Chapter 130. The Mother of Brainwashing I Love (3)
The time has come for my flattery to shine.
I handed over the absorbent powder, a future asset.
I rescued someone with a rope from the mud.
And every time we met, I showered her with kindness.
What do you think all this effort was for?
Hwahaha!
The day I decided to deal with Su Ye-hwi.
I went to the Magic Tower even before I could make plans. And the reason I went there was simple.
“Oh, I’m not late, am I?”
I slicked my hands together and asked Esther for help.
I brought a solid ally to catch Su Ye-hwi.
So worth the investment!
In fact, I’d already realized that Esther was being friendly toward me.
Back when the grown-up Imugi was about to show up.
Esther had easily accepted my request to hold off on attacking the Gate.
Looks like I’ve achieved my initial goal of befriending an S-Class Curse Mage.
Hehe.
I wonder if I really need to explain the series of events after visiting the Magic Tower.
Golem Control Magic.
After that, I just followed the Nachalsawon around using that magic.
Once I found that Officer He guy, information gathering was a breeze. Honestly, no one in Earth knows Golem Control Magic, so it’s nice.
I reminisced about the past few weeks spent in pursuit.
The Nachalsawon meetings mostly took place at night, resulting in many late-night shifts…
This guy has made me work overtime so many times; there’s no way I can let Su Ye-hwi live.
Anyway.
“Mr. Gi-ryeo, about that Awakened called Su Ye-hwi…”
“Yeah.”
“If she’s S-Class like us… Wouldn’t I also be affected by the brainwashing to some extent?”
“Oh, that.”
“The brainwashing resistance gear I have isn’t exactly great, so I’m worried…”
This isn’t Kang Chang-ho, nor Jeong Ha-seong.
There was a reason I specifically chose Esther as my aide among the various S-Class Hunters.
Even before coming here, Esther had been pondering how to fight against opponents.
To be honest, if I thought Esther would fall for brainwashing, would I have brought her to the warehouse?
The battle would practically be all hers.
Fighting!
To put it simply, Esther Hunter had a perfect upper-lower relationship with Su Ye-hwi.
“Don’t worry, Esther.”
“You’ll win overwhelmingly.”
Curse property.
Thanks to her innate Awakening Ability, she possessed strong resistance to brainwashing.
“Hey, cultist! This is a 2:1 fight, so if we get into it, you’ll probably lose. Why not just surrender for now?”
“Shut up! You wretched girl!”
“Oh my, this criminal sure has a loud voice.”
Brainwashing.
Curses.
Magic of the mind has special rules.
When sorcerers of the same lineage face off, their battles strictly follow a ‘first strike wins’ system.
Let’s say two wind mages fight here.
Then they start to injure each other, right?
Wind slashing. Falling backward.
Common attributes tend to inflict some damage on both during fights of equal ranks.
Yet, the mages in front of me are different.
Since they make a living invading the realm of the mind, they protect their own consciousness very firmly.
That’s why Esther also has resistance to the song of the [Siren]. She excels defensively in that regard.
But what does that have to do with the first strike wins?
The tougher you are, the greater the shock when you break.
To explain further, the battles of those mages usually depend on who breaks through the consciousness first to decide victory.
Once one’s consciousness is invaded, it’s hard for them to counterattack.
Rumor has it that while someone is messing around with another’s mind, their own home gets robbed, causing their whole focus to shift and they can’t complete their magic…
I haven’t experienced that myself, as I’m an all-rounder.
Thanks to this, specialists in mental attacks often dedicate themselves to researching finishing moves.
In battles against them, winning is impossible, and whoever attacks first has the upper hand.
Thus, because of this system, Su Ye-hwi is an extremely threatening opponent.
That curse mage has an Awakening Level firmly in the S-Class range, giving her an almost absolute status among her kind.
Whether a hundred or a thousand brainwashing Awakened come charging in, for Su Ye-hwi, they’re just ants.
Therefore, there’s only one way to minimize damage in this battle.
One way or another, I must bring in a stronger mental mage than Su Ye-hwi.
And fortunately…
In this Korea, there was exactly one hunter who fit such conditions.
“I seriously hate people like you the most.”
Clack. Clack.
Esther, facing Su Ye-hwi, stepped forward slowly.
“Just because you have a few tricks, you strut around like you’re something. Then you commit crimes as if you’ve been waiting for this.”
A smooth voice. A smiling face.
The overall atmosphere was light, but there were clear emotions in her words.
“I hope you get torn apart and die just like the countless believers in the Nachalsawon.”
Hatred.
“Right. Just die already.”
Then, a whirlwind of magic power.
Esther glared at her opponent and unleashed a deep curse.
Su Ye-hwi activated her brainwashing in response to Esther’s assault. But I already knew the results to come.
Ugh!
Both Su Ye-hwi and Esther were S-Class.
However, upon closely examining the raw power size, one side clearly had a slight upper hand.
“What the… Wait! This is…”
Su Ye-hwi’s face gradually contorted.
That mage ripped at her outer clothes as she resisted the curse.
But Esther’s magic began to creep into her mind even as she tried to push it away…
“────!”
Soon, a scream echoed through the air.
Su Ye-hwi was overpowered in the direct confrontation with the Curse Mage.
Just that one tiny difference in strength clarified their hierarchy.
“AAAH! Ugh… What’s happening, my, my, my head. My head…!”
