Chapter 43

Chapter 43. Somebody, Help Me!

After becoming officially partnered with Mallyang, I had spent quite a while living in the sewer so I could show Mallyang that I intended to fulfill her wish.

Somehow, I ended up being misunderstood, chasing after a streamer named Kim Inbang, and eventually meeting Kim Inbang after he had been turned into a monster.

I'll just give you the conclusion.

We did defeat the named monster.

After most of my companions died.

Later, we encountered the boss, and it killed us with a single gesture.

Kim Inbang had also posted on the community after his stream ended.

He said that he couldn't control his character, and that all the users looked like monsters to him.

Well, I could have understood that without even hearing his explanation.

The problem was that when he revived after dying, he was reborn at the place where we had killed him.

He could move around somewhat freely at that time, but he had been bound by the boss monster and was told that he would have to act as a named monster for a while.

**“Still, that's fortunate.

If we, people like us, had been caught by the power of the Corrupted One instead of the outsiders, we would have been forced to live without even knowing what had happened to us.”**

Iyen had been drinking Gwaegimok juice naturally while listening carefully to everything I said.

I thought so too.

According to the setting of this world, resurrection magic existed.

NPCs who were killed by outsiders would automatically revive after three days even without resurrection magic.

However, since the opponent was a monster, it probably wouldn't have revived.

Just like the people from Jageun Village.

Besides, even if it had revived, it would have had to live as the boss monster's slave.

Unlike the players, there was no concept of turning off the game and coming outside to figure out what had happened.

“So, what are they doing with that person now?”

“The boss can't leave the church, so apparently he goes out in his place and does things like missionary work.

Then, whenever we enter the church, he seems to automatically respawn inside the church.

Every time we see him, he's brought in more companions, so he's becoming really troublesome.”

“You must have tried more times than I thought.”

“About ten times.”

“…Ah, yes.”

Iyen looked sulky, apparently wondering how I had managed to make those ten attempts without telling her even once.

No, there was a chance we could die.

I had only recently learned that resurrection magic existed, so I couldn't exactly take her somewhere dangerous for no reason.

It seemed that she didn't know me very well.

I was figuring out this game by repeatedly hitting my head against a wall.

I only discovered that resurrection magic existed after Mallyang died during the final attempt.

“Did you discover anything else?”

“Hmm, well.

I did manage to tear off one of that boss's wings.”

It had happened during the final attempt as well.

It was after Mallyang died.

At that time, I felt the same anger I had felt when someone brutally destroyed something I had created.

I didn't even know back then whether it was possible to revive someone by paying money.

So, based on the same anger I had felt when the wolf stomped Modak, I desperately endured everything and managed to tear off one of its wings.

Now, that bastard was the one I cursed the most after the wolf.

No.

It might even have surpassed the wolf.

Anyway, anyone who destroys something I created will be squeezed dry and killed.

**“Oh?

Can I see it?”**

“No.

Corruption is highly contagious, just like madness.

If someone without resistance touches it, they will become contaminated by corruption in an instant and turn into someone like that Kim Inbang person.”

Of course, I was using it just fine.

Perhaps because I had already experienced using two different types of psychic power, I didn't experience anything strange even when I attached the wing to my back or swung it around like a weapon.

Personally, I wanted to give it to Mallyang.

Since she's a slime, she doesn't equip equipment in the normal sense.

Instead, she enters the equipment or carries it inside herself.

However, accessories still work as long as they're held inside her body.

Besides, Mallyang seemed to have resistance to both corruption and madness, just like Iyen.

If Mallyang possessed the wing I had torn off, perhaps we could expect an effect greater than what I was imagining.

Of course, Mallyang's skill tree was specialized toward healing.

If I gave her some strange equipment without thinking, she might end up becoming a useless hybrid character.

So I decided to use it myself for a while before giving it to her.

“Right, Mallyang~.”

“Nee, mallyang, me, mwe...”

She didn't even have a mouth, so there was no way her speech should come out like that when I stretched her.

Seeing her respond that way meant she was obviously playing along with me.

Anyway, she was such a kind and cute person.

“Mallyang Mallyang Mallyang.”

**“I'm not a dog or a cat.

Even a dog or cat would bite you if you stretched them like that.”**

“Sorry.”

