Chapter 15

Even the Awakened who had been edging away cautiously, the drunk homeless man who’d been yelling, and even the chirping birds and honking cars—everything fell silent.

Word-Spirit.

An absolute command delivered through sound, binding all who heard it—living or not, friend or foe.

So this was No Yeon-hwa’s ability.

For an unrefined, offhand word to carry this much force… truly a terrifying power.

Though, of course, not enough to shut my mouth.

“If it really bothers you, should I just lower my voice from now on?”

“You?!”

“Don’t worry, whispering’s better inside Ground Zero anyway. As a local, I’ll guide you properly.”

“H-how…?”

“Because I’m not noisy.”

Beneath the hooded robe, a single tentacle slid over my eye.

The Forty-first Tentacle, Tentacle of Suggestion.

It couldn’t match the vast reach of her Word-Spirit, but it, too, had the power to control.

So I simply turned it on myself and overlaid a command.

The only downside was having to constantly lock eyes with the tentacle’s glaring hypnotic eye on the inside of the blindfold. Like a beloved child, yes—but every time my eyelid brushed against it, I shuddered.

“No one can resist my commands, no matter their ability… Sit! Stay put!”

“Don’t give in! Fight back! Stand tall and keep walking forward!”

“Kneel before me right now!”

“No, stand on tiptoe and look down on me with scorn! And while you’re at it, tug your mask down!”

“You—ugh!”

As childish as it was, this verbal tug-of-war was worth it if I could win.

Other Awakened, caught in No Yeon-hwa’s range, collapsed one after another—dropping to their knees, lying flat, or fainting outright.

But I stood firm.

“Haa… haa… Impossible. How could a mere Lower Level mage resist my Word-Spirit…?”

“An ability’s true value isn’t its raw power, but how well you use it.”

“Just… what are you…? Khh!”

At last, she broke into a dry cough, her eyes watering.

Unlike me, who had confined my hypnosis to myself, her power had been cast at indiscriminate targets, draining her mana faster.

Once I confirmed there was no more force behind her voice, I pushed the blindfold-tentacle up and looked her in the eye.

“Looks like you’re finally ready to talk. Shall we continue this inside?”

The road to Sector 4, where the Revelation Prayer House stood, was anything but easy.

Inside the walls, the city looked like the remnants of an apocalypse.

Unstable mana rippled across the ground, and the cries of monsters echoed from back alleys.

Only a few Gates designated for mana-stone harvesting remained relatively safe, kept under control by the larger guilds.

But the deeper we went into Ground Zero, the rarer even those managed zones became.

[Warning: Look up and beware of acidic fluid falling toward your eyes.]

[No members of “Mortal Fate” are present in this area. If found, flee immediately.]

The only guidance came from crude signboards stuck in alleys and ruined buildings.

When, or by whom, they’d been written—no one knew. Trusting them was up to you.

Guilds hired local guides whenever they ventured near the center.

But this time, that wasn’t necessary at all.

After all, Ground Zero—the land twisted by Gate overconcentration—was my birthplace.

“A child with its neck half-severed.”

“What the hell is that?”

“Just wave until it disappears from sight.”

A shadow shaped like a child clung to us from atop a ruined building.

If left alone, it would creep out of the darkness with a kitchen knife and slit your throat.

Sure, we could destroy it with abilities, but it was better to remember the proper countermeasure. Saved stamina that way.

“Smile while you wave—it goes away faster.”

“You sure?”

“Of course I am.”

As No Yeon-hwa’s lips tugged into a stiff smile, the child-shadow vanished with a mocking laugh.

By Ground Zero standards, that was practically harmless.

Why did things that weren’t monsters or demons linger outside the Gate?

Because this place was a Seed of Calamity.

A location where an Archduke had once manifested.

Even if the Archduke’s true body had been banished, unless the Incarnation was completely erased, remnants like this always remained.

As far as I knew, there were three Seeds of Calamity still in Korea:

The Sea of Decay, the Thirteenth Palace of Emptiness…

And Ground Zero’s own Sector 0.

One day, I’d have to head for the heavily walled center and reclaim the Star Scar. But that wasn’t today.

Right now, my priority was easing my new partner’s suspicion.

“Don’t get the wrong idea just because my ability didn’t work on you. My Word-Spirit applies to every being and phenomenon. If I wanted, I could tie that shadow to you forever.”

She popped a throat lozenge into her mouth, still keeping two steps of distance between us.

Of course she was wary. An opponent immune to her ability—that was natural.

But as a fellow zero-year rookie, it still stung.

What went wrong?

I only wanted to get along, just like Yoo Se-byeol suggested.

“I just checked your profile. What the hell did you write? Review Event? And what the hell is ‘SenaChok’? Is that your name?”

“‘There Are No Bad Tentacles.’”

