Episode 150: A short flashback

quiet room.

I raised my head for a moment.

It's an unfamiliar ceiling.

"Okay, I remember up to this point."

A car chase, a feast, heavy rain, and the appearance of a foreign species.

The rocket launcher spews fire and rockets fly towards me.

A somewhat creaky mind and vaguely scattered memories.

To have a headache.

"Okay… … ."

What happened next? I remember doing a series of really stupid things.

"But, for now, we blocked the rocket bullets."

Roughly like this. I actually waved my hands and pretended to use magic.

So, to be specific... … .

* * *

[Chain of Domination]

Four golden chains fly out the car window.

Churrrrrrrr!!

The chains running through the raindrops wrapped around the rocket bullets with perfect timing.

"Gotcha!"

A new command is injected into the coiled rocket.

"go back!"

A rocket bullet that returns to the direction it came from.

Wow, this works.

"and! "Wizard, what did you do!?"

"Well, I thought I was in a bad mood today."

Not bad, right?

Sorry, but you shouldn't hit the truck with the rockets you captured. My goal is the artifacts contained in the truck. Quang! Any type of magic is prohibited.

Kwaaaaang!

However, it exploded near the truck. A truck rocking violently in heavy rain.

Good profit!!

Despite all the commotion, the black coat is still standing on top of the truck unharmed. Even his fedora is still attached to his head.

Who is that guy? Was there a guy like that?

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

[The presence of the abyss grants power to its descendants.]

"Oh my, what a mess. "Do you really think I love you?"

Even the activation of [Feast Offering] is always included in the calculations. But this time it's really unusual. Who are you?

Kwasik! Quang!

The outer wall of the container loaded on the truck protrudes. As if something huge was moving inside the container.

Wow!!

Eventually, holes are opened on the left and right sides of the container, and what was wriggling inside is revealed.

"Aaaah!"

This is Jang Hyeon-deok's scream.

[It was a huge tentacle that tore open the container and revealed itself. It's so big that it can easily wrap around a car. Suddenly, something familiar catches your eye. These suckers are densely packed along the skin with an unpleasant texture.]

Yes, it's a familiar design.

"Wake! "It's just an octopus!"

"It's so big!"

"At first glance, it's just a cephalopod! "Think of it as a giant squid and hold on!"

"What do you mean!?"

The systematic madness that occurs in the world of [Cthulhu World] does not manifest simply by seeing something scary. An irrational presence created by a surreal being. It's because of that - it would be useless to explain this fact to Jang Hyeon-deok. Anyway, hold on!

[You try to think it's just an octopus, but it's not easy. The tentacles in front of you are moving in a very threatening manner. Instinctive fear shrinks your body. Resist with your mental strength stat. Mental strength test... … . success.]

Fortunately, it appears to have been a decision with a low probability of failure. The check was successful without the need to activate the [Abyss Madness] attribute. And that seems to be the same for Jang Hyeon-deok.

"Let's do something about that!"

It is literally an octopus foot so large that it can easily entangle a car.

First of all, there are three octopus feet visible.

Giant octopus feet rise into the sky.

Bauuung!!

Massive octopus feet swinging towards the road all at once!

no! I don't know anything else, but this doesn't work!

Only then did I realize why my thinking had slowed down a little.

Stop thinking! Stop it first!

I reach outside the car and release the horsepower.

[Cold gust]

[Spell Enhancement: Increased range]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

Ssssssssssssssss!!

Raindrops caught in the cold wind turn into ice shards and pour down with a crackling sound.

Crackle!

Suddenly, the frozen octopus feet burst, unable to overcome the swinging force. We prevented the road from being destroyed, but there were giant frozen octopus feet flying towards us.

"Ugh! Hold on tight!"

Good profit!!

Jang Hyeon-deok twists the handle to avoid the fragments of the octopus foot.

"Aaaah!"

This is my scream.

Suddenly, adrenaline rushes and my heart races. Her fingertips felt cold and her intestines felt as if they were being pulled out.