Su Ye-hwi started scratching her ears like a person infested with bugs.
It seems that the sensation of being cursed is quite unpleasant.
“Oh my! Just as Mr. Gi-ryeo said! Just bending once and her skills all vanished!”
Esther exclaimed in amazement, pointing at her writhing enemy.
But my revenge for overworking isn’t over yet.
Would I have come here just to demonstrate the principles of mental magic?
“Esther Hunter.”
“Yes~ what is it?”
Esther’s expression immediately shifted as she heard my call. More precisely, her gaze seemed to concentrate on something.
“W-What are you trying to do…?”
Curses have various effects, and the skills derived from those are numerous.
They can induce inflammation. Paralyze the body.
Among them, one particularly unique classification of curses even received a new name back home.
“There’s nothing quite like punishment. Hey, Su Ye-hwi. Have you heard of a skill called ‘incitement of hatred’?”
There are so few curse mages here that some skills don’t even seem to be translated right.
“Stop.”
Upon hearing Esther’s words, Su Ye-hwi turned pale and shook her head.
“W-Wait a moment. There’s no need for this. The Hunter hasn’t confirmed if I committed a great crime. Right?”
Following that, the cultist in a cloak fell into a praying position and started rambling.
“Just a moment. Wait. I’ll explain everything. The truth is, I…!”
But no matter how much she tried to persuade, Esther’s demeanor remained unchanged.
“Sorry, but I really dislike villains with backstories.”
A few seconds later.
Crumple. Esther roughly grabbed Su Ye-hwi’s eyelids and poured her mana into her without holding back.
It was the activation of the Awakening Ability.
Ugh, ugh…!
Su Ye-hwi struggled to escape Esther’s grasp, but it was useless. What kind of remarkable strength could a brainwashing mage possess?
“AAAAAH!”
And what kind of magic was triggered at this moment?
Hik…?
Slurp.
Esther slowly lowered her hand from Su Ye-hwi’s face. However, the opened eyes of Su Ye-hwi revealed a deeper despair than before.
“AAh, AAAAA…”
This was none other than the second skill that Esther possessed. To instill a random phobia in the target.
“Mr. Gi-ryeo, will this really work?”
And the new state imposed by Esther was precisely fear of humans.
It may sound trivial when expressed in words, but the intensity of the emotions granted by the skill was beyond imagination.
Upon seeing us, who looked human, Su Ye-hwi began to crawl on the floor and vomit.
“Yes. She won’t be able to use her Awakening Ability anymore.”
I said while observing the fate of the sorceress who founded the cult.
“[Brainwashing] is the ability to dominate others, so there’s no way she could rise above people she fears.”
A complete blockage of the magic source.
Moreover, in her current state, all the brainwashing she had maintained would have been lifted as well.
“Hik, hik, hik.”
The Nachalsawon is done for!
I whispered in Su Ye-hwi’s ear to celebrate the success of my plan.
“See? I told you not to look down on others, right?”
But I couldn’t hear a response. Afterward, Su Ye-hwi fainted with a shocked expression, frothing at the mouth.
“She really fainted.”
“What do we do?”
“Let’s just leave her. Apparently, Esther can maintain that skill as long as she wants. Now we can just hand her over to the police.”
Esther and I briefly chatted while remaining in the warehouse.
“Anyway, thank you for your help today.”
“What’s that~”
However, just as we prepared to wrap things up and leave, Esther asked a peculiar question.
“By the way, Mr. Gi-ryeo.”
“Yes.”
“Also, about Su Ye-hwi… As I explained before, if left like this, she won’t last long. These days, wherever you look, it’s full of people. Even mirrors reflect a crowd.”
“Oh, right.”
“I’m saying Su Ye-hwi will end up as a cripple and die, and you don’t seem to have much of a reaction?”
Dealing with a curse mage is tough.
Especially since the opponent is an alien; I have no clue how to appease them.
“Um.”
I paused briefly before saying.
“So, what kind of reaction should I have here?”
I was asking somewhat seriously, but Esther only looked surprised without saying much.
Her lips were curled up, so it didn’t seem like she was in a bad mood.
Ugh, I don’t get it.
It’s been a while since I’ve had trouble understanding the mind of an alien. Let’s just brush it off for now.
*
Thus ended the history of the cult terrorists.
When the brainwashing core, Su Ye-hwi, crumbled, about 15% of the mid-ranking members regained their consciousness, effectively causing the group to disband.
The awakened cultists painfully recalled the actions they had taken while brainwashed.
However, the chaos wouldn’t be great.
While it’s somewhat different from alcohol-induced crimes…
The legal system here tends to consider crimes committed in a state of mental and physical incapacity as hard to punish.
Not like the inflexible Alphauri.
In the end, only Su Ye-hwi completely fell apart. A happy ending indeed.
“Heh, who would mess with a great mage like me, right?”
With the danger pulled out at its root, can I finally relax and enjoy life in Korea?
Hrumph.
I stretched my neck and checked outside the window.
It was mid-February.
In the process of taking care of the Nachalsawon, spring had unexpectedly arrived outside.
With the weather getting nicer, maybe it’s time for an outing…
Dding!
At that moment, a new alert popped up on my switched-off phone screen.
[Message]
[From: Seo Esther]
I wondered what this hunter was texting me about so early in the morning. I tilted my head and checked the received content.
[Mr. Gi-ryeo! Can we meet for a moment? ε=┌( >_<)┘]
