〈Chapter 500〉 Part 1, Episode 20, Chapter 32
KYAAAAAAAA!!
In the Haeundae Sea, a monstrous maggot-like creature revealed its form. Resembling a whale, the monster was spewing out parasites akin to roundworms from every pore in its body as it charged toward Haeundae.
“Stop it–!!”
The remaining ability users in Busan hastily grabbed their Core Weapons and unleashed volleys of fire upon it. The military forces were too preoccupied with supporting immediate threats to assist from afar.
“Shit, damn it, that guy again!!”
A middle-aged man who had settled roots in Haeundae shouted while switching magazines for his Core Weapon M16.
“What is that thing?!”
“And, that’s the whale and parasite combo that appeared when our city goddess awakened!”
“Oh, really? I didn’t see it.”
That zombie whale was a creature so terrifying that even thinking about it made one lose their appetite. The middle-aged man switched magazines filled with core bullets while aiming along the coastline.
“Are you serious?! Are you really from Busan…?”
“I’m from New Seoul.”
A petite girl in middle school uniform, Kim Nori, clenched her fists as she stepped onto the sandy beach. The middle-aged man nearly fainted at the sight.
“Dear disciple! Get back!”
“I’m a Hunter AND Hero!”
“Is that A-Rank?! That’s S-Rank!”
“…Heh heh heh!”
Kim Nori raised her left arm high into the sky. From wrist to fingertip, her arm was tightly wrapped in white bandages that concealed all skin.
“The Hyper Carry Hunter Kim Nori has arrived to protect Haeundae!”
“This kid’s lost it!”
At the sight of Kim Nori striking a pose, the middle-aged man and others began tearing their hair out in frustration.
KUOOOOOONG!!
The zombie whale immediately noticed Nori and surged towards the beach, churning through the water. Nori pulled on the knot of her bandage and moved forward instead of retreating.
“Uncle, someone go stop her!”
“How can we stop someone who’s the strongest here?!”
All B-Rank and above Heroes had been deployed either to the Great King battlefield or scattered across various regions. Ironically, Kim Nori, who had been stationed in Busan, was the only B-Rank or higher Ability User left in the city.
“While my master is away, I’ll protect Busan!”
“Has this girl gone mad?!”
Nori tugged at the knot of her bandages. Her face was filled with both tension and a playful smile.
KUOOOOOONG!!
The zombie whale thrashed its tail harder, rushing toward the sandy shore. With its massive jaws open wide, ready to swallow Nori whole, dozens of anisakis parasites inside drooled hungrily.
At the last possible moment, after unraveling her bandages, Nori stretched her arms toward the heavens and cried out,
“Transformation!!”
“Huh? What?!”
Black light erupted from the bandages. A dark curtain spread out in a square around Nori, swallowing the zombie whale’s head as it lunged forward.
KUUUUUUUNG!!!
As soon as the zombie whale collided with the black curtain, it collapsed. Not just knocked down, but its body started crumpling from the top down.
“My special ability is gravity manipulation. Heard of it? Hehe.”
From within the curtain came a playful voice, similar to before but now distinctly adult-like.
“Is THIS S-Rank? Ugh, disgusting.”
As the black curtain dissipated, revealing a tall woman dressed in a black suit standing on the sandy beach with long flowing hair. She looked remarkably like Kim Nori, except she stood almost 30cm taller.
“Wha—what is this…”
“I’m also S-Rank! Don’t think I’m just showing off! Humph!”
The middle-aged man turned red under the intense glare of this transformed Nori, whose adult figure and appearance far surpassed any standard teenage look despite knowing her true age.
“…Damn.”
A few men couldn’t help but shrink back at the uncomfortable truth. Nori, seeing their reactions, smiled apologetically but quickly hardened her expression as she turned back to the shoreline.
“So, relax already! While Master is on the moon, I’ll—”
“Danger!”
KYAAAAAAAAAA!!
Suddenly, an anisakis parasite shot out from the zombie whale’s eye. Kim Nori quickly summoned magic power to increase gravity around the parasite, but it only slightly altered its trajectory.
“Crap—”
The parasite, which had originally aimed for her eyes, now sharply veered straight toward her heart. Gravity manipulation had inadvertently become a disadvantage.
“It’s too late—”
“Always be cautious.”
KUUUUUUUNG!!
