.

The count was eight... no, nine perhaps?

- Awoooooo!

- Grrrrr!

- Bark, bark!

"Wolves! They're wolves!"

"Keep your eyes on the road, man!"

They weren't wolves.

Even on a mountain path where it's hard to gain speed, could ordinary dogs keep up with a car?

They were ghosts cloaked in animal hides.

They were pursuing us with incredible ferocity.

"Are these the ones that left claw marks on the bumper earlier?"

"Wha-Whaaaaaa.... What do we do now!?"

"I told you to just focus on driving!"

That seemed like a minor issue at this point.