I Became a Genius Mage in the Cthulhu Game
Chapter 41: The King in Yellow

It was eerily silent.

Something… something was off.

[System: The unique trait ‘Feast Offering’ has been activated.]

My magical detecting abilities which were developed far beyond the limits of human capacity detected an unexpected situation.

Something had gone terribly wrong.

The worst possible problem had arisen.

The enormous amount of information, threats, and voices released to shake the human psyche, along with the electrifying magic burrowing into the flesh, forced my mind to momentarily cloud over. Being devoured by this force would render one a slave to an indescribable being and would make them lose even the memory of what had been endured.

I gritted my teeth and stepped back.

Damn it, damn it, damn it!

What the hell. What did that bastard want to pick up that he’s crawled out here to cause such a fuss?

[‘The /Null yellow /Null’ has appeared before you.]

[Phase mutual-strategyo dam essence alloy Ψ ∰⊗⊛⊠ – ≜⧬⧭⊹∾∿⊀. mysterious-signs-peak, uttering-underneath ∬∭∮∯∰∱∲∳. 𒀭𒁯𒂊𒉡𒆠𒇲

「Unknown Command」Error Code D-24522

I declared to you human in your inferior and lacking tongue of your insufficiencies. Can you even comprehend human own shortcomings, do it?

Do it.

Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it. Do it.

Do it.

With your own hands, tear out your tongue.

With your own hands, gouge out your eyes.

With your own hands, rip off both your ears and nose.

With your own hands, pull out your stomach.

With your own hands, extract your pancreas.

Thrust your hands into that filthy mouth of yours and pluck out your own heart.

I shall permit you to offer that heart to me.

Do it.

Thus, I will allow you to dedicate your entire being—your body, soul, spirit, magical power, and future—all to me.

Do it.

Offer your heart, offer it to me, and by doing so, you as a human shall be fulfilled. Extract your heart yourself and offer it to me, and I promise you a place. Let us return to the beautiful Carcosa, your homeland, the land where you belong. Let us depart for the great Aldebaran.

Offer your corpse, offer it to me.

Do it.

Let your flesh be a feast for the maggots that crawl underground, offer it to me.]

[The unique trait of /Null’s /Null’ Indescribable’, has been activated.

Light, light, stranger, feast offering, Carcosa, light, swirling, golden, shining brightly, beyond, the Milky Way, crossing the Milky Way, crossing, crossing, to the great Aldebaran, golden light, star, light, beyond, let us embark on a journey, let us embark, let us embark, to the far-off homeland of life, towards a place from which there is no need to return, the beautiful Carcosa, to the great land…

The effect of the ‘Indescribable’ trait forcibly infused your mind with irrational madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness, madness.

‘Mental Illness—Suicidal Impulse’, ‘Mental Illness—Self-harm Impulse’, ‘Mental Illness—Homicidal Impulse’, ‘Mental Illness—Broken Mind’, ‘Mental Illness—Schizophrenia’, ‘Mental Illness—Bizarre Taste’, ‘Mental Illness—Special Faith’, ‘Mental Illness—Obsession with a Specific Color (Yellow)’, ‘Mental Illness—Severe Delusion’, ‘Mental Illness—Mask Phobia’, ‘Mental Illness—Tentacle Phobia’, ‘Mental Illness—Fear of a Specific Color (Yellow)’, ‘Mental Illness—Obsession with the End of the World’.]

Far from a fight.

It merely revealed itself in reality.

It was just a single breath.

But with that breath, the overwhelming amount of information and threat, the voices, and the thrilling magic burrowing to consume my flesh momentarily dazed my mind.

It’s a strange and irrational power that, with its mere presence, completely tramples, destroys, and humiliates the human psyche.

Being consumed by this entity means becoming a slave to that indescribable being and forgetting even what happened to you.

I looked at Jang Hyeon-deok.

The once sneering smile was now obscured by a mask of blasphemous form that was exuding an inhuman aura and presence.

