episode_0058

“… Isn’t it suspicious even if you look at it? You say you left that person alone without reporting it earlier?”

“Noble wizards, you may not know this, but things like this happen all the time in the outskirts. Science and reason are words that don’t go well with country people. We are people who are more easily led by superstitions and strange things.”

To Sehwa’s question, the old man answered with a hollow smile.

“Furthermore, he gave me such a ridiculous miracle, so who knows if I get any awards or anything. Perhaps the person who received that grace would not care at all even if he was a disaster that turned into a warlock or a human.”

“… ”

“And most of the people here come from lower class backgrounds and lack of proper education. It’s all said and done that I am the most highly educated person, having even received an elementary school education. So, I guess he secretly sent a message to the Public Security Bureau because he felt the slightest bit of discomfort. I witnessed the absurd event of a corpse coming back to life right before my very eyes… ”

“I don’t think you are afraid of them. When you see a dead person come back alive and still stay with them in the village.”

“How can you not be afraid? There’s just no other way. Where can I go if I leave this town?”

“… All right. Then where did the therapist go?”

“He followed through the eastern entrance, so he must have gone to check out the rest of the nearby settlements connected to that road. But it would be futile to look back now. Now that he is leaving the east, he said he would never come back and left the village.”

“… Tsk. It’s a disaster. As expected, I should have hurried more.”

Sa Jae-hyuk muttered with a wrinkled face. You just missed the most important piece of evidence to confirm your suspicions.

“It is not too late to make a decision after checking this area. Elderly. Then where is the burial site where the body is said to have been buried?”

Sehwa calmed Sajaehyuk down and turned his head to ask the old man.

“There is a cemetery site at the foot of a sunny mountain. It’s not that far. I will show you my way.”

Sa Jae-hyuk and the members exchanged glances and nodded. They stood up with stern expressions and prepared to head straight for the cemetery site.

“Oh my, this is… ?”

While getting up from her seat, Yejin saw something and opened her eyes. Her gaze rested on the shabby cabinet next to the dining table.

At the top of the cabinet was a picture frame containing someone’s photo, placed at an angle.

A girl with brown hair, brown eyes, and cute freckles looked straight ahead and smiled brightly.

Lee Hyun reflexively appeared in Jin’s mind. In many ways, the girl seemed to be around the same age as him.

“Who is this person?”

The old man answered Sa Jae-hyuk’s question.

“Except for my granddaughter.”

The old man’s answer was a little questionable. Although the mansion was not small, there were no traces of a young girl living anywhere.

“… Maybe this kid too?”

The old man calmly shook his head.

“That child has nothing to do with this incident. It’s already been a while since I died after suffering from an incurable disease.”

“… Was the body cremated?”

“No. I sent it into the river. The child’s lifetime wish was to be as free as water. I wanted to go to school and hang out with my friends, but it was Heavenly Chu’s regret that they couldn’t let me go because I wasn’t capable.”

Hearing the old man’s words, Chaewon looked at the photo with sad eyes. At the bottom of the frame was someone’s small, cute handwriting.

-X day, X month, 21XX. A happy time. Yes.

***

The days in mountainous regions are unusually short. The sun sets over the peak, sending its last light onto the cemetery grounds.

Countless monuments filled every corner of the valley, as if to prove the history of the settlement.

But this was no longer a place where one could find rest. In various places, piles of dirt were pushed out from the graveside as if something had been pushed in from inside.

The rotten coffins were thrown away carelessly, and some of them had their lids open, revealing their insides.

“… Ugh.”

“Smell… ”

Chaewon looked at the view of the cemetery and looked disgusted. Sehwa wrinkled his nose and muttered softly.

Sa Jae-hyuk walked towards the center of the valley. He moved forward slowly, counting the tombstones one by one.

“… Ha.”

Then he stopped in front of a monument, checked the name, and let out a cold sigh into the air.

He then sat down with his knees bent and grabbed a handful of dirt from the floor.

There was no trace of life left in the pitch-black dirt, as if everything had been scorched. Only the headache-inducing smell of sulfur pierced my nose.

And as far as he knows, the smell of scorched earth and sulfur means only one thing.

corrosion.

“These bastards… ”

Sa Jae-hyuk gritted his teeth so hard that he made a clicking sound. With one hand, I held the locket around my neck tightly.

I haven’t seen the healer in person, but I’m already full of what I’ve seen and heard since entering this village.

The journey of a young woman who suddenly disappeared and returned.

All kinds of strange phenomena that the therapist said could never be realized with modern magic.

This is a miracle made up of sentences rather than refined formulas and theories, which is power.

And even the erosion that started to appear in the places where she stayed for long periods of time.

I can feel the nightmare I had buried so hard to raise its head.

It seems like we’re stuck in a routine from 15 years ago.

It was clearly his last journey to shake off his remaining regrets, but in the end, he was unable to attain rest this time as well.

“… it’s okay. Now let’s go back. There’s nothing more to see.”

Sa Jae-hyuk left the cemetery without looking back.

When we returned to the village, the sun had already set and everything was dark. The narrow and quiet street was filled with an eerie and supernatural atmosphere. The darkness in the alley spread to their faces, making it impossible to see their expressions at all.

“How was it?”

When they returned to the mansion, old man Ha welcomed them.

“I think I’ve done everything I needed to research.”

“Is that so? Thank you for your hard work. Come on in. No matter what, I can’t send guests away at this time of night… ”

“Old man. Let me ask you just one question. Do you know what day today is?”

In response to Sa Jae-hyuk’s question, the old man frowned and thought for a moment.

“Let’s see, it’s January 7th. This is a bit faster… ”

Sa Jae-hyuk closed his eyes tightly.