A golden sword descended from the sky. As soon as it touched the blade, the anisakis disappeared without a trace.
“What…?”
“Are you alright?”
A familiar voice came from behind. Turning around, Nori saw a smaller version of herself with white hair covering her lips with her finger.
“Luu…sal…”
Nori clamped her mouth shut before making a mistake. The white-clad woman, Rusalka, winked mischievously as she extended her hand toward the sea.
KYAAAAAAAAAAA!!
Beyond the coastline, enormous bubbles began forming. Hundreds of identical monsters to the zombie whale surged toward Haeundae.
“You should probably find a partner to watch your side.”
Rusalka flicked her extended hand upward.
SSSHHHHAAAAAAK—
The waves along the shoreline suddenly stilled, motionless. The zombie whales charging toward the shore froze solid.
“Lord?”
“Yes.”
A blond man—Belloborg—created a golden dagger in his hand and hurled it toward the shoreline. The small dagger multiplied mid-air, eventually covering the entire Haeundae sea.
KIIIIIIIIEEEEE!!
The zombie whales screamed as they disintegrated. The anisakis parasites expelled from their bodies vanished instantly upon exposure to the light.
With just one strike.
By simply gesturing once, the two figures wiped out all the S-Rank monsters crowding the front of Haeundae. Nori stared blankly with her jaw dropped.
“Of course…”
“You were very brave to act alone. Good job. But next time, move with adults.”
“But this body IS an adult!”
“There are still some things that haven’t matured yet, aren’t there?”
Rusalka poked Nori’s chest. Though it had grown to about C-cup size, Nori fully understood what Rusalka’s gesture implied.
“…Understood. But why did you two come to Busan? With all of Russia to cover…”
“We’ve been closing dimensional gates everywhere. And now, it seems we’re nearing the end.”
Rusalka pointed to her magical gear on her wrist. The clock read exactly 5 PM.
“The end? Could it be…”
“Yes, that.”
Rusalka pointed westward. Visible even to the naked eye of an S-Rank ability user, something resembling a meteorite was descending from the sky.
“An octopus head?”
“Correct.”
“The world!”
Nori clapped her hands and jumped around excitedly.
“Is it really over?!”
“Seems that way. Heheh, as expected, my daughter—”
“KYAAAAAAAK! Incredible! Master has arrived! Truly the world’s strongest goddess! You rock!”
“…”
Rusalka smiled proudly at her disciple, who was more excited than herself. Of course, she felt a little wistful watching something sway dramatically nearby.
“Lord. Should we operate on this?”
“No need. You’re perfect as you are.”
“Pedo.”
“I’m not a pedo. It’s the body of the person I love.”
The couple exchanged amused glances. Meanwhile, Nori waved her hands enthusiastically at the crowd.
“Everyone—!! It seems like it’s finally over—!! We’ve won—!!”
Her spirited victory declaration ignited cheers among the people.
And then…
Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade!
Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade!
Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade!
“What is this?”
As the crowd began chanting his name, Light Blade wiped sweat from his brow and tried to speak louder.
“I am Belloborg—”
“Excuse me, Master Father. Let’s call you Senior, okay?”
Nori blew a raspberry and spread her arms wide.
“Who in this country doesn’t know Senior is Light Blade? Heehee.”
“…”
Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade! Light Blade!
Heo Yoon-hwan wanted to hide somewhere. He glanced at Rusalka for salvation, but she stared blankly at the western sky.
“Finally, it’s ending…”
In the western sky, the giant squid head falling into the West Sea began slowly collapsing.
* * *
The moon collapses.
Using the moon as his physical vessel and himself as the core to summon the Otherworld God, Seongju’s weakness naturally lies in the core part. True to his nature as a being capable of manipulating brains, Seongju could freely control his own brain, moving his body independently while keeping his brain in the safest place possible.
“Rich guys usually keep their life vessels separate.”
A place no one can reach. A place no spirit can enter.
Inside the Otherworld God’s body.
Seongju hid his main body there. Even a synchronized spirit would suffer damage if directly exposed to the organs of the Otherworld God, making it the perfect place for Seongju to store his core—his brain.
“In the original story, Yuna was captured.”
Surrounded by tentacles extending up and down, a naked Yuna was held captive as a host. The protagonist infiltrated the Otherworld God’s body alone, risking his life to rescue her. Alone, without allies, the protagonist saved Yuna from the parasitic Seongju.