“…Tch….”

Anyway, back to the main topic.

To be honest, I had learned almost nothing about this wing.

I only realized that it was dangerous because I had tried to show it to the members of the temporary "Kim Inbang Viewer Alliance" who had attempted the boss with me, and they became contaminated.

If that hadn't happened, I wouldn't even have known that.

Another thing that had become certain was that players other than me who couldn't use psychic power would definitely become contaminated and turn into one of the boss's named monsters.

Even if they had learned psychic power, unless their psychic power had a similar nature to my madness or the boss's corruption, they would probably still become contaminated.

The reason the boss hadn't done that until now was probably because it thought one named monster was enough.

But now that I had torn off one of its wings, there was no way to predict what it would do from now on.

Faced with this unexpected situation, the boss would probably choose the safest and most stable path.

That meant we absolutely couldn't ignore the possibility that it would kill the party members it had previously just killed and expelled, then turn them into its own servants.

If players became corrupted, they apparently continued guarding the church even when they weren't logged into the game.

That made things somewhat troublesome.

**“By the way.

Who knows about this situation?”**

“Almost all the outsiders know about it.”

**“…Oh dear.

Isn't there a possibility that they might form separate teams and enter the church?

What if they accidentally increase the number of the boss's servants?”**

“I already released the battle footage, so they'll either prepare properly before entering or give up from the beginning.

And honestly, Kim Inbang was already quite strong, which is why he was difficult to deal with even after becoming a named monster.

Otherwise, it shouldn't be that difficult.”

The real problem would be if a high-level NPC brought along to help with the攻略 died and became one of the boss's servants.

At this stage, the players themselves weren't much of a problem.

Of course, as time passed, they would gradually become a bigger problem.

But that was something for later, so I shouldn't worry about it too much yet.

“What do you think is necessary to defeat the Corrupted One?”

“The boss itself is a Penitent of Corruption, so it doesn't seem like the holy power that works against demons works against it.

Well, it doesn't seem completely ineffective either.

But since it says it serves an unholy god and tries to kill priests first, perhaps it's actually better not to bring priests.”

“What about the wings?”

“There were chains around its ankles that were exactly the same as mine.

It grabbed those chains and swung them around.

Like shaking sesame seeds out of a container.”

**“Ah.

So you took advantage of the moment when it was stunned and tore off the wing?”**

“No?

I just kept hitting it until the wing became ragged.

Then I grabbed it, and it came off.”

**“…Ah…

So you almost killed it?”**

“I was lucky.”

It was true.

The bastard hadn't looked particularly injured.

Even after losing one of its wings, it had said, "Oh, you're quite capable."

Among all the players' attacks, the only thing that could actually damage it was an attack using the chains.

So I suspected that psychic power might be its weakness.

Unless that wasn't the case.

Maybe it was the chains around its ankles.

I had said they were the same as mine, but perhaps they were literally my chains, which was why I could damage it.

The chains I had left behind in the Forest of the Maze.

The ones that had been blackened with madness, unlike now.

Hayan and Modak should still be inside them.

No.

Forget all that.

Could those chains even have flowed from that place all the way here?

It was difficult enough just to enter that place.

**“…Iyen.

Do you think there is anyone among your people who can help us?”**

“There will definitely be someone.

If they hear that such a monster is living beneath the capital, they will rush over immediately.

There is even undeniable evidence, so no one would refuse to believe it.

However…”

“However?”

“They will certainly want to come, but the people they serve will think differently.

They aren't resistant to madness like I am, so they will probably say that they cannot entrust them with such a dangerous task.”

I see.

It was annoying, but when I tried to understand the logic, it made sense.

People like Iyen, who were immune to corruption or madness, were extremely rare.

It was probably the same even for those who possessed the title of Hero.

And the title of Hero was undoubtedly important to the nation's military strength.

There was no way they would risk such an important national asset to defeat a monster strong enough for someone like me to tear off one of its wings.

**“But Iyen.

If we leave that demon-like thing in the sewer alone, won't it eventually become a huge problem?

Even then, they won't let us?”**

**“Those who have reached the position of Hero are willing to sacrifice themselves.

That's why they're called Heroes.

But if a Hero is sacrificed too easily, the country itself will be shaken.”**

“The human world really is complicated….”

