Chapter 144 : Ghostly Flame
Chapter 144: Ghostly Flame
“Big Bro……”
Sawtooth leapt forward and caught Iron Hook’s corpse. Seeing a chunk of his skull missing, it was obvious he was no longer alive.
In a surge of rage, he suddenly hugged Iron Hook’s body and took a bite out of it.
It seemed to be some sort of ritual. As he chewed and swallowed the flesh, the stench of blood grew thicker in the air, and his mouth began to visibly deform, cracking open.
It resembled some kind of sea creature—lined with dense, sharp fangs—as he violently launched himself toward Han Su.
From various parts of his body—both jaws, under his ribs, and along his flanks—numerous orifices opened up, expelling foul-smelling gas that seemed to be laced with venom.
This gas made the already confined chamber reek even more of a blue-grey putrid stench.
Then another person suddenly sprang up—Jackal.
Taking advantage of Sawtooth’s move, he seized Iron Hook’s body, placed one hand on its shoulder, and rapidly chanted a spell. As the air quivered, streaks of blue electricity flashed.
This storage room was littered with relic fragments, many of which were metallic. Their battle had scattered them everywhere.
As he chanted, scattered screws, nails, even ancient buried wires trembled and rolled toward him, as if drawn by the electric arc.
Under his chanting, they burrowed into Iron Hook’s joints, spine, facial features, even into his shattered skull.
Miraculously, this completely lifeless corpse was stitched and patched back together. And as the spell finished, Iron Hook suddenly opened his eyes. In the remaining intact one, a cold, chilling light burst forth.
At this point, it was hard to tell whether he was a mechanical creature or still human.
“Sequence Three [Mechanical Ghost]!”
“……”
“……”
“So this is the power of the Three Major Sequences?”
Sawtooth, in his sea-beast form, was unexpectedly difficult to handle. His skin had turned smooth and deathly pale, like it was coated in an oily film, making him slippery to the touch.
Even a strike with focused spiritual power from the left hand only inflicted about seventy percent of the intended damage.
If Han Su hadn’t preemptively shot him earlier, wounding him, this would’ve been a much tougher fight.
The worst part—he constantly emitted foul, toxic gas from his pores. It was a neurotoxin, one of the sea-beast's special abilities. While harmless at first, prolonged exposure would begin to affect spiritual strength.
Gradually, the sea-beast would appear more and more beautiful.
When what he saw as a "dugong" turned into a "mermaid," he'd fall completely in love—unable to strike.
After just a few exchanges at close range, Han Su already found Sawtooth looking slightly delicate and charming.
At that moment, Jackal had already completed Iron Hook’s transformation. With a command, the once-dead man dropped to all fours and lunged forward like lightning.
The two brothers—one dead, one alive—had re-formed their deadly partnership.
Nearby, Bowl-Cut Boy slightly lifted his head and moved subtly. Jackal immediately shouted at him, “What are you standing there for?! Attack! Let’s kill this little Investigator and get outta here!”
Bowl-Cut Boy didn’t move.
“Compared to Zero Sequence, the Three Major Sequences are already turning humans into monsters—but even among monsters, there's a difference…”
Still doubtful, Han Su parried Sawtooth while clashing with the approaching Mechanical Ghost.
It was impossible to tell whether this monster was flesh or machine. While battling Sawtooth still felt like fighting a strangely pretty creature, Mechanical Ghost exuded the coldness of a lifeless machine—but with unsettling vitality.
Cold. Rigid. Even capable of releasing electricity…
Having joined the Disaster Management Bureau and handed out plenty of stun batons himself, Han Su was now on the receiving end for the first time.
With every exchange, it became more intolerable.
Relying on his superb agility and reflexes, the three figures clashed repeatedly in the cramped storage room. After a few rounds, Han Su had formed a plan.
His regular spiritual power had been pushed to the limit.
The initial advantage he gained from shooting them earlier was diminishing.
But the three D7 group members were growing fiercer thanks to the benefits of the Three Major Sequences or their mental activity. This forced Han Su to reevaluate the mysterious powers he currently wielded.
Giant’s Eye seemed highly effective against summoned projections like Banshees, but was nearly useless against internalized abilities like Sea-Beast and Mechanical Ghost.
Cross-Shaped Bronze Hand’s first stage gave him a significant edge in physical fights, but its more crucial contamination power couldn’t be utilized in this battle.