"Yes, this was free!"

"W-what do you mean!?"

Why didn't I think of that?

"It's next to the Han River!!"

"yes?"

Jayu-ro is a road that runs along the Han River. And the Han River means a very wide river, and 'things' live in the river.

'Such a stupid Kim Shin-hwa. 'Why on earth did you accept this quest!?'

You can guess why. It is a side effect of madness.

The brain refuses to remember or associate certain concepts.

'It's happened before.'

The very first. It was the same when I encountered a giant rat monster. I didn't remember that there was a rat at the end of Secret Lab.

No, it's not at that level this time. To be honest, for a while, I forgot that 'that thing' existed in the world.

"Drive carefully! "Never leave the road!"

"Why the Han River? "It's been next to the Han River since a while ago, right?"

Yes, that's right! Even though I was running next to the Han River, I didn't realize that it was the Han River! Since I was ignoring half of the visible background, my actions naturally had to slow down.

Buaaaaaaaa!

A truck runs away on a road along the Han River.

The truck eventually overtook a car that was running ahead.

Sigh!

Yes, octopuses have 8 feet. Even if you cut 3, 5 remain.

Newly protruding tentacles wrap around the car. You're not planning on throwing that, are you?

Bauuuuung!!

A car that somehow appears to be flying at a slow speed.

There must be someone in there, right? It's a bit difficult to avoid and destroy it.

I stretched my hand out the car window and activated magic.

[decomposition]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

Guwaaaa!!

The green ray emitted from the fingertips hit the flying car.

This is a 4th level magic that destroys the form of inorganic matter.

In an instant, the car turned into gray ash and car parts, which flew in all directions.

and "Aaaahhh!" The driver who flies away screaming... … .

[feather falling]

Wow!

Fortunately, Jang Hyeon-deok realized my intention and avoided the slowly floating driver.

[System: The 'Enhanced Vigilance' trait is activated.]

Quang!

"Aaaah!"

Jang Hyeon-deok's scream.

A pitch-black silhouette that completely blocks the view.

Before we know it, a large figure in a black coat is hanging in front of our call van. what? You were standing on the truck just now, right? When did you run?

Now the black coat just swings its fist.

"Don't fuss!"

[Hardening]

[protection team]

[Spell Enhancement: Maximization]

Together with the protection team, the windshield of the car was hardened.

Quang!

Gooooooo!!

"Keuuuuuuu!"

It's a pretty sturdy guy, but not strong enough to break through my defenses.

"Get out now!"

[Slippery floor]

This is just first-tier magic.

Forcefully lowers the friction coefficient of the vehicle surface. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but something terrible happens to a fool who hangs on top of a vehicle traveling at high speed.

"Ugh!"

Grumble!

The big guy in the black coat eventually can't hold on and falls off the car.

In the rearview mirror, I see him bounce several times on the road behind the car. Fedoras fly off and coats tear.

At first glance, you can see the green skin hidden under the coat, but it quickly disappears out of sight.

I can't expand my senses too much because I'm afraid of touching the Han River, but I can even detect that the black coat guy is alive.

It's really sturdy.

"I don't know what it is, but it probably can't go faster than a car."

When I look around, I see a bridge in the distance. As soon as my eyes recognize the leg, my intelligence stat, which was on hold, activates.

'Oh, that bridge is Ilsan Bridge?'

No, there is no need for a name for the bridge! Other than that, spit out the information I need right now!

The truck's destination is Incheon.

To go to Incheon, you have to cross that bridge. That means... … .

"Catch me before I reach that bridge!"

"Who are you talking to? "Come to your senses!"

Yes, come to your senses! The madness I have is not a fear of water!

This is not something that can be accomplished by sitting like this and wasting time.

To be honest, I wasn't without hesitation, but in the end, I opened the car door and used my magic.

[The unique function of the L-class clothing 'Wings of the Night Shroud', 'Wings of the Heavenly Demon', is activated.

// Wings of the Heavenly Demon: Automatically casts the 'Flight' spell.]

