Chapter 126

...That really was a tough fable.

[Due to excessive Mana expenditure, the Stigma Shikigami has been deactivated!]

Enduring the sudden wave of dizziness, I walked toward Granny and Yamamoto. Yamamoto, almost at his last breath, was glaring at me.

“Now you can talk. Talk. Where is the Serpent?”

“You... all of you... will be... devoured...”

With those curse-like words, Yamamoto’s breathing vanished.

[A renowned Catastrophe has perished.]

[You have defeated the Catastrophe Yamamoto Hajime (A Millennia-Old Hundred-legged Monster).]

[You have obtained 5,000 coins.]

[Main contributors: Lee Boksun, Kim Dokja]

...It was a shame I hadn’t caught the Serpent, but hunting the centipede alone was still a huge gain.

[A considerable number of constellations applaud the reenactment of the fable.]

[Japanese constellations who hate monsters of fable support you.]

[The constellation Bald Army General is delighted, saying his grandmother told him that story too when he was little.]

[The constellation Prisoner of the Golden Headband nitpicks, saying the moral of the story seems a little strange.]

[10,000 coins have been sponsored.]

Just as I thought, there were still quite a few constellations who liked old folktales.

The flustered Japanese people were rushing toward Yamamoto.

“L-Leader!”

I swiftly caught Granny as she slowly collapsed. Lee Boksun’s body was shrinking fast.

[The character Lee Boksun has completely renounced the rights of a Catastrophe.]

[The dokkaebis regard Lee Boksun’s actions as hostile conduct against the Scenario.]

[Miniaturisation has begun.]

Lee Boksun looked markedly exhausted, probably from the aftereffects of using [invocation rite]. On top of that, she had summoned the “stage” and used power strong enough to kill a specific person instantly, so Granny must have suffered severe damage too.

“Young man, carry me for a bit.”

“Put this on first.”

There were a few clothes we had received in thanks after saving the small people earlier. I put Granny into the left pocket of my coat, then had Lee Jihye help her get dressed.

[Way of the Wind Lv.8 has been activated.]

There were 10 minutes left on [Bookmark]. I had to get out of the forest zone within 10 minutes.

“The Leader is dead!”

“Stop those bastards!”

The half-yokai shouted in fury.

[You have received the 2nd Scenario penalty.]

[You have chosen the path of opposing the Catastrophes. However, there is still a chance to reverse your choice.]

[Hunt one of the small people within 5 minutes. Otherwise, you will receive the Miniaturisation penalty.]

Damn. Now there was barely any time left.

“Take me with you!”

Someone was shouting from inside the birdcage Yamamoto had dropped when he died. Asuka Ren. I didn’t hesitate. I had intended to take her from the beginning anyway. I swiftly smashed the cage and placed her in my palm.

“Thank you! Really...!”

I skipped any reply and tightened the muscles in both legs.

“Hold on tight.”

I drove my Mana with all my strength. The wind split apart, and the fastest path came into view. The current of wind wrapped around both legs, catching even the finest movements of my muscles and creating the most efficient stride.

Now that [demon’s formation] was gone, it was easier to run than before, but the penalty had cut my stats in half, so I still wasn’t moving at a satisfying speed.

Even so, if I could move this fast with Agility barely around 30, then [Way of the Wind] really was an excellent skill.

Asuka Ren spoke.

“What an incredible technique. Even in Japan, only Karasu could manage this kind of speed.”

If she meant Karasu, she was probably talking about Karasu tengu[1].

“If they went all out, they’d be faster.”

“You know Karasu?”

“They’re one of the fastest monsters of fable in Japan, aren’t they?”

If I mastered [Way of the Wind] to its extreme, I’d be faster than Karasu tengu too, but not yet. Besides, I couldn’t really call [Way of the Wind] my skill. [Bookmark] had a time limit, after all.

“Kill him! He’ll be small soon anyway!”

“We’ll take responsibility for the ones that shrink, so just kill him!”

Now even the half-yokai no longer hesitated to use killing blows.

“Revenge for the Leader!”