Summoning the Ghost Truck? The space was far too small…
In that case…
As the thought flashed by, he felt his spiritual power just barely depleted, but a fresh battery had been charged.
“Then it’s time!”
He suddenly straightened up and leapt off, running up the wall in quick succession to dodge the tag-team attack from Mechanical Ghost and Sea-Beast. While in mid-air, he solemnly chanted the Fisherman’s Chant, raising his right hand high.
[Gods descend with their divine decree!]
[…]
His voice wasn’t loud, but it was laser-focused.
Scorching. Boiling!
He felt the spiritual power fully activated by the Fisherman’s Chant, and the burn scars on his body once again came alive—this time, even igniting visible flames.
The fire danced wildly, thriving, yet exuded a ghostly, chilling aura.
Compared to his earlier first-stage activation of spiritual power, this chant-based activation was more powerful—and possessed a strange, uncanny vitality.
“Boom!”
As he landed, he finished chanting the Fisherman’s Chant, and slammed his right palm onto the ground.
The flame surged down his arm, erupting across the floor, then leaping toward the Mechanical Ghost.
“Crackle—”
Sparks flew. The blue arcs on Mechanical Ghost’s body scrambled and extinguished under the fire’s assault.
His flesh sizzled and charred, with mechanical parts dropping off piece by piece.
On the other side, Iron Hook attempted to leap away, but the flame stretched out nearly three meters—still managing to scorch him. Sawtooth wailed in agony.
His face turned red as steam burst from his head like a boiling kettle. Even his eyes seemed aflame.
“Boom!”
Han Su landed a kick, sending the disintegrating Mechanical Ghost flying into the wall—breaking in half on impact.
The next instant, his left hand focused with intent. Stepping forward, he reached the howling, squirming Sawtooth, the Cross-Shaped Bronze Scar faintly emerging on the back of his hand. Five fingers clutched the creature’s face—crack—half the skull was gone.
“Hm?”
At that moment, Bowl-Cut Boy also noticed the extensive burn scars on Han Su’s body. A flicker crossed his hollow eyes—perhaps signs of thought.
Having drained nearly a full battery to unleash this attack, Han Su retracted his hand, thoughtful:
‘This Ghostly Flame truly has a powerful invasive effect… but I can still only use it through the Fisherman’s Chant…’
‘Which means, insufficient spiritual activity has become my biggest shortcoming now?’
‘Without cheating, I’m no match…’
‘……’
“So this is the rookie that woman said pulled strings to get in?”
Meanwhile, Jackal, realizing things had gone south, wore an expression of sheer terror. He cursed inwardly:
“What kind of newbie has this many tricks up his sleeve?”
With that thought, he sprang up and dashed toward the storage room exit.
Only to find a smiling bald head stepping lightly into his path.
Finally interested in the unfolding chaos—Bowl-Cut Boy.
“Smile your ass, get him—”
Jackal, furious at Bowl-Cut Boy’s smirk, cursed loudly. He raised both hands, blue arcs wrapping around his fingers, and aimed for both sides of Bowl-Cut Boy’s temples.
This was another ability of Mechanical Ghost—biological electricity emitted through all ten fingers, designed to disrupt mental activity, turning victims into a kind of “bio-machine.”
But Bowl-Cut Boy’s smile didn’t change. Well, it wasn’t a real smile—he never smiled at all. He simply stepped forward.
Jackal’s electrified hands brushed behind Bowl-Cut Boy’s head. He widened his eyes, their noses nearly touching—heart going cold.
Next second, Bowl-Cut Boy slammed his head forward—knocking Jackal to the ground.
As Jackal screamed and cursed, Bowl-Cut Boy calmly lifted his foot, hooked the door shut behind him, and slowly walked toward Jackal, tossing a glance at Han Su, tilting his chin.
He signaled for Han Su to kick over the nearby short blade.
What the hell does this guy mean?
Didn’t help earlier, now giving orders?
Han Su actually…
…lightly raised his foot and kicked the short blade over.
With both hands cuffed, Bowl-Cut Boy picked up the blade and calmly approached Jackal, who now screamed in terror:
“You… you… what are you doing?”
“Ahhh fuck—”
“Help me, Investigator! Save me—!”
……
Han Su couldn’t bear to watch. He turned his head slightly and asked:
“What… are you doing?”
Bowl-Cut Boy, focused on his task, didn’t look up. He replied softly,
“Hobby.”