At that time, there was someone observing Kim Shin-hwa’s figure.
Among the rooms arranged on the second floor of the mansion, this one was the most exceptional.
The dense magical power filled the air to the point of suffocation.
The aura of death was so potent it carried the stench of decay.
The space still bore the presence and influence of a great old being.
This room was indeed the heart of the [Hungry Mansion].
With no form of lighting present, the room was as dark as pitch.
In such a place, someone’s laughter echoed maniacally.
“Kahahahahaha!”
The voice was so distorted it was impossible to tell if it belonged to a man, a woman, an elder, or a youth.
And even more bizarre than the voice was the appearance.
It was impossible to determine its gender or age.
A cursed body that looked like rotting pink flesh forcibly woven over a human skeleton.
If you tried to discern a hint of the person’s former human appearance amidst this ghastly face…you might just realize the repulsive being bore a resemblance to Heo Sang-hyeon.
This was the true master of the [Hungry Mansion].
The “writhing magical power on the second floor” that Kim Shin-hwa had sensed beforehand belonged to him.
He was the owner of the Hungry Mansion, a fallen necromancer, a cultist who worshipped beings of the abyss, a bastard born of a pile of corpses, and a judge of the dark cult that revered darkness and void.
There might have been something akin to a name for him once, but now it holds no significance.
He himself and others simply referred to him as the Hollow Lord.
“Kekkeke… So simple.”
He moved his grotesquely creaking limbs and caressed a large crystal ball placed in front of him.
The crystal ball, under the Hollow Lord’s will, displayed scenes from locations he wished to see.
It showed Kim Shin-hwa being blasted away by Heo Sang-hyeon’s [Spirit Explosion] spell.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})Then, necromancy golems dispatched by the Hollow Lord poured out of the staircase connected to the second floor.
Monsters of bizarre appearance, these were not mere taxidermies but specially crafted creatures of a different class.
Clatter, clatter,
They had heads fashioned from rattling kettles and glass bottles.
Their torsos clumsily wrapped in bedcovers moved awkwardly.
Their joints creaked and jolted in an awkward manner.
In place of arms and legs protruded scythes, hammers, and hand axes.
Bizarrely shaped artificial humans that appeared to have been created by tying together random items moved awkwardly while imitating human movements.
As part of a glass bottle cracked, a ghastly set of teeth made from sharp glass shards was revealed.
The crystal ball continued to show Kim Shin-hwa, cornered and resisting.
[Water Blade]
Kim Shin-hwa harnessed the overflowing rainwater outside the window and created large blades and waves.
Crash! Boom, boom, boom!
The surging water pressure shattered the necromancy golems and their composite bodies broke apart.
The Hollow Lord was unable to contain himself and burst into laughter again at the sight.
“Kekkeke… The mage struggles like a bug.”
After all, these bodies were just assembled pieces of various parts.
Although they were lacking in stability and durability, they possessed remarkable regenerative abilities.
Creak, click-clack.
The shattered necromancy golems weaved together the random items scattered everywhere to form new bodies.
In this process, a single golem could be split into two smaller entities or several could combine into one larger form.
Of course, all this power and formidable might didn’t come without a cost.
“Ugh…”
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Kim Shin-hwa’s resistance was more fierce than expected, and more magical power was drained away in an instant than anticipated.
Such was the flaw of the necromancy golems.
They moved on their own with independent thinking without the need for detailed control, but they could whimsically drain their master’s magical power when needed.
Therefore, it was common to control only a limited number at once, but the number of necromancy golems the Hollow Lord was commanding had already exceeded thirty.
This was because the Hollow Lord had a way to offset the drawbacks of these inefficient servants.
Twisting his grotesque body, the Hollow Lord began to pray to the entity he served.
“Iä! Iä! char Buh All’en Sugh, Ash! Van!”
“O great spirit who comes from the darkness, eternal prisoner locked in the abyss, leader of suffocation, ruler of the night, and the darkest one in the heart of the abyss.”
The [Eternal Prisoner], [Leader of Suffocation], or [He Who Comes from the Darkness]— these were all epithets for the same being.
“And to me, your humble servant, you have granted the great flesh, my father.”
The great being from the abyss responded to the Hollow Lord’s prayers and bestowed upon him new power.
Then, from the deepest depths of the abyss, a whisper came.
Bring forth the feast offering.
This was already the third time today.
The command was the same.
Bring forth the feast offering. Kim Shin-hwa’s soul.
