2 – Urban Legends Are Scary~

People fear the darkness.

Darkness stimulates the primal fear in all living things. Fear fundamentally stems from the unknown.

No, all humans should fear the darkness, but the survivors in the world transformed by the Great Rift feared it more than any humans of the past.

The first-generation Awakened and Hunters shed countless blood to protect this land from things they couldn’t even identify, and the world they barely managed to protect is still under threat from the unknown.

And modern humans still couldn’t understand the nature of the things crawling out from the sky that opened up and the space that shattered like cracked glass.

At least goblins were familiar because they often appeared in creative works and general subculture, and their weaknesses were known, but even C-grade Monsters, which were nothing to Hunters, were feared as monsters by ordinary people.

“Mom, it’s so dark outside…”

“Yul, Yul! Don’t go out!”

That’s why on nights like tonight.

On days when the Night Sea opened and the darkness was deeper than usual, people trembled and didn’t try to leave their homes.

1 AM on Saturday, a time when people would normally be meeting friends after work to unwind.

It was a bit late, but it was a time to have fun drinking with friends or lovers. A time to noisily chat away without realizing how much time had passed, cracking open soju bottles at restaurants and street stalls.

But today, no one came out.

Even within the safe zones where the various Protection Spells and barriers erected by the Seoul Metropolitan Government were perfectly deployed, people didn’t come out.

—Yesterday was the Day the Night Sea Opened.

—And today is the Day the Fog Comes, when unknown monsters, demons, urban legends, Creepypasta, and all sorts of scary things pour out.

“Hyung-shik, you know what day it is today, right?”

“I know. The Night Sea opened yesterday, and today is the Day the Fog Comes, right?”

“It’s okay to hang out somewhere after your academy, but you have to come home before 12. Got it? Taxis will stop running before 12, so you have to keep that in mind.”

“Don’t worry. The academies are all in safe zones, anyway, right?”

Parents trembled with fear as they sent their children off, and the children answered them.

But no matter what, they couldn’t relax on the Day the Fog Comes.

Wasn’t the Protective Spell created by the Seoul Metropolitan Government safe?

Objectively speaking, the Protective Spell was indeed safe.

Unless S-class dangerous entities appeared en masse, it wouldn’t be physically breached. Theoretically, people within the Protective Spell could go about their daily lives and have drinking parties without any problems.

In fact, there were no problems for a while after the Protective Spell system was completed.

People still had drinking parties even at night, wandered the streets drunk, and the public order was perfectly maintained. There were even crazy people who mocked the Monsters and Weirdnesses drooling over them from within the safe zone, daring each other to “bet who gets closer to the monster?”

After all, the Weirdnesses, Monsters, and urban legends couldn’t harm humans in any way beyond the transparent Protective Spell.

But the problem was the disaster that happened six years ago.

At the time, the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the National Assembly said, “Huh? The Night Sea opens, and even when the aftermath occurs, there are no problems within the safe zone? Hey, cut all the budget for Protective Spells. How much is all that costing?” and cut all the support budget related to Protective Spells.

The fact was that the budget became healthier.

The higher-ups said they would reduce the related departments and use the budget for better purposes to secure a healthy national management budget, but it was later discovered that the reduced budget was neatly rolled up in the pockets and bank accounts of the Assemblymen who had argued for the budget cuts.

Anyway, as a result, the number of Awakened in charge of the Protective Spell in Seoul was reduced from 100 to 27.

27 people had to cast Protective Spells throughout the safe zones of Seoul, continuously manage them, and exclusively mark them, and no one would ever know how ridiculous this was unless they did it themselves.

In fact, even 100 people were not enough.

It was only okay because the Awakened were better than ordinary people in terms of physical and mental strength. How could they cover the entire area of Seoul, which was 605.21 square kilometers?

Even that was a Protective Spell made by sucking the blood of low-level civil servant Hunters, but they drastically cut it by more than half.

Of course, there were also people somewhere who could cover the entire city of Seoul with a barrier with a single gesture.

But why would such a person cast a Protective Spell for a pittance?

“Fuck, you want me to take this and install a Protection Spell all over Seoul? I’m not doing it!”

“Ah, yes. Los Dodgers Guild in LA, right? You said you’d guarantee citizenship, right? I’m going there. Why did I suddenly change my mind? The country is pushing me to go there.”

“I’d rather not do it, fuck. I’m becoming a Villain from today.”

Even the remaining 27 people had their compensation and incentives drastically cut, so many of them quit, saying they couldn’t do it anymore.

As a result, Seoul had to be caught up in terrible disasters and calamities every time the Night Sea opened that year.

The existing Protection Spell was still intact, but the Protection Spell required a continuous supply of Mana and spell checks. If this was missing, weak spots would occur, and the Weirdnesses and urban legends would exploit these spots to the extreme.

As a result, in less than a night, the number of casualties in the safe zone reached a staggering 120,142, and public sentiment became so harsh that the president and the ruling party at the time were facing impeachment, street lynchings, and assassinations.