“…Got it. You’re a pervert.”¹

The gap grew to three steps. She even pulled her hood up. It had a cutesy cat-ear design on top.

I tried narrowing the distance with small talk.

Especially why she picked this mission when she couldn’t even roam Ground Zero freely like I could.

“Because it’s high difficulty, obviously. Nobody else dares touch it, dumbass.”

“High difficulty? But it was just Grade 2.”

“‘Just’? Ha! Only a Lower Level Awakened would call Grade 2 ‘just.’”

Normally, Grade 3 or lower missions were recommended for Lower Level Awakened. Grade 2 required at least Middle Level.

And this Revelation Prayer House had been neglected for so long, no one knew just how dangerous it had become.

“I don’t care who my partner is. If I’d known I’d get stuck with someone like you, I’d have picked something like ‘Find the Pet Beast Cat’ instead.”

“You’ve got an eye for missions. I was going to pick that one too. We’re a great match, right? Let’s give each other good peer reviews.”

“Please. I don’t need your review. And don’t expect me to save you if you’re about to die.”

As the ruins gave way, the Prayer House finally came into view. Without hesitation, No Yeon-hwa strode forward.

“And don’t think what you saw earlier was the limit of my ability.”

She knocked on the firmly closed doors. A moment later, figures appeared from within.

The ones who opened the door were devotees of Revelation, one of the Four Outer Gods.

“Strangers…? We weren’t told of any visitors today…”

“Who are you? There was no prophecy about guests coming.”

Their pupils trembled, blood vessels burst red in their eyes.

Coupled with their awkward, halting speech and the rancid mix of rot and sulfur wafting from inside the Prayer House—something was deeply wrong.

“You said you were sent from the Cliff of Pilgrims…?”

“Sometimes communication just cuts out here. You know how unstable it is with all the Gate interference…”

“There’s nothing wrong with the Prayer House. You can return now.”

“We’ll send someone to the guild later, so don’t worry…”

“That won’t do.”

From the moment this mission landed on our desks, it was obvious these people weren’t in their right minds.

No Yeon-hwa checked the last line of the assignment note and stepped forward.

If apostasy is confirmed among the believers, whether they live or die is of no concern.

Demons, monsters, or anomalous phenomena in Ground Zero—whatever had corrupted them, they were far past saving.

Even if they weren’t, her ability alone couldn’t bring them back.

‘Unless that idiot’s hiding some trick… but no way.’

Watching the Lower Level mage mutter to himself for fun, she couldn’t help sighing.

He hadn’t taken a single mission even though unit assignments had finished ages ago. That made him either a coward—

Or an opportunist trying to leech off a strong Special Unit member like her.

‘Or maybe he’s just trying to hit on me.’

Considering he didn’t even know who she was, yet jumped in front of Wings of the Blue Sky members, she couldn’t rule that out.

He might know his way around Ground Zero, but as for whether he was useful in combat… another sigh.

‘Argh!’

Suddenly he yelped, digging into his sleeve as if something had slithered inside, muttering “barley, barley, rice.”² Then he flinched as a pale tentacle popped out and jabbed him in the eye.

As he toppled to the ground, No Yeon-hwa turned back with a cold voice.

“Stay outside.”

“Why? We’re soul partners.”

“You’re still saying that crap? I told you not to come in—it’s dangerous, and I’ve already burned too much mana today.”

“Tsk, tsk. An Awakened who can’t even manage her own mana. Did something happen?”

“You! You! You bastard, it’s because of you!”

“Gah!”

She smacked his back several times before finally regaining her composure.

If nothing else, he had a natural talent for pissing people off.

Surely that wasn’t his actual ability… right?

Catching her breath, she pulled out her Special Unit badge and faced the cultists again.

“Tell me what you’re scheming, and where the other believers are.”

“The others…?”

“They received revelation. They’re in a safe place. In the embrace of our master…”

“Step aside. This is official duty.”

“……”

“……”

When she wedged her foot into the doorway, the head priest and nun instantly glared, their eyes rolling, oozing hostility.

Their pale hands writhed like they were ready to throttle her.

No Yeon-hwa exhaled heavily.

Her Word-Spirit covered wide areas. Ideally, she wanted to storm their base and crush them all at once.

But with them barring the way, she’d have to clear it step by step.

‘Tch. Guess I’ve got no choice.’

She lowered her mask and drew in a sharp breath.

This time, unlike when she tried to shake off her annoying partner, she gathered her mana in an instant.

“Obedience.”

“Yes…?!”

“To those who fall from Dike’s scales—”³

She began speaking a carefully woven string of words, heavy with compulsion.

But just before it struck, something blocked the gap between her and the believers.

“Hold on a moment.”

“You?!”

“Actually… I think I might’ve received a revelation myself. That’s why I came.”

From beneath his black robe, her partner’s hand gripped the door handle.