Hummmmmmmm…

I could feel the air around me vibrating.

Golden aura flowed from the mask, shimmering and enveloping his body in its light.

Even those lacking the ability to sense magical power could feel the tangible power crowning his head.

A wondrous figure surrounded by golden magic and aura.

As if he was literally clad in yellow garments.

This means… that individual, or rather, that entity is not Jang Hyeon-deok.

A high being, the great king, the ruler of Carcosa, dweller in Aldebaran, he who must not be named, the sage of the sunset, the lord of the sunset, that which lies beneath the lake, the indescribable one.

The… [King in Yellow]!

No, wait a moment.

Something felt off.

Honestly, it’s not that bad?

Crackle—

Blue sparks erupted at my temples with a crackling sound.

[System: The unique trait ‘Madness of the Abyss’ has been activated. The mental illness bestowed upon your mind has been nullified.]

The madness attempting to infiltrate my mind was swept away by the blue sparks generated by the trait ‘Madness of the Abyss’. A madman cannot go mad again.

Rumble….

The entire ruins’ magical power surged tumultuously.

It was a powerful being with a chilling force.

Yet… The other party’s power was far too weak to claim that he was a being from the abyss that just descended.

I began converting a portion of the magical power I had summoned for protection to analyze the capabilities and stance of my opponent.

I discerned the extent of what the entity could and couldn’t do.

The being housed within Jang Hyeon-deok’s mask indeed formed the shape one might call the [King in Yellow], but… something was missing.

If a being from the abyss, a great old ruler, an outer god, had truly descended, this would not be the end of things.

In any case, the entity before me existed within the range of my perception. It was indeed big, but it was still big enough to be contained within my field of vision if it moved far enough away. Which meant it was a being that I could talk about, describe, and understand.

Holy shit.

I get it now.

“Fu*k, seriously. Who do you take me for, a fool?”

It wasn’t the [King in Yellow] that had descended.

This wasn’t its true form.

Not even an avatar.

This was a shadow created by the [King in Yellow], a messenger sent for a high-dimensional, metaphysical scheme that only they could comprehend. It was merely a voice created by lowering its status and bending its form to communicate with a being with whom communication was otherwise impossible.

But that didn’t mean I was capable of confronting it now. Damn it… I was still lacking in both level and magic order. I didn’t know what it wanted to convey, but if I showed a response it didn’t like, it would whimsically crush me on a whim.

And I could understand all of this situation, starting with the taxi driver brainwashed by the [Yellow Sign]. If they had wanted to lure me in and kill me or whatever, they wouldn’t have sent such a pawn; they would have brought something much larger and more dangerous.

In a state of half-resignation, I addressed the golden illusion created by Jang Hyeon-deok’s mask, the shadow created by the [King in Yellow].

“So, speak then. What is it you wish to convey that you’ve drawn me in with such a convoluted method?”

The bizarre mask shimmered expressionlessly.

It was modeled after the form of a beast, similar to the one I was wearing. The difference lay in the fact that this mask had six eyes.

A mere entertainment for the feast.

A voice that was neither male nor female, neither human nor monster, but simply beautiful. Though beautiful, it carried an indescribably eerie discomfort.

Remarkable. You have proven your strength, mind, and wisdom. For a pitiful and lowly human, this is a commendable achievement. I commend you for reaching this far. I shall allow you to regard this as a glory for your lineage.

Ah, so beating up the dancers was the proof of strength, enduring the mental attack was the proof of mind, and somewhat figuring out its identity was the proof of wisdom? Is this amusing to you? What a load of crap.

I also permit you to express a wish. Speak your desire. Reveal your longing. Bring forth the desire that has been harbored in your soul even before you were born. Speak. I shall fulfill your most vile desire that you have never voiced to anyone.

I considered unleashing a tirade of curses but somehow managed to hold myself back.