The wings of the night veil flutter like pitch-black wings, sending me flying into the sky.

The pouring rain flows along the surface of the [distortion field]. It looks like a large ball of water has formed around my body.

It raises magical power and pushes magical power into the winged clothes of the night veil.

With a popping sound, the water droplets in the distortion field exploded, and in an instant, I flew past the truck.

Quickly changes direction and casts magic toward the road.

[Blade Zone]

Crackle!!

The shape of the road is distorted. A huge number of blades and thorns sprouted up on the black asphalt road.

Good profit!!

The driver of the truck quickly applied the brakes, but it was already too late.

Boom boom boom!

A tire that explodes in an instant. The thorns growing on the floor are shattered, creating a terrible, crackling, discordant sound.

"Ha, I should have done this a long time ago."

No, it wasn't a situation where it was okay to do something like this just a little while ago. To be honest, it's a desperate solution.

If an overturned truck falls into the Han River, something terrible happens.

Ugh, trucks are rushing toward the Han River!

[Wall of Power]

Weeeeeee!

A transparent barrier placed over the guardrail on the Han River side.

Besides, I now have a friend who can help me with my work.

Sigh!

Five huge tentacles extend from the truck. It extends its tentacles to the ground to stop a truck that is about to overturn.

Quad deuk!

After a terrible scene of the thorny floor eating into the tentacles and the magically reinforced guard rail being dented, the truck was able to stop.

"Thank you for your hard work, octopus friend. "We are the best team."

I turned the thorns on the ground back into the road and walked towards the truck.

Bauuung!!

The remaining octopus feet fly towards me. Even if I'm out of my mind right now, I can expect this much. I stopped at the exact spot and stretched out my hand.

The octopus foot barely grazed my collar, that is, the wing of the night veil. The magic that activates at the same time.

[Touch of Hell]

[Spell Enhancement: Explosive]

[Spell Enhancement: Chain Explosion]

[The unique function of the SSS-class accessory 'Residual Heat of the Bukraksamun', 'Trace of Extreme Flame', is activated.

// Trace of extreme flame: The effect of all flame-type magic increases by 100%.]

Originally, it was a magic that had to be touched by hand to be activated, but the winged suit is an artifact with good conductivity enough to replace that condition.

Grumbling!!

Black flames rise through the octopus' skin.

A hellish flame that cannot be extinguished even under water. Additionally, additional explosive power was added.

Kwaaaaang! bang! Kwaaaaang!

Octopus feet that cause chain explosions. And a certain smell rising in all directions along with the smoke.

"Hate or fear of cephalopods only exists in Western countries."

Korean people love cephalopods.

"It smells better than I thought."

However, the container must not burst. I recovered the magic power granted to the hellish flames that were grilling the octopus.

The fire, which has lost its magic, is quickly extinguished by the heavy rain that is still pouring down.

"Whew, is this the end?"

The road is a mess. A truck that has become a mess. A container full of holes.

I see Jang Hyeon-deok stopping his car at a distance.

"Oh my, I behaved so pathetically today."

Still, are you glad it ended without any major damage? I'll have to be careful not to go near the water until the madness stuck in my head dissipates.

Actually, it's useless. I didn't even remember that there was a Han River next to Jayu-ro.

"Anyway, who is the Abyss Being that intervened this time?"

It was a slightly different pattern from other abyssal beings that had been bothering me for a while.

Normally it would use its power to attack me, but this time it felt like it was intervening to protect the container.

"A being of the abyss who is related to octopuses and has a tribe of relatives that he affectionately cares for."

That's strange. I can't think of a guy like that.

Why?

Could this be a phenomenon related to when it didn't occur to you that there was 'something' under the water?

"… … ."

In that case, it would be better to ignore it. My thoughts are creaky. It seems like there are holes here and there in my thoughts.

'Let's just take out what's in the container and run away quickly.'

I waved my hand horizontally and created magical power.

Crackle!

The container splits in half.

And what was inside... … .