Sandstorm (Sapung), Tiger Mom (Hohuanmama) – (2)

There’s an old saying that even if mauled by a tiger, you can survive as long as you keep your wits about you.

This is false.

---

The moment we arrived at the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office, I attracted a lot of attention.

Some looked at my tails.

Some looked at my chest.

Some looked at my face.

Some looked at my rear.

The gazes varied widely.

Still, they only spared me a glance before focusing on their respective tasks, as befitting the grave situation.

The one who greeted us was the Deputy Chief, a 5th-rank Section Chief.

Come to think of it, this Deputy Chief’s face seemed familiar.

Ah right, he attended the Seoul conference last time, didn’t he?

…Shouldn’t the Principal, not a mere Section Chief, have attended such an important meeting?

When I asked why the Principal wasn’t here to greet us, the Section Chief replied:

“The Principal has gone to the site.”

“…Pardon?”

Usually, those in higher positions don’t go to the field themselves.

Regardless of individual combat abilities, someone of the Principal’s rank would contribute more to yokai subjugation by commanding from the control tower rather than leading the field operation directly.

There were only two possible reasons for the Principal to be on-site:

First, a lack of deployable combat personnel.

Second, the Principal’s yokai extermination skills were so exceptional that not utilizing them would be considered wasteful.

Yi Haneul asked the Deputy Chief:

“Is this a common occurrence?”

“Yes, well… we’re so used to it that it’s no longer surprising. In fact, the Principal leading the field operation often helps with yokai extermination.”

From his words, it seemed the latter case applied to the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office’s Principal.

The Deputy Chief then briefly shared the situation with Yi Haneul and me:

“A yoki estimated to be Level 2… or perhaps even higher was detected for precisely 58 seconds before seemingly vanishing from this world entirely.”

“Were there any other unusual signs?”

I leaned towards the Deputy Chief and asked.

He then awkwardly cleared his throat, averted his gaze from me, and continued:

“I, if there was anything unusual… it would be the initial location where the yoki was detected.”

“Where was that?”

The Deputy Chief showed a map and said:

“Wonsu Mountain.”

Wonsu Mountain wasn’t a mountain far from Sejong’s city center, but one situated right in the middle of downtown.

For a yokai to brazenly appear in the heart of the city was like a ticking time bomb.

“We did issue an evacuation order to nearby residents, but…”

“If we don’t capture it quickly, a catastrophe will occur, right?”

“Correct. That’s why the Principal and combat personnel were urgently deployed.”

“Understood.”

I had heard enough, so we couldn’t waste any more time here.

Yi Haneul and I soon left the Yokai Extermination Office.

---

Wonsu Mountain in central Sejong was renowned for its beautiful scenery, but for some reason, the centuries-old trees were all rotted and withered.

The result of being exposed to that yoki for just ’58 seconds’.

Upon closer inspection, the trees weren’t simply rotted – they were covered in yellow grains.

“…Sand?”

The Principal of the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office, 4th-rank Deputy Director Han Woo-jin, muttered.

Indeed, the grains on the dead trees were sand.

‘Sand’ was a resource commonly found in rivers or oceans, but it was also rarely discovered in mountains, called ‘mountain sand’.

However, the sand covering these dead trees clearly had the fine particles characteristic of sea sand.

An inexplicable phenomenon beyond common sense.

Well, yokai were inherently incomprehensible beings to humans in the first place.

As one of the combat personnel tried brushing off the sand from a tree to collect evidence, the sand suddenly started moving on its own.

It was a sandstorm.

A sandstorm, a rare occurrence even in deserts, was now happening in the middle of a lush forest.

Undoubtedly the work of a yokai.

While sand was a small, light, and unremarkable resource, an overwhelmingly large amount concentrated in one place was a different story.

Just as the sandstorm was about to engulf the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office personnel, Principal Han Woo-jin threw a punch at it.

A clean, no-nonsense motion, yet how could a mere human’s fist hope to stop a sandstorm?

However, Han Woo-jin was no ordinary human.

An invisible, formidable force erupted from his fist and directly struck the sandstorm.