A couple of throwing stars barely grazed past my shoulder. I was starting to think this was dangerous when the terrain in front of me suddenly began to change. The trees around me all writhed at once, altering the shape of the forest path I was running through.

Kudududud.

The shape of the forest zone was changing.

I thought it was magic, but Asuka Ren said,

“It’s night. Be careful!”

Only then did I remember a line from TWSA. At night, the forest zone of peace land changed its appearance. A kind of mazeification occurred. In other words, the forest itself turned into something like the stomach of a gigantic monster.

Sticky digestive fluid burst out wherever I stepped.

The reason the small people of peace land didn’t enter this forest was because no one among them who entered the forest zone in the dead of night had ever returned alive.

“After him!”

“Uwaaaah!”

As the forest’s peristaltic motion began, some of the nonhuman species chasing me seemed to lose their way. Of course, the forest probably couldn’t digest Catastrophes that large, but it was still more than enough to buy time.

[Hunt one of the small people within 1 minute.]

I ran as hard as I could, but the forest zone, now transformed into a maze, gradually numbed my sense of direction. Even in TWSA, there was no specific method recorded for escaping the night forest. Instead...

“This way!”

It was written like this in TWSA.

“The first person you must obtain in peace land is Asuka Ren.”

I changed direction at Asuka Ren’s instruction.

“Run to the right, using that tree as your marker!”

“Miss, do you know the way?” Lee Boksun asked in fluent Japanese.

Asuka Ren hesitated before answering.

“I know this forest well.”

“Heh heh, looks like you have a related skill?”

“...Yes.”

I knew Asuka Ren was lying. It wasn’t because she had some kind of pathfinding skill that she could find the way through this forest.

When it came to peace land, she was probably every bit as much of an expert as I was with TWSA.

That was likely why the Japanese had kept her alive even after miniaturising her.

Following Asuka Ren’s lead, I drove [Way of the Wind] to its peak.

I kept running faster and faster, but time chased after me even faster than that.

[Hunt one of the small people within 30 seconds.]

Just a little more. Just a little more.

“Catch him! You have to catch him!”

As the path twisted several more times, the number of nonhuman species chasing me dropped sharply.

“We’re almost there!”

And finally, the forest zone ended.

[You failed to hunt one of the small people within the time limit.]

[The dokkaebis of Star Stream determine that you have absolutely no intention of acting as a Catastrophe.]

[You have been given the 3rd Scenario penalty.]

[Miniaturisation has begun.]

Damn.

“Everyone, get away from me!”

At my shout, my allies jumped off me. It felt as if someone had put my body into a juicer and squeezed it dry.

When I blinked again, my field of vision was almost pressed to the ground.

...So this was what it felt like to be one of the small people.

Fortunately, my coat shrank to fit my body as well.

Since I had stored all my items, including Unbreakable Faith, inside the coat’s subspace, I hadn’t lost anything either.

“Ajussi, are you okay?”

I nodded to my allies, then spoke to Asuka Ren, who was watching me from a short distance away.

“Asuka Ren.”

“Did I introduce myself?”

“Michio told me. More importantly, please take care of my allies. Please lead them to Veronica Castle.”

At my words, Asuka Ren’s eyes widened. She was probably surprised that I knew the name of a place in peace land.

“There’s no time to explain, so I’m asking you. I’ll hold them off here.”

“All right.”

With ragged breathing, the nonhuman species emerged through the forest path. Now that our heights were different, they suddenly looked like monsters.

Only three enemies had chased us all the way here.

If there had only been one, I would’ve tried to somehow kill it together with my allies. If there had been two, I would’ve had to think about it. But three...

Even if my miniaturised allies charged them with everything they had, I wasn’t confident we would win.

Lee Hyeongseong said,

“We can’t leave you here alone.”

“You have to go. That’s the only way everyone lives. If I’m alone, I have a way to get out.”

The nonhuman species, already battered from forcing their way through the maze-like forest, spat on the ground and smiled cruelly at me.

“So you got smaller. I’ll stomp you flat like a bug.”

I shouted as I watched them approach.

“Gilyeong!”