“If rescued, a 3P ending unlocks; if not, another heroine’s ending begins.”
While following the Yuna route requires her rescue to progress the story, she remains a character who must be saved regardless of the chosen heroine path. Ultimately, rescuing Yuna from the Otherworld God’s avatar leads to a harem ending.
“But now, killing Seongju is the goal.”
Seongju underestimated the situation. Having read my memories, he assumed the protagonist always came to kill him, failing to notice that more beings could infiltrate the Otherworld God’s body.
“With three of us.”
Me, wielding the synchronized power of Chang-yeom.
Hwanryong, who becomes immune to magical influence as a spiritual entity.
And Yuna, who might as well be the Otherworld God itself.
I requested initial infiltration from Hwanryong and Yuna right from the start. The outer tentacle portion could easily be handled by the remaining four, and I could use my magic power if necessary.
“Thank goodness.”
There’s no longer a need to use magic power. All eight legs of the berserk form have been severed, and the giant squid head is crumbling from the outside.
“Hey! Is this real?!”
Blue-Eyes White Phoenix—finally adopting Baek Hee-a’s naming choice—Stone Harang worried about the two who hadn’t yet escaped. Although the Otherworld God’s body was collapsing, the pair inside hadn’t returned yet.
“Don’t worry. If Yuna had been consumed, the body would have stabilized further.”
“Consumed? Like what?”
“…Octopus Goddess Invasion?”
Perhaps she’d transform into a colossal squid goddess and invade Earth. I chuckled inwardly at the original setting.
“Just wait. Look, they’re coming out!”
SQUEAKKKK—!!
The squid’s crown split vertically. Simultaneously, two silhouettes soared high into the sky.
“Escaped—-!!”
Yuna flew up holding Hwanryong’s hand. While breaking free went smoothly, this wasn’t outer space’s zero-gravity environment but the middle of Earth’s atmosphere.
“KYAAAAAAAK?!”
“Kim Penril.”
“Sigh, fine.”
Kim Penril sighed and waved her hand. Clouds formed beneath Yuna and Hwanryong, enveloping them. Like a cloud chariot, it carried them back to the Blue Youth Crane Ship.
“Yuna wears surprisingly daring underwear, huh?”
“Purple. I’ve seen it too many times today, but surely it’s not coordinated with the squid body, right, Yuna?”
“…Please pretend you didn’t see.”
Gravity caused her skirt to flip momentarily. I claim ignorance. The bad part is that Seongju unnecessarily attempted a descent to Earth instead of continuing the fight in space, causing the skirt to flip due to gravity. It’s Seongju’s fault.
“Cough. Let’s discuss Yuna’s underwear later. Everyone, board the ship.”
I pointed at the Blue Youth Crane Ship with its open cockpit. The cannons were already retracted, and Captain Baek Hee-a was seated in the captain’s chair.
“Karna, lend me your magical gear for a moment.”
I contacted Hikari using Karna’s magical gear.
[Manager… Ah, Director? Director, I recovered the magical gear. I’ll return it right away.]
“Where is the squid’s landing point on the moon?”
[Right in the middle of the West Sea.]
Thankfully, it’s the middle of the ocean. The spirits boarded the Blue Youth Crane Ship one by one.
“Aren’t you coming?”
“Just a moment.”
I gazed at Seongju’s berserk form fading with the sunset for a long time. The hemispherical barrier wouldn’t break and would fall into the sea, possibly causing a mild tsunami but harming no civilians.
‘I’ll have to ignite fire inside the barrier to finish this.’
It seemed it had come to this. Even deploying someone who inherited my powers would mean sacrificing their life, essentially.
“Self-sacrifice is supposed to be exclusive to heroes, right?”
[Phoenix Sir? What are you saying—]
“Idiotic antics?”
I gathered magic power and hurled the Blue Youth Crane Ship beyond the barrier.
[Maaa! Are you insane?!]
[Phoenix Sir!!]
I sensed the spirits panicking inside, and Baek Hee-a hurriedly opened a pocket dimension to bring it back inside the barrier. However, I blocked it with flames.
“There might be cockroaches trying to escape. We have to burn everything, leaving nothing behind.”
KIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEK!!
Just as I spoke, countless terrrists burst out from fragments of the Otherworld God’s body.