The Hollow Lord found it hard to conceal his bewilderment at the command of his mighty father.
What value could there possibly be in the soul of that mage?
Never before had such a vast amount of magical power been bestowed to him by his father without any conditions.
Why would [He Who Comes from the Darkness] a great old being and one of those who belong to the abyss, bestow so much of his blessing to capture a mere mage?
Yet, for the Hollow Lord, the demand from [He Who Comes from the Darkness] was akin to a divine revelation.
Brushing aside the flicker of doubt that had surfaced in his mind, he bowed his head in reverence.
Then, regaining his composure, the Hollow Lord began to move his fingers in a familiar manner.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})His movements resembled those of a puppeteer manipulating a marionette.
It was a gesture to command Heo Sang-hyeon, the finest of the necromancy golems he had created.
“O my descendants, my witnesses to my deeds… fulfill the command bestowed by the great Leader of Suffocation.”
As Kim Shin-hwa was cornered, Heo Sang-hyeon once again activated a spell from his necromancy magic.
[Spirit Explosion]
Whoooooooooooom!
A sound that seemed less like an explosion and more like someone’s scream of agony.
It was a magical explosion fueled by the spirits of several earthbound ghosts.
Inside the crystal ball, Kim Shin-hwa was caught in the horrific blast, which tore off one of his arms.
“Oh dear…. try to retrieve him in one piece if possible.”
Surrounded by necromancy golems, Kim Shin-hwa was soon to meet a gruesome end.
Even if “He Who Comes from the Darkness” claimed his soul, his body would remain.
The Hollow Lord twisted his facial muscles in anticipation of the monstrous creation he could craft from Kim Shin-hwa’s body.
His face contorted into a hideous smile as his rotten flesh curled.
Then, a new message reached his mind.
– We found the medium.
It was a message from the spirits sent to pursue Jang Hyeon-deok, the driver brought by Kim Shin-hwa.
“Ah, have they found that medium?”
A genius medium with the trait of a [Living Altar] capable of containing any soul, power, or mind, possessing a supernatural ability beyond reality.
For the Hollow Lord personally, this medium was a more valuable resource than Kim Shin-hwa.
Now, Kim Shin-hwa could be left to his dismal death.
“Feel free to harness as much magical power as necessary. If possible, catch him in intact condition.”
the Hollow Lord added a few more instructions to the necromancy golems on the first floor and then manipulated the crystal ball.
Responding to his will, the crystal ball now began to display the location of Jang Hyeon-deok, not Kim Shin-hwa.
***
Vrooooom! Screeeech!!
Jang Hyeon-deok’s call van veered off the road before plowing through the underbrush in a wild dash.
Bang, bang……!
The vehicle continued its descent not on the road but down a mountainside.
Despite the vehicle’s unstable jerks, as if it could flip over at any moment, Jang Hyeon-deok skillfully kept the sliding van under control without reducing speed.
“Ah, damn it… He’s really going to cover the repair costs, right?”
Jang Hyeon-deok frowned and checked the rearview mirror.
In the mirror, he saw a pack of beasts in hot pursuit right behind him.
Monsters in the shape of wild dogs.
These were the corpse golems sent by the Hollow Lord.
Although Kim Shin-hwa assured him everything would be fine, a new pack of corpse golems has started to chase after Jang Hyeon-deok.
-Gaaaaaaaah!
The corpse golems who had just greedily absballed the magical power sent by the Hollow Lord leaped towards the car with surreal strength.
From the perspective of the corpse golems, the range of attacks they could attempt on a moving vehicle was limited.
But this was nothing short of a nightmare for Jang Hyeon-deok who was no different from an ordinary person except for his extraordinary driving ability.
“Ah, this is just too much!”
It wasn’t just any road, but a completely unpaved one, and one that was sloping downward at that.
Accelerating recklessly in such a place was tantamount to suicide.
Despite this, Jang Hyeon-deok’s hands and feet moved swiftly.
Click, thud.
Vroooooom!!
Jang Hyeon-deok’s call van surged forward at an impossible moment and swayed dangerously.
Clang!
The van nearly flipped over entirely but managed to evade the attacks of the corpse golems.
Shifting gears once again, Jang Hyeon-deok was barely able to put a significant distance between himself and the pursuing horde.
And then… he began to see what he had been searching for up ahead.
Jang Hyeon-deok stretched out his right hand to pick up an item placed on the passenger seat.