As if he had been waiting, Lee Gilyeong nodded. Tiny insects were flying toward us through the air.

“Let’s meet again later.”

One by one, the insects started carrying my allies on their backs. At an insect’s speed, they should be able to get some distance while I bought time.

“Wait! Ajussi!”

Kwa-gwa-gak!

A blade grazed right past my side and stabbed into the ground. At the wave of Mana that burst out with a buzz, I reflexively rolled my body away. They had been nothing special when I was human-sized, but now it was dangerous if even the tip of that sword touched me. I’d probably be split neatly in two.

“Die!”

From here on, I didn’t have a concrete plan either. Somehow I had to stall for time and run back into the forest maze, or else...

“I’ll kill this one. Chase the others!”

Two of the three nodded and started chasing after my allies riding the insects.

Not happening.

[You have used the Stigma Shikigami Lv.1!]

The running enemies came to a dead stop.

“Damn it, again...!”

The enemies whose feet had been bound turned toward me in irritation.

My Mana was already bottomed out, so it took a considerable amount of strength just to block the movements of three people. My head throbbed as if it would split apart, and faint warmth trickled from deep inside my blood-clogged nose.

[The constellation the onmyoji of contradictions bestows a blessing on you.]

With the message, the Mana cost of using the Stigma dropped for a moment, and my body felt lighter.

[Your heart that looks after your companions is truly admirable.]

The constellation’s faint incantation sounded in my head. Maybe thanks to The Fourth Wall, it wasn’t all that unpleasant to hear.

“It’s nothing. But since you’re helping anyway, it’d be nice if you kept helping.”

[I have a request for you.]

A bad feeling came over me. Constellations were always like this. Their help always came with a price.

[For the Japanese Incarnations... kill the Serpent.]

Fortunately, this time it wasn’t a bad bargain. After all, it was something I had to do anyway. Still, I said this:

“That trade really doesn’t work in my favor. Unless you restore a little more Mana for me, that is.”

[The constellation the onmyoji of contradictions has restored a tiny bit of your Mana with their strange sorcery.]

...It was the kind of thing that might feel petty, but even this much must have been a major expense for the onmyoji of contradictions. It wasn’t easy for a Historical constellation with no ties to me to interfere in an early Scenario to this extent. Once I could finally catch my breath, I asked,

“Still, I don’t understand. Japan had an excellent king like Izumi, so how did things end up this bad?”

[Izumi Hiroki. He was an outstanding Incarnation.]

I could see the Catastrophes screaming at the shikigami stuck to them. It really was an absurd situation. If the owner of the Absolute Throne were still standing, there was no way half-yokai like those could run wild in the first place.

“Then why did you let the Serpent run rampant as the King of Catastrophes? Izumi’s Patron should be the Serpent Slayer.”

Originally, my plan to hunt the Serpent had been meant to be completed with Izumi’s help. But Izumi had gone missing, Granny Lee Boksun had used up all her strength, and even the uses of Ganpyeongui had been exhausted.

[I don’t know what you’re talking about. Izumi’s Patron is not him.]

“What?”

[Izumi’s Patron is...]

The next moment, sparks flew through the air and the voice vanished. It seemed forcing out any more information would be too hard on Plausibility.

[30 seconds remain on Ganpyeongui.]

I swallowed as I looked at the shikigami soldiers, more than half of them already gone. The moment the shikigami vanished, I would have to run for the forest zone with everything I had. Blades wrapped in powerful Mana were waiting to split me in two.

Damn, if things went badly, I really could die here.

10 seconds, 9 seconds, 8 seconds...

Could I escape? I ran the simulation through my head several times, but no matter how I tried to flee, every route ended with me getting caught. Should I have just fought alongside my allies? 5 seconds... 4 seconds... before I knew it, the end was almost here.

[The constellation Defence Master laments how pathetic you are.]

...Huh?

Just as I tilted my head at the familiar constellation’s name, a keeeeng mechanical whine rang out all at once, and then explosive gunfire started pouring down.

[The character Pildu Gong has activated the stigma Armed Fortress Lv.1!]