Well, this disaster actually became an opportunity for the Awakened and Hunters, which led to the current social landscape, but that’s another story.

Anyway, the conclusion is that the people of Seoul are still terrified even though they are in the safe zone.

Even though the Protective Spell is now properly inscribed in the safe zone, there is no reason to be afraid at all.

And the Weirdnesses and Creepypasta, which deliciously devoured people’s fears, terror, and dread, became even more rampant and crawled out of the darkness.

When a thick fog that they had never seen before began to spread at night, people trembled with fear and hurried home.

Companies and restaurants closed earlier than usual, and even companies that usually forced their employees to work overtime closed their doors early today, telling them to go home because it was dangerous.

Of course, some black companies closed their doors, saying, “If it’s dangerous outside, why don’t you just not go home?” and ordered their employees to stay until tomorrow morning because it was dangerous.

Working until morning was a bonus.

“Ugh, ugh…”

“Hick!”

“W-What is that… a caterpillar with a human face is crawling around…”

“Ugh…”

So, people hurried home, trembling with fear, on the path where the fog passed.

They drew the curtains and pulled the blankets over themselves, hoping that tonight would pass quickly.

But due to the nature of the Weirdnesses and the fog, which stimulated humans’ primal fears, people could never sleep comfortably, and they could only gather with their families and hope that the terrifying things outside would not come in.

But the Weirdnesses were hungry for human fear.

Even though there was a Protective Spell, they stuck to the buildings and looked for the humans hiding inside.

A human with limbs stretched out long and thin like tree branches clung to the apartment like a building, banging its head against the Protective Spell that wouldn’t break.

“Kyaaaa!”

If they accidentally looked out the window and made eye contact with it and screamed, they could say goodbye to sleep.

Because it would target them and keep banging its head against the window of the house where the scream came from.

The Protective Spell was intact.

But what if it weakened? What if a Rift formed and it broke? What if the Weirdness was stronger than it thought and broke the spell and entered the house?

The Weirdnesses became even happier and more agitated at the thought of that possible fear, banging their heads against the window harder and more repeatedly.

The woman living alone would probably not be able to sleep tonight.

All she could do was pull the blanket over herself and tremble at the sound of the banging on the window.

Elsewhere, a cute mascot from a children’s animation was looking for people with a smile on its face and a mouth torn like a demon.

The pedestrians who were hurrying along the road were horrified to see sharp nails and thorns densely embedded in the mouth of the mascot chasing them and ran away.

“S-Save me!”

“Hiiiik!”

Although it couldn’t chase them to the end because it was blocked by the Protective Spell, the mascot, which had deliciously eaten the fear of the fleeing pedestrian, was satisfied and looked for a new pedestrian.

Wondering if there was anyone foolish enough to wander around on the Day the Fog Comes.

Thus, the day when the Weirdnesses banged on the Protective Spell that they couldn’t enter and turned humans’ good nights into nightmares was today.

Didn’t the Hunters deal with the Weirdnesses?

Unfortunately, the Weirdnesses, Monsters, and Weird things on the Day the Fog Comes didn’t drop Magic Stones.

In other words, there were almost no by-products left, and their appearance was so bizarre and terrible that it lowered people’s mental strength.

It meant that there was absolutely no benefit to hunting them voluntarily.

Only when local governments, district offices, the government, or private organizations deposited commission fees to the Hunters did the Hunters move, but if the Protective Spell was intact, the government didn’t try to use money.

In the past, it was an era when sacrifices were forced on the Awakened and Hunters, but now that it was reversed, it was impossible to force them.

What? You want us to shoulder the duties and responsibilities without giving us money?

Is this America? Yes, yes, I’m going to immigrate. That’s what they said.

In the end, it was the ordinary citizens who had to rely on the thin, transparent Protective Spell and tremble with fear.

However, the Weirdnesses, which were savoring the citizens’ fear, suddenly felt a strong sweetness coming from somewhere.

—Delicious.

—Sweet.

—Where is it? Wh■■■■■■■?

—Hung■■■■■■gry

—■■Ihihi■■■!

The sweetness permeated the alleys, streets, and paths without Protective Spells. The Weirdnesses walked towards the source of the scent as if possessed by the dizzying sensation that seemed to destroy brain cells.

The scent was so good.

The scent was so sweet.

They wanted to eat it.

How delicious would it be to put that sweet-smelling thing in their mouths and chew it?

Ah, hungry. Hungry. Hungry.

They were satisfied with human fear alone, but the Weirdnesses, Monsters, and urban legends that had materialized were still hungry.

They couldn’t eat humans directly because they were blocked by the Protective Spell, and there might have been one unlucky and stupid human outside the spell, but unfortunately, that person was a Hunter or Awakened who was hunting Weirdnesses on commission.

Of course, Hunters and Awakened could also be caught off guard and eaten by Weirdnesses, but many Weirdnesses were still suffering from hunger.