The date the old man mentioned had already passed long before he received the letter from the General Intelligence Service.

“Look, old man.”

“Why do you keep calling me that? They’re outside. You don’t know what might happen to them, so hurry inside… ”

“Isn’t it time to take a break?”

“… ? Well, it’s too late… ”

“Old man. Don’t you know very well that’s not what it means?”

“What is that… ”

“I checked the headstone at the cemetery earlier, and there was a headstone with your name engraved on it.”

“… ”

The sound of members swallowing their saliva was heard behind Sa Jae-hyuk. Then, a gloomy wind swept through their ears.

“… Uh, huh? That’s right, that can’t be… ”

The old man’s whole body began to tremble. As if he finally realized it, he looked down at his hands and stuttered.

As soon as we recognize it, the illusion is shattered. The settlement they were in was already the center of the underworld.

What was there until just now was not a person, but just rotting flesh and crunchy bones. Someone has held them against the laws of nature. They were exchanging Zen questions with the ghost the whole time.

“Well, that can’t be… Keck, wow… ”

The old man held his neck with both hands and let out a dry cough. Its mouth could no longer speak human language. I don’t even know how we talked in the first place. His vocal cords had long since rotted away.

“Kahak… Kak… ! Less… !”

“… Goodbye.”

As soon as I said hello, a flash of light split the air. The blade that was tied to Sa Jae-hyuk’s waist was suddenly in his hand.

With a thud, the old man’s head falls straight to the ground. Thump, thump. Sa Jae-hyuk immediately parted the head that had rolled at his feet vertically.

After checking the inside, only a laugh escaped his lips. If the old man was a ghoul, there was no evidence to be found. It’s just an empty void, without the white mycelium that fills the brain or the two or three mushrooms that should extend to the back of the neck.

In fact, it was of course an expected result. What kind of ghoul is in his right mind and can talk to people like this, and even submit a letter to the Public Security Bureau himself?

The only fault the old man had was that he thought he was really alive.

Sa Jae-hyuk turned his gaze to the table he had sat across from him earlier. One side of the bridge was so rotted that it was on the verge of collapsing.

What was on the tea plate was a thin finger bone, and what was in the teacup with all the teeth broken was a black liquid that could not have been rotted for several years.

The only intact object there was a photo of my granddaughter.

“… Chaewon. Sehwa. Jin.”

“… Yes.”

At Sa Jae-hyuk’s words, the members nodded and went outside the mansion. Then, along with bright red flames, the death knell of hell began to penetrate his ears.

All he and the members can do is put them to rest again.

-Why, why are you like this, suddenly… !

-Well, for what reason… ! Wow… !

-Squeak!

-Quaang!

The pleas of the dead, who do not even know they are already dead, are coming one after another. The loud sound of bones rolling around on the floor is heard. The explosion of an old building burning and collapsing spreads everywhere.

Sa Jae-hyuk paid no heed to him and was lost in thought. There were two questions that tormented him.

If the witches had already reappeared a long time ago, simultaneous chaos should have been occurring in various places by now.

Also, the direction should have been towards large cities that already had a large population, rather than moving around the outskirts like now.

This was like an instinct written into the genes of those creatures.

His head hurt for a moment because his behavior was completely different from 15 years ago, but he soon stopped worrying.

There is no need for him to understand witches. I just do what needs to be done at hand.

“… What is the number?”

I asked the members who returned after some time.

“… 54 people. It was the same as the number of tombstones.”

“Good job. Where is the closest unit from here?”

“Probably the 33rd Mountain Brigade. It’s a distance that takes several days, but… ”

Sa Jae-hyuk clicked his tongue at Chae-won’s continued answer.

“Tsk. It’s breathtaking. kailyard. You go there and ask for support. Whether it’s selling my name or Black Lotus’s name, whatever it takes, bring your troops. And all roads leading to nearby large cities are completely blocked.”

He started giving instructions to the members.

“Jin. Sehwa. You return straight to the capital. Then, attend the Supreme Council, explain the situation, and persuade the lawmakers to issue an emergency decree. All you have to do is take the soil from the erosion site as evidence. You idiots. I told you so… ”

“Well, then my brother… ?”

Sa Jae-hyuk immediately answered Ye-jin’s question.

“Of course I have to follow the witch’s traces. We can’t leave those bitches alone. I don’t even know what the plan is this time. so… ”

“What nonsense!! How can I do that alone… !”

“You know what I mean. It’s too dangerous. You guys come back quickly… ”

Sa Jae-hyuk’s firm words were blocked by Se-hwa, who held his collar tightly.

She was looking at Sa Jae-hyuk with an expression as if she was about to cry.

“… never… I decided not to do it alone… You did it… ”

“… ”

Sa Jae-hyuk was speechless and looked around. Chaewon and Yejin’s expressions were not much different from Sehwa’s.

He sighed inwardly. For today, I had no choice but to agree with the world’s assessment of them.

They are really stupid, but at the same time, pitiful women.

“… sorry. I made a mistake with my words. Come with me. First, let’s at least let the crow fly.”

“… Yes.”

Only then did Sehwa let go of his collar. The members each whistled to busily summon the crows, picked up letters and items, and sent them flying back into the sky.

Sa Jae-hyuk looked at the sky visible through the roof of the collapsed mansion. What he remembered was a boy wearing a mask. I was a poor child who got caught in the waves without my knowledge.

“… Tsk.”

Originally, I was planning to submit my discharge letter at the end of this trip. I also thought about stopping by the capital to see if Lee Hyun was doing well.

But it seemed like he still had work left to do.

“That guy… I guess he dated some women… ”

His voice rang hollow.