#207
Prelude to Chaos (2)
The sound of a TV, switched on instead of the radio, could be heard dimly.
Crash—!
The utensils on the table clattered to the floor.
“…Damn! What the hell is this all of a sudden…!”
My hands flailing, I barely grabbed the table, leaned my weight against it, and gritted my teeth.
The living room floor, which had been tidy just moments ago, was now a wreck, but this was no time to worry about such trivial things.
The Abyss’s mental incursion had begun abruptly.
Hans, who had become the Undead King, possessed resistance on the level of immunity to mental attacks even without doing anything special, but the current incursion was not an external attack, so such a defense wasn’t particularly helpful.
‘Ever since I met eyes with that thing, from within Hans’s heart… from inside, the Abyss has been resonating. This level of reaction is beyond what happened when absorbing a fragment.’
Of course, even if his own mental defense had become useless, it wasn’t a major problem.
If you combined his mental stats, which had grown through investing massive amounts of Karma, with the resources that could be pulled from the other Avatars, he possessed a transcendent level of mental strength where it would be strange if anything went wrong.
If I used that to moderately suppress the rampaging incursion and divert its direction so it wouldn’t flow back to the main body, there wouldn’t be any problem at all.
Hadn’t it been possible for Hans to wield the dangerous power of the Undead King as he pleased from the very beginning precisely because of such cheat-like characteristics?
“Kuk, why now of all times!”
…If this were a normal day, that is.
Mental resources were overflowing, but Hans’s inner world was currently far too precarious and unstable to fully unleash them.
‘Damn, I can’t suppress it. Right after the mental world was damaged!’
All manner of negative elements burst forth from within as if exploding.
Negative emotions he had already experienced several times and had been consistently blocking ever since amplified several times over in an instant and surged up to the limit line of [Mind Hub].
‘At this rate, it’ll flow back…!’
Countless thoughts flashed through my head in an instant.
Cancel the summon?
No, that’s just putting the problem off until later.
A bomb was already lodged inside Hans; the same thing would repeat immediately upon resummoning him.
And then ‘Hans with a problem’ would exist right beside the defenseless main body.
‘Not to mention that if I fail to properly suppress the energy, our position will be exposed in all directions! Unless I’m going to seal Hans away forever, that’s the worst possible choice.’
No matter how many barriers were installed at home, considering the energy currently surging from Hans’s body, they wouldn’t even come close.
As expected, resolving this problem in Auterica… no, in the Undead Castle right now was for the best.
‘But if my own mind gets corrupted, that defeats the purpose. I have to stop that at all costs.’
The incursion that had already crossed the limit line was currently pounding at the boundary of [Mind Hub].
I stopped all the Avatars’ movements simultaneously and focused that mental power solely on Hans.
I wrapped the mental world that had been damaged by the Spirit Envoy to prevent the harm from worsening.
And I imbued the [Clear Mirror Still Water], which had been tossing about like a sailboat caught in a storm, with strength.
While controlling [Persona], I further reinforced the security of [Mind Hub].
In that process, I realized that some kind of information was contained within the backflowing Abyss, but right now I didn’t have the slightest leisure to divert my attention to it.
‘At this rate, it’s really dangerous. Some kind of breakthrough…’
But such resistance was at best merely buying time.
The situation was still dark enough to feel hopeless.
While searching for a breakthrough with all my might.
‘…Wait, what’s that?’
Suddenly, the bead left behind by the Spirit Envoy was detected within Hans’s inner consciousness.
Though violent upheavals were raging all around, it simply maintained its position quietly, as if it cared nothing for the anomalies around it.
‘Amplification of mental abilities. I don’t know if it will help with this kind of situation… but it’s better than nothing.’
In fact, wasn’t this whole mess caused by that very thing?
If it only helped resolve the current situation, there was no time to be picky about what it was.
‘Huh? This might be better than I thought?’
Yet that object, which I had used with the desperation of clutching at straws, showed performance beyond expectations.
Perhaps because it wasn’t the correct way to use it, the effects weren’t dramatic, but it was at least at a level where it could help block the backflow and sever the gap between them.
‘Sorting out the Abyss that has swelled within Hans comes later. For now, the priority is to firmly fortify the boundary and stop the backflow. Once this is finished…!’
Afterwards, a tiresome struggle of strength with the Abyss continued for a while.
How much time had passed since responding to the incursion in that way?