Then, they smelled a sweet scent.

It would be strange if their eyes didn’t roll.

—Iihhihihi■■■!!!

—Kalkalkalkalkalkalkalkal!

—Ahaha!

—Uheuhohahahahyahyahyahya!

The Weirdnesses, driven mad by the scent, began to have a collective seizure.

The sweet scent paralyzed even the Weirdnesses’ remaining intellect and ego, and forced unconditional fascination.

At the center of it was a woman.

A neatly dressed suit.

Long black hair that reached her ankles.

A slender, beautiful, and seductive figure.

A sweet and dizzying scent that paralyzed reason.

And.

She was taking off the veil on her face.

—Ihigigigi■■■■!?!?!!

—■■■!!!■■!

When they faced her unveiled face, the Weirdnesses, Monsters, and Weird things had even more severe seizures.

What was sweet?

Why did I come here?

Some Weirdnesses had questions and doubts, but it didn’t matter.

Their reason and ego had already been fascinated and were losing their ability to think.

“Everyone, everyone, eat. Eat the blades. It’s a gift from me.”

-Thud!

With those words, blades popped out of all the Weirdnesses’ mouths, eyes, and places presumed to be holes.

Many Weirdnesses died from it.

Even if they didn’t die from it, there were many Weirdnesses crawling on the floor and trembling.

Jaehee, who tiptoed around the Weirdnesses’ dirty blood and flesh, put on her veil again.

In case someone saw her.

“Fortunately, everyone has drawn the curtains on their windows today.”

That’s a relief.

If anyone had seen my face, they might have already run out of the building and been swept away by the wave of Weirdnesses.

Hehehe, but this doesn’t look good.

“Eating blades doesn’t look good. Thorns popping out aren’t pretty.”

Thorns popped out all over the body of a giant caterpillar with a human face.

It doesn’t look good.

There’s a human centipede crawling on all fours.

It’s writhing from the blades I fed it.

There’s a jellyfish of flesh floating in the sky?

Ah— that doesn’t look good either.

Snip snip with a knife.

Ah, what am I doing?

It’s simple.

Even though it looks like I’m casting magic, my power is rooted in and based on the simple principle of manipulating immense life force and Vitality?

Life force also includes blood and flesh, bones and spinal cords, and all sorts of things.

So, if I condense Vitality to a high density… it’s hard to see it as bone, and it’s hard to see it as flesh, but I can create a substance that is as hard and sharp as bone and as soft as flesh?

I use this to feed the Weirdnesses knives. I stab them. I make them proliferate in their bodies and explode them, or I make them into skewers.

“After all, what they crave is human life and Vitality.”

So, the Weirdnesses eat the life and Vitality that I control very sweetly?

Even if I just spread it in the air, they’re possessed and eat it up.

And when I gesture, boom~

Simple, right?

In fact, the closer they get to me.

Or the more fascinated they are by me, the more the efficiency of manipulating life force and Vitality is amplified, so if I want, I can even build a spire of flesh that comes out of the Weirdness’s body.

I’ve done it before, and it was quite beautiful.

But I don’t plan to make it again because the citizens were horrified and had seizures from Mental Contamination the next day~

Anyway, what’s the conclusion?

“…It’s not beautiful.”

Caterpillars with blades popping out are boring.

There’s a magical girl mascot with thorny teeth over there?

I hate that.

All the bad beasts that make coercive labor exploitation contracts with young underage girls must die.

Blades, thorns, spines.

The things that pop out aren’t pretty enough.

Where can I find something more beautiful and pretty?

“Ah.”

I remembered.

Pretty things.

A landscape where those bizarre, ugly, vile, dirty, and destructively ugly things can die beautifully.

I gestured to Violin, who was floating next to me and complaining of boredom.

How cute.

The way it comes to me, bouncing, is just like a young child.

“You can only play once a day.”

—■■■■!

I hear whining.

It says it wants to play more.

It wants to be touched by me more, it wants to make more beautiful sounds by my hands?

“But if beauty is done too often, it becomes familiarity? Familiarity means the fall and loss of beauty.”

—■?

“Ah, what do I mean? It means that if the perfectly beautiful me plays the Violin often in a perfectly beautiful way, its light will fade.”

—■■!

“Hey, don’t say it’s nonsense. You shouldn’t say that.”

As expected, children are children.

Thinking so, I took the Violin in my hand.

A good dream tune for humans.

For the Weirdnesses.

“—Funeral March.”

Frédéric Chopin, Piano Sonata No. 2.

It won’t be easy to do it with a Violin, but I believe in the Succubus Empress’s beauty?

Make what looks beautiful.

Make everything beautiful.

Sound into notes.

Notes into lines.

Lines into my life and Vitality.

Please let the sound become a knife.

Please let the notes become my flesh.

Please let the lines become my blood.

Show start.

—The price is the Weirdnesses’ blood and flesh.