Chapter 84: POV Back

Chapter 84: POV Back

About 150 years ago,

So, roughly 1870 or 1880, depending on the calculation.

Heo Sang-hyeons ancestor was an open-minded and curious scholar who accepted exotic cultures from the West.

The problem lay in one of the blindly accepted items, a nefarious book that should never have been received.

[Grimoire Taiyin Shui Zhen Secret Scripture]

This single book led Heo Sang-hyeons ancestor down a path of complete corruption.

Following the spells inscribed within, he summoned the [He Who Comes from the Darkness], and the abyssal being that descended into this world mated with Heo Sang-hyeons ancestor to create a child that should never have existed.

This child, born 150 years ago, was a great old beings offspring.

He was none other than the rotting and half-decayed corpse carrier, the Hollow Lord.

In the game, his name wasnt explicitly revealed, was it? He was just referred to as [Hollow Lord].

Although the exact family tree was unknown, if you calculate the number of relatives between the Hollow Lord and Heo Sang-hyeon, he might be roughly a great-grandfather.

Or perhaps a great-grandmother What the hell, is that a man or a woman?

Haah

I was now outside the hungry mansion.

More precisely, I was dangling from its second-story window.

Rumble.!

The sound of lightning falling from the dark sky could be heard.

My frail body was shaking as I was exposed to the rain pouring down from the sky. Yet, observing the Hollow Lord engaging in his odd antics wasnt entirely unpleasant.

What, what is this?!

That was the Hollow Lords voice.

Just like his ancestor.

Heo Sang-hyeons voice had also been bizarrely unsettling.

True to his lineage, the Hollow Lord spoke in a voice that was equally eerie and chilling.

Hollow Lord was still peering into the crystal ball and was unable to fully grasp the situation, thanks to the [Hazy Presence] spell that rendered me nearly invisible.

I watched as the Hollow Lord amplified his magical power and began to remove the magical interference embedded in the crystal ball.

Ah, Ive been discovered.

I manipulated Heo Sang-hyeons mind and vision using the effect of the ancient gods mirror.

The Hollow Lord was surveying the situation on the first floor through Heo Sang-hyeons eyes and was laughing heartily at the distorted images I had conjured.

Since I was discovered, it seemed this was the end of the ruse. The crystal ball would no longer display false images but reveal the actual events unfolding on the mansions first floor, right?

Arghhh! You damned rat!

In a fit of rage, the Hollow Lord shattered his crystal ball with an unintelligible scream. It was a shame, really; that artifact must have been costly.

Where are you? Where have you hidden?

He then began to spread his magical power in all directions while attempting to locate me.

It doesnt seem like Ill be caught just yet.

The Hollow Lords detection magic was completely off the mark.

The first floor, then the second, and now near the main entrance.

It appeared he hadnt considered the possibility that I might have stepped outside.

More importantly, isnt it about time it arrived?

Gwagwagwagwagwagwa!

Just then, from afar

The roaring sound of an immense wave began to approach.

Ah, here it comes.

A wave brimming with immense magical power, resentment, and the energy from the netherworld was climbing against the mountain.

It was a spell I had hidden far away and left to mature.

Creating, calculating, and controlling the magic circle from a distance safe enough to avoid detection by the Hollow Lord had nearly burst my brain.

The effort was worthwhile The oncoming wave, even by my own estimation, carried an appalling amount of malevolent energy.

I knocked on the window and shouted.

Hey, Mister Bones. Over here!

You! You! How on earth!

Startled, the Hollow Lord surged with magical power and lunged in my direction, but

At that very moment, the barrier I had prepared in advance was activated.

[Cold Bone Prison]

Buzzzzzzzzzz!

From beneath the Hollow Lords feet, a barrier from the netherworld erupted.

Crackle, crackle, crunch!

The immense pressure emanating from the barrier began to coil around the Hollow Lords flesh, squeezing and constricting him.

Arghhhh!!! How how is this possible?!

Ah, how did you activate it without any warning?

This wasnt merely a collection for decoration or admiration.

These were materials intended for creating necromancy golems or their precursor, the corpse golems.

Originally, there was a pattern of attacking those who could move here, but since they were all sent out of the house, such unfortunate incidents did not occur.

The taxidermies here were, after all, unfinished products abandoned midway through their creation.

Wooooooooooo.

A disturbing vibration began to fill the air from somewhere.

Uuuuuuuuu.

The sound of ghosts sobbing permeated the atmosphere.

Creak Squeak

Crunch, snap

Save me please save me

Monsters are devouring me

The noises were meaningless. They were just designed to shake the intruders mind.

A typical mental attack.

[System: The unique trait Madness of the Abyss has been activated. The effect of fear has been nullified.]

Making sounds as if youre tearing apart corpses wont mean much.

[Instill Fear].

It was one of the most basic among the necromantic spells.

Seeing a creature capable of casting advanced spells like [Spirit Explosion], [Curse of Death], or [Touch of Corruption] resort to something as low-tier as [Instill Fear] suggested that my previous strike had been effective.

The hastily used inferior spell dissipated without meaning. It only served to reveal its casters location to me.

[Gale Strike]

Whoosh! Bang!

It was a second-order magic that unleashed a powerful blow by propelling compressed air.

Though lacking additional effects, it was a spell that was sure to inflict physical damage.

Crash! Smash!

As the taxidermies obstructing the view were blown away in all directions, the pitiful figure of this corpse-like creature was exposed.

It was the Hollow Lord.

His limbs were twisted in unnatural directions, and black mucus poured from every orifice on his face.

Cough what are you this monster

No, seriously!

How many times has it been now?

Why does every monster I meet keep calling me a monster?

The necromancy golems why do they still draw upon my magical power why does this continue

Ah, dont you know? Its called an infinite loop bug.

Thats because I made it that way.

What did you say?

I tied them all up and set them on fire.

Of course, I took magical precautions to prevent the fire from spreading too much.

Its a simple trick using rudimentary AI.

The necromancy golems were unable to go anywhere and they kept trying to repair their continuously destroyed bodies by incessantly draining their masters magical power.

The destruction repeated endlessly, and regeneration proceeded forcefully.

Although the Hollow Lord was a monster with immense magical power, he couldnt withstand having his magic drained endlessly like this.

Of course, the Hollow Lord had created several safety measures to prevent such a situation, but I had destroyed all those safety measures.

Now, its over.

Haak I am

My reflection appeared in the Hollow Lords eyes.

Four eyes emitting a fierce light from my pitch-black mask.

Due to the continuous use of magic, my eyes shone with a bright red light.

After all, youve lived excessively long by not only taking the lives of others but even exploiting the lives of your descendants, havent you?

Moreover, if left alone, this creature would soon die anyway.

This was because the necromancy golems, with their limited intelligence, were still draining magical power from him.

I raised the sharply shining silver hook.

Lets end this.

No please stop

It was a movement unmistakable for anything else.

A typical stabbing posture.

I focused and aimed at his heart with this posture.

Stay still. Theres something I need to remove from your body.