Truthfully, it hadn’t been very long in reality, but perhaps because of the arduous battle fought in the mental world, it felt as if quite some time had passed.
“Huu—.”
My whole body was sluggish and sticky, drenched in sweat.
The very fact that I could feel this way was proof that I had gained the leeway to turn my consciousness outward.
‘I did it…’
Yes, I had succeeded in the end.
The work of blocking the corruption triggered by the Abyss and building additional barriers at the boundary of consciousness to prevent it from crossing over.
Zing—
But before I could even feel relief at that.
Thud!
Staggering from a sudden dizziness that rang through my head, I tumbled unsightly onto the messy floor.
“Ugh, uhk.”
Was it because I had overexerted myself in the suddenly occurring situation?
I had certainly managed to block the corruption flowing back to the main body, but the mental shock and fatigue inflicted in the process were unavoidable.
No matter how I tried to continue my thoughts, the flow in my head kept snapping off, and my thoughts wouldn’t connect.
Everything was hazy as if I were dreaming, and unable to focus properly, only fragmented thoughts swirled in my mind.
《The Unique Skill has grown, flowering possibility…》
But before those fragments could even take their proper shape.
I felt my consciousness fading far away, and sank straight into darkness.
***
A short while after that.
Click—
Along with the sound of a doorknob turning, a figure entered the ruined living room.
After looking around lightly, he soon looked at the man collapsed on the floor and let out a deep sigh.
“Haah— I didn’t expect this.”
And Hugo, who had entered the living room, took care of Han Seonghyeon—who had the exact same face as himself—laid him down in the bedroom, and checked his condition here and there.
‘I’ve only been rolling Avatars from a safe place all this time, so I never imagined a situation like this. It’s only natural that this would happen when the mind is overstrained.’
Since this was the first time a shock had come to the main body itself like this, he was considerably bewildered.
Fortunately, upon examining the details, it didn’t seem too serious; if he just rested well for a few days like this, he seemed like he would get back up soon, but…
‘No, that’s not the problem here, is it?’
Cold sweat suddenly trickled down his spine.
The real problem was actually starting now.
‘Hoo, let’s stay calm. Shall I organize the situation first?’
Hugo, whose ‘individuality’ was still weak since he had been created not long ago, finished all the cleanup and sat in the massage chair as usual, lost in thought.
Every person had various facets, whether large or small.
Those could change depending on the situation or place, and differ depending on the person they were dealing with.
At work, when with family, during hobbies, when meeting friends…
Someone who is more fair and righteous than anyone else in society could be a tyrant at home who gets angry over trivial matters; an evildoer who has killed many without shedding blood or tears could also be a father who loves his own child more than anyone else.
Because it was such a natural thing, there was no need to force it into frameworks like split personalities; it was simply the expression of diverse and complex emotions that any person naturally possessed.
‘And the individuality granted to the Avatars through [Persona] stems from the emotions of the individual called Han Seonghyeon.’
Each Avatar was a facet that Han Seonghyeon possessed and a projection of his inner image.
Even though they all appeared different, they were undeniably him; even now, with the main body unconscious, they continued to share memories.
It was just that what they expressed differed according to their respective individualities.
Especially Hans, his first Avatar… was an existence that contained all the negative facets he possessed, so to speak, nothing short of an emotional trash can.
The sorrow of losing his family, resentment toward the world, anger toward the criminal, despair for the future, and so on.
Of course, if an ordinary being possessed only such emotions, it could be seen as a big problem, but Hans, being an Avatar, was different.
‘To begin with, being undead meant the compatibility was good, and such negative emotions rather helped in controlling the ‘Heart of the Undead King’.’
Besides, since [Mind Hub] allowed objective control of it separate from the Avatars’ individualities anyway, until now there hadn’t been anything particularly problematic.
‘Until now, that is.’
If Han Seonghyeon—who was the master of [Avatar] and the subject of [Mind Hub]—were present.
And if that Hans were not right after being contaminated by the Abyss’s incursion.
“Hahaha… this is something.”
Hugo, who had been laughing awkwardly while scratching the back of his head, swallowed hard, and soon let out a single word like a brief sigh.
“…We’re fucked.”
That brief sentiment was a thought shared by all Avatars except Hans.
***
‘Needless worry.’
Hans, having suppressed the Abyss that had welled up within, muttered briefly to himself.