“There's nothing we can do.

It's not an unreasonable decision, so we just have to do our best within the situation we're given.”

That was true.

But I couldn't think of any particular solution.

The church was large, but if we brought too many party members, we'd all get slaughtered at once.

I had even considered fighting the boss one-on-one.

But if I went alone, I would probably lose to even Kim Inbang.

Was there some method that was revolutionary, clever, efficient, and didn't require us to worry about cleaning up afterward?

**“Ah, my head is splitting.

We're short on talent.”**

“Could you ask the Witch of Corruption for help?

Weren't you acquainted with her?”

“…No.

If I went to ask her for help right now, wouldn't the badgers beat me to death before I could even see her?

I don't even know where she is.”

Those badgers were more than capable of doing exactly that.

I couldn't trust them.

I could already imagine what they would say when they saw me.

**“Great Warrior!

Huh?

But… you're weak?

Great Warrior…

Do you remember that the history between us has not been peaceful?”**

They might even say something like that.

They could also attack me under the excuse of revenge for the families I had killed twenty years ago.

“…How can a situation become this completely hopeless?”

Would it be better to just collapse the underground area?

If I could obtain a suitable amount of explosives from the black market, it wouldn't be completely impossible.

But if I did that, the capital would collapse together with it.

And my infamous reputation would spread throughout the world.

Wouldn't I become even more notorious than the Witch of Corruption?

Since the bastard couldn't leave the church, what if we released gas from outside the church and then detonated it after enough had filled the place?

Wasn't that basically the same as the bombing plan?

“How many people do you think would be appropriate?”

“The easiest number to move around would be around ten.

At most, about twenty.

Ideally, we'd minimize the number of tanks who have a high chance of being directly exposed to the boss's attacks and form a party using classes specialized in evasion.

Of course, that would make us a DPS party with neither tanks nor healers.

If anything went wrong, everyone could be wiped out at once.

So we'd have to bring plenty of healing potions.”

**“…Uncle, you seem to have quite a lot of experience with this.

You calculated everything very quickly.”**

“No.

It's based on my experience fighting it directly.

I also considered receiving buffs outside the church before entering.

I even considered applying debuffs from outside the church.

But the boss can attack from a distance, and even though they're not as strong as Kim Inbang was as a named monster, it can also summon small monsters.”

“Wouldn't it be okay if we kept the priests outside the church along with soldiers to protect them?”

“We don't have enough people for that.

There are thirteen people in the party I've formed right now, so there aren't any people I can spare.”

“And it also seems that the Corrupted One has skills that can neutralize seals and barriers.

Even if we place priests outside the church, I'm not sure how much help they'd actually be.”

“Does it have any weaknesses?”

“It's slow?

It's not as tough as I expected either.

If we concentrate our skills on it at the right moment, we might be able to kill it.

The problem is that it can also use defensive magic.”

…Huh?

Why does it feel like we're gradually finding a way forward?

“Uncle, can the monsters summoned by the Corrupted One also become contaminated?”

“That…

No.

Right.

The only one capable of contaminating others was the boss.”

“Then we can borrow the power of the Empire.”

What was this?

If I'd known things would turn out like this, I should have asked and discussed everything from the beginning!

What the hell?!

Had I been acting like an idiot all this time by myself?

I realized far too late that putting something away in a box because I wanted to save it would only cause it to rot.

Right.

When you need to use something, you should use it.

Especially when the Village Chief seemed to be quite clever.

I should make good use of him.

“Iyen, can you request a unit of healers and soldiers to protect them?”

“I understand.

Then I'll go and ask them.

This time, the nobles won't have any excuse to stop the Heroes either.”

“Then I'll acquire the supplies we need.

Hohoho.

Thanks to Mallyang, there are so many more things we can prepare for that I'm getting excited.”

“Okay.

Then I'll make the final plan with the other players.

If we can increase our numbers, we'll give it a try.

Also, Mallyang, there's something I need to do with you.”

**“Yes!

I'll do my best too!

Finally, we're getting close to cleansing the sewer, aren't we?”**

I had spent three whole days attempting the boss.

This was probably the first time we had actually made meaningful progress.

Still, it wouldn't hurt to prepare for the possibility that things didn't go well.

After all, nothing in this world ever goes exactly according to plan.