The force Han Woo-jin unleashed was called ‘Martial Force’.

While the sandstorm seemed to momentarily falter from the direct Martial Force impact, it soon started whipping up winds again, growing even larger than before.

“Kueugh…!”

Was this a counterproductive effect?

The violently thrashing sandblast that could shred skin eventually left the personnel behind and flew off somewhere.

That direction was…

Oh no.

Towards the city center.

Han Woo-jin shouted:

“Pursue it!”

---

While the yoki was initially detected in the mountain’s center, it seemed unlikely the yokai still remained there.

If that unidentified yokai had legs, it would have moved long ago.

Protecting people from the yokai took priority over exterminating it, so Yi Haneul and I began detecting the yokai from the city center down towards the mountain.

The reason we started detecting from the city center was to preemptively prevent an incident like the ‘Formless Shadow’.

What if we headed straight for the mountain, only for the yokai to appear in the city center instead?

Moreover, the Sejong Yokai Extermination Office’s Principal and combat personnel were already tracking the yokai’s traces on Wonsu Mountain, so we would join them later.

Of course, ordinary humans lacking Martial Force or ritualistic skills were physically too weak to confront a Level 2 yokai.

But that man was said to wield Martial Force itself.

“Why didn’t you tell me this beforehand?”

“I didn’t know that old man was the Principal here. Why, he wasn’t at the Seoul conference either.”

“You know him?”

“Yeah. Not close, just someone I’m aware of, that’s all. He must be around my master’s age?”

“Was he a Martial Force artist too?”

“No. More accurately, a Martial Force artist aspirant.”

Of course, not everyone who practices Martial Force becomes a nationally certified artist.

Just as there were those who could freely wield it like Yi Haneul, there were surely others who struggled with it too.

Hmm.

He must have diligently studied Martial Force but hit the wall of prodigies like Yi Haneul’s master, ending up as a Principal instead.

…Wasn’t that fortunate, in a way?

In any case, since he could use Martial Force, even a Level 2 yokai wouldn’t be easily dealt with.

Yi Haneul was human, unable to sense yoki, so yokai detection was solely my responsibility.

I expanded my senses, perked up my fox ears, swished my tails, and began detecting.

Sniff sniff.

Sniff sniff sniff.

Sniff sniff sniff sniff.

Ah.

The scent of tteokbokki with fish cakes.

…I’m hungry.

Sniff sniff.

Sniff sniff sniff.

Sniff sniff sniff sniff.

Ugh.

The smell of cigarettes.

This was a designated smoking area.

Sniff sniff.

Sniff sniff sniff.

“…Miho.”

“Sniff sniff sniff sniff.”

“Miho?”

“Sniff sniff. What? Sniff sniff sniff.”

“Um… shouldn’t you detect while standing on two legs…?”

“So, what’s the problem?”

“It’s embarrassing!”

As I mentioned, we began detecting the yokai from the city center to secure people’s safety.

This was right in the middle of downtown.

Everyone passing by was staring at me in bewilderment.

While focusing on the scents, I responded to Yi Haneul:

“Please be quiet, I need to concentrate.”

“I’m saying, what’s wrong with detecting while standing on two legs…”

Four legs were more comfortable.

The best posture for concentrating on scents was crawling on all fours.

As I focused all my senses on my sense of smell, a peculiar scent suddenly registered in my nose.

…I didn’t recognize this scent.

It didn’t seem artificial, created by humans – it felt like a natural scent.

But for such an unnatural scent to be present in the city center was strange.

“M, Miho, where are you going suddenly!”

I swiftly dashed towards the direction of this unnatural scent, avoiding landmines like discarded chewing gum stuck to the ground.

Pababababababak.

The sound of tiny grains colliding with each other.

Something was flying down from the sky.

The belated Yi Haneul panted as she spoke:

“Hah, hah… Wh, why is quadrupedal faster than bipedal… you’re in human form right now…”

“Lord Yi Haneul.”

“…What?”

“Look up.”

It wasn’t a punchline.

From that azure sky, a sandstorm was descending.