No matter how much he had struggled focusing on stopping the backflow, the mental power stats that had been intensively allocated to the entity called Hans were absolutely no small matter.
Though additional contamination by the Abyss from this incident was unavoidable, there had been that much before, so nothing would really change.
‘This body is the ruler who has transcended death and the rightful king. I will never be toyed with according to someone else’s will.’
Whether it be the Abyss or some existence hiding behind the giant.
While he was thinking such thoughts, Dwel’s voice came from beside him making a fuss.
[Your Majesty! Are you alright? I apologize! I should have sealed that impudent giant more thoroughly. To think he would try to pull a trick on Your Majesty even in that state!]
At those words, he looked around; as expected, it seemed not much time had passed, for the surroundings looked no different from before.
[I’m fine so shut up, Dwel. This body has things to think about.]
[Hup! Ah… understood, Your Majesty.]
Hans threw a cold remark at the annoyingly chattering figure beside him, then turned his head again to look at the giant’s head with a hole pierced in its forehead.
The massive cranium slowly crumbling from the aftermath of its core’s destruction.
‘Ha! Mission? Master? What a joke.’
He looked at it and inwardly let out a scoff.
Though he hadn’t yet fully analyzed all the information obtained this time, he still had a rough grasp of the situation.
It seemed both ‘death’ and ‘madness’ had been designed to move according to someone’s intentions.
Most likely, the giant’s trick just now was also a procedure to return the Undead King, who refused to move according to that will, to his original state.
If he hadn’t been an Avatar, he might have truly ended up dancing to that bastard’s tune.
‘I’m not interested in what kind of bastard you are. If you merely obstruct the path of this Hannibal Strauss, I will simply remove you. Just like those bastards from the Reverse Heaven Oath.’
His purpose had been only one from the beginning.
To procure massive Karma through the [Home Theater] and use it to annihilate the Heaven Overturning Society on Earth.
He had been moving solely for that purpose.
‘But after facing them directly, that Heaven Overturning Society is no pushover, as they say.’
Hans’s thoughts, which had been on the giant’s head, naturally flowed in that direction.
From there, the conclusion that naturally followed was one.
‘As expected, I need more Karma.’
It had to be a more certain harvest of Karma, not with a lukewarm method like the one he was using now.
He had recalled it several times before, but he was absolutely not a good being.
The human named Han Seonghyeon had already been broken long ago—a human who, if necessary, could slaughter countless people without batting an eye.
‘It’s only natural. After all, how many has this body killed by now?’
No matter how much filtration [Mind Hub] provided, the fact that he had killed people did not disappear.
Yet even though the number of people he had killed directly and indirectly was already dizzying, he had never really received any particular shock all this time.
Was that not proof that he hadn’t been normal from the very beginning?
And yet, the fact that he had tried to the end to minimize civilian harm… was merely an excuse to rationalize himself and a form of self-satisfaction.
A struggle to preserve the very small humanity he possessed.
‘What a laughable thing.’
However.
Now, those shackles had come undone.
‘I suppose I need to improve efficiency.’
The policy he was currently pursuing was the epitome of inefficiency.
Home Theater, fine.
The clash between hero and demon king, excellent.
Then, did he like the current scenario?
‘No, not in the least!’
What the hell was he doing right now?
This wasn’t playing house; sending out only small fry bit by bit and fooling around!
Even the demon king in RPG games who threw out subordinates step by step to raise the hero didn’t mount such an amateurish offensive.
Behold! The forces piled up and swarming in the Undead Castle right now.
The undead army that had nowhere to go and was simply piling up.
What kind of waste was this?
As expected, the current method was entirely unsatisfactory.
[Dwel McKein.]
[Yes! Your Majesty, the Undead King! Dwel presents himself!]
Hans gazed at him prostrated on the floor for a moment, then uttered a brief word.
[Gather the executives.]
[Yes! I shall carry out the order immediately!]
Dwel disappeared from the spot with rigid military discipline even before the words finished.
Left alone in the laboratory like that, Hans looked again at the giant’s head disappearing into ash, then soon turned his gaze to the ceiling.
There was nothing there but the black stone that was the basic interior of the Undead Castle.
But he whispered lowly as if speaking to someone.
[This body is Hannibal Strauss.]
Hans… no, the Undead King Hannibal Strauss.
[Is one who shall bring an end to this world.]
Began to stretch out a black hand toward the continent in earnest.