It was something Kim Shin-hwa had handed to him just before they parted ways.
The small clump appeared to be a forced combination of stone, wood, and metal, intertwined as though by coercion.
Jang Hyeon-deok touched the object momentarily but couldn’t comprehend how such different materials had combined.
How in the world was this made?
Unbeknownst to Jang Hyeon-deok, this item was crafted from fragments of a mask he had previously handed to Kim Shin-hwa.
It was a creation mixed with a few catalysts and the [Brainwave Stones] of the alien parasites, using the mask’s fragments.
Individually, these components held no significant effects, but under Kim Shin-hwa’s magical influence, they merged to form a new power.
Now, it possessed specific abilities as detailed below:
[Resonance Stone (A-rank Magical Tool): A tool capable of transmitting will or magical power to a chosen target. It can also serve as a catalyst for magic or rituals or as an object of proof.
Celestial Message: The owner can convey their will to a desired target. However, to use this ability, one must be capable of mediumship or mental magic.
Will Resonance: It allows for partial sharing of magical power with a designated target. (Current registered target: Kim Shin-hwa) (Re-registration waiting time: 1 day)
※ Creator: Kim Shin-hwa
※ Enhancement Complete]
Jang Hyeon-deok yelled towards the Resonance Stone.
“Mage-nim, can you hear me? It seems like I’ve arrived!”
As soon as he spoke, Kim Shin-hwa’s voice mysteriously began to echo in Jang Hyeon-deok’s mind.
– Have you arrived, or does it just seem like you have?
Was this really the time for such nitpicking?
Those words almost escaped Jang Hyeon-deok’s lips, but he restrained himself and chose different words instead.
“I have arrived! Just like you said, there’s a huge… water ball, about 50 meters ahead!”
– Good job. Get a bit closer. You’re still outside its range.
Jang Hyeon-deok looked ahead with a hint of apprehension.
The giant water ball.
Inside it, corpse golems and spirits that Kim Shin-hwa had previously swept away with [Turbid Current] were entangled in a watery prison made of rain and magical power.
– Ah, good. I can feel it. Be careful not to get too close to that water ball, or you’ll be swept up too.
“Me too? What should I do?!”
– Just circle around the ball! Keep quiet; I need to concentrate!
The magical power of Kim Shin-hwa, who still remained in the [Hungry Mansion], traveled through the butcher’s hook and was transmitted to the Resonance Stone.
And the Resonance Stone opened a path for the magical power, imparting a new essence to the prison of Turbid Current.
Kwaaaaaah!
The prison of turbulent currents began to swirl violently.
– I needed to refine it a bit away in a place where that guy’s eyes couldn’t reach.
Kim Shin-hwa muttered something difficult for Jang Hyeon-deok to understand, then addressed him.
– The ones chasing you, I’ll shake them off now. It’s time for you to head back home for real.
“Is it over?!”
– More or less.
The swirling prison of currents distorted before transforming into a ferocious wave that crashed violently.
“Argh!”
Jang Hyeon-deok screamed.
Screeeeeeech!
He narrowly avoided being engulfed by the torrential wave that surged with immense force.
The wave that narrowly missed Jang Hyeon-deok’s vehicle swept up the corpse golems that had been pursuing him and then…
Whooooooosh!
Rippleeeeee!
It sped towards the [Hungry Mansion] with incredible speed.
“Ah, even if the enemy had ten lives, they wouldn’t be enough in this situation…”
Jang Hyeon-deok sighed as he watched the receding wave.
Amitabha… I must make a donation at the temple tomorrow…
***
“What is this! What on earth is happening?!”
The Hollow Lord screamed in horror as he watched the image of Jang Hyun-deok reflected in the crystal ball.
This makes no sense!
“Kim Shin-hwa, that mage, just a moment ago…!”
Activating his magic, the Hollow Lord changed the scene reflected in the crystal ball.
The first-floor living room of the [Hungry Mansion].
The very place where Kim Shin-hwa had been fighting.
Kim Shin-hwa, with one arm severed and bleeding profusely from all over, lay defeated.
The battle was over.
But the necromancy golems were still clamoring for more magical energy.
The sheer drain of his magical power was dizzying, almost enough to blur his consciousness.
Something’s wrong. Something’s gone terribly wrong!
What on earth did this mage do?
At that moment, the Hollow Lord noticed a strange noise distorting the image in the crystal ball.
“This is…?!”