Even during my time playing [Cthulhu World] as a game, I encountered a similar scenario. Regardless of the response I gave, it would be deemed to be entering into a contract. My wish would be granted in the most wretched way possible, and then I would definitely pay the price for it.

But that didn’t mean not answering was the right answer. He wouldn’t disappear for eternity until I gave an answer. What should I say?

The period of contemplation was brief. I made my decision and responded to him.

“I’m not interested.”

Despite my response, the being behind the mask covering Jang Hyeon-deok’s body showed no response.

“I never wanted to come to this damned world in the first place, nor do I have any desires in this crazy world. I refuse to be destroyed while clinging to unwanted gifts, and I’m already aware that there’s nothing you can fulfill for me. I’ll find my own way back home……”

I almost blurted out to go screw themselves and to just leave me be.

Telling them to leave me alone would probably be taken as a wish, and then they’d demand payment for not doing anything. But since I couldn’t take back what I had already said, I ended my sentence with a somewhat awkward phrase.

“…that’s it.”

Due to excessive tension and fatigue, my neck felt stiff. A fleeting thought crossed my mind that it was an unsightly state to be in, but the situation had already taken a toll on my appearance. Instead of just holding back, I began to massage the back of my neck while channeling magical power.

Had I reached a higher level by this point, I would have had more options at my disposal. However, at this moment, there was only one course of action available to me.

I started to draw out the remaining magical power within me and focused my mind intensely. The spell was to forcibly send back this divine being that had descended into reality.

Tch, this spell isn’t even permitted in my current order.

It really has been one risky play after another since last time.

I would have preferred to use high-level spells like [Banishment of the Otherworldly], [Expulsion of the Summoned], or [Song of Return], but none of those were available to me at the moment. Therefore, I decided to stack lower-level spells to construct a magical logic and environment.

[Exhilaration]

[Eagle’s Splendor]

[Prayer of Protection]

I wasn’t sure if it would help, but I activated these related enchantment spells to elevate my body and mind and started pushing away the influence created by this outer god.

Then, I took out the silver bell of the underworld and shook it. The tiny silver bell emitted a refreshing tone before releasing the magical power it contained.

[The unique effects of the S-grade magical tool ‘Silver Bell of the Underworld’, ‘Pure Silver’s Charm’ and ‘Pure Silver’s Dominion’ have been activated

//Pure Silver’s Dominion: Automatically casts the ‘Voice of Authority’ spell on a designated target and increases the effect of ‘Mind’ spells by 100%.

//Pure Silver’s Charm: Charm +2 only for ghouls, undead, and demons]

Even as I was applying buffs, the ‘King in Yellow’ simply watched me without making any move or showing any reaction.

Indeed, if I were in their place, I too would be curious enough to watch if I saw an ant suddenly emitting magic circles and starting to dance. Please keep watching until the end.

I created dozens of magic circles around me. These were not for a single consistent spell. There were circles for amplification, for organizing the flow of magical power, for ascending and sublimating power, for descending and solidifying power, for release, decomposition, protection, hardening, focusing, dispersing, and rotating.

Each one was a magic circle designed to implement the most basic principles of the simplest spells.

But all of them moved in perfect harmony under my will, creating a single grand miracle. It became a primitive yet vast magical engine constructed outside my body.

I fueled this huge magical engine and activated the spell.

[Identification]

Paaaaa…

A bright blue light was emitted from my fingertips…

[System: Invalid target.]

I know. In the first place, identification was a spell intended for identifying artifacts or lifting minor seals.

I pushed the released magic into the magical engine. The magic, passing through the circles of the magical engine, was forcibly decomposed, concentrated, rotated, dispersed, and then reassembled. I then directed the strands of this transformed magical power towards the mask covering Jang Hyeon-deok’s face.

Crackle, Fizzz, Fzzzzt!

As expected, ominous golden sparks began to fly from the mask Jang Hyeon-deok was wearing. At the same time, a bright yellow magic circle formed in front of the mask.

That magic circle is…