episode_0073

What did Sarah see?

Although I was curious about the contents of the old book, I decided to stay still for now.

Even though Chansu fainted, he might get stabbed in the back if he didn’t watch Jeongho kneeling.

“You asked what this was.”

Sarah asked a question to Heejin, who had fallen to the floor.

“I don’t know!”

“I don’t know what I don’t know. You were trying to sell it. Are you trying to sell a curse tool you don’t know much about to someone else? What happened to your hair?”

Sarah continued to interrogate Heejin as she opened the old book.

“There are human faces drawn and strange numbers written on them. If you don’t explain it within 5 seconds, that strong man over there will crush your face. You don’t want to break your nose, do you?”

Suddenly, Sarah pointed at me behind her and threatened Heejin.

I wish they would call me Hulk rather than a super strong guy.

If I had known this would happen, I would have applied green paint to my skin.

“Hee Iik!”

Whatever the name, it seemed like Sarah’s threat had enough effect on Heejin.

Heejin, who saw me pretending to move, screamed without even thinking about getting up from the floor.

“5, 4, 3, 2, 1… .”

“Ah, okay! Got it! I’ll tell you everything, so don’t touch my face! It’s been a while since I had my nose done!”

In the end, Heejin declared surrender.

Heejin told us what the old book really was.

“Don’t be surprised and listen. That’s the life and death book that the grim reaper lost.”

“Life and death?”

“It can be said to be a list of the underworld where people’s lifespans are recorded. Have you heard the legend that the grim reapers carry brushes and lists? The book there now is the legendary book of life and death.”

It was said that the true identity of the old book was the Book of Life and Death.

Sarah and I were silent for a moment after hearing the explanation.

“… … .”

No words came out for a moment.

I wasn’t speechless because I was surprised. It was because Heejin’s story was so absurd that I couldn’t believe it. Why would a businessman hold a legendary book like the Book of Life and Death? It may be genuine in the first place.

“Aren’t you lying again?”

“First, listen to me.”

The moment Sarah glared at him, Heejin calmly added an explanation as if it was true.

We were shocked at first, but as we listened to Heejin’s words, our thoughts gradually changed.

“I know how to perform a spiritual ritual. It’s not that I have magical powers, but I can communicate with spirits to some extent. I showed the book to the spirits and they said it was a list of the grim reaper.”

“What ritual did you do?”

“It is the mission statement of a seance. It is a ritual where people gather at a round table and possess spirits.”

“Hmm.”

The séance ceremony was a traditional necromancy. The probability of summoning a proper spirit was higher than that of 21st century necromancy techniques such as Breathing Alone or the Charlie Charlie Challenge. Here, a proper spirit means a spirit that can communicate with the living.

Among the spirits, there must have been those who saw the Grim Reaper at the time of death, and it would not be strange if they knew what the living and dead looked like. Wouldn’t the dead know more about the Grim Reaper than the living?

“So is that the end? Asking a spirit is proof?”

“This is not the end. I did my best to check the identities of people who had reached the end of their lives at the Department of Life and Death. But everyone died without exception. He died exactly on the date of death recorded in the life and death book.”

“Hoo.”

My ears perked up.

Heejin had checked the death of people who were recorded as dead in the Life and Death Department. When I checked it myself, it was said that the date of death was correct without a single mistake.

As I listened to the end, I couldn’t help but have faith.

This was not an unreasonable claim, but a conclusion reached after a long investigation.

“You understand now, right? What you guys are trying to dispose of now is a valuable item.”

Heejin secretly tried to negotiate with us.

“If you sell your raw silk, you can sit on a cushion of money. Hand it back to me and I will sell it for the highest price possible. And let’s split it 5:5 among ourselves! If we get half and you also get half, it’s a happy ending, right?”

“It sounded like a happy ending and I fell asleep.”

I had no idea how terrible something would happen if I cursed someone for life or death.

If other curse tools were arrows, the life and death was a missile. It was clear that it was something that should not be lying around in this world. The Grim Reaper may be chasing the person who stole the fortune of life and death.

Sarah put the curse tools, including the Book of Life and Death, in her briefcase and motioned to me.

“I’ve packed all my stuff, so let’s go. A strong man.”

So Sarah and I packed up our things and left the abandoned factory.

Now it was time to go home.

After walking for a while and reaching the side of the road where cars were passing, I stretched out.

I felt relieved when I thought I had accomplished one thing. There was no sign of Heejin’s gang following us. This means you no longer have to wear funny party masks.

“Good job. Sarah.”

“You too.”

I took off the mask I was wearing and put it in my bag. A lot of clean air entered my lungs, clearing my head. Sarah, like me, took off her mask and revealed her bare face. Of course, we couldn’t change our clothes, so we were both still in our suits.

“You said you need to do a purification ritual to dispose of the curse tools, right? When are you going to do it?”

“The purification ceremony will be held on the weekend. I have to purify and dispose of everything by Sunday.”

Since today is Friday, there are about two days left until Sunday.

Sarah planned to complete the purification ritual and finish the job within two days.

“What are you going to do about life and death? Can you handle that too?”

“No. The part of life and death will just be kept secretly sealed. If you touch something like that, you might end up smelling the scent. If you have the chance, I think it would be best to return it to the original owner.”

“The original owner is the Grim Reaper, right?”

“Because it was lost, the owner must be looking for it.”

It was decided that the Ministry of Life and Death would be sealed and returned when the Grim Reaper comes.

Of course, we didn’t know if the Grim Reaper would really come to visit us.

“Hey. But isn’t our lifespan written in the book of life and death?”

“Nothing. I checked earlier, but our lifespan was not written down.”

Our lifespan is not written down?

What does that mean?

Does this mean that Sarah and I will never die?

“How can lifespan not be written down? Am I, by any chance, immortal like a vampire?”

“That can’t be possible. In legend, there are several Grim Reapers. Each person will also carry a separate account of life and death. It is right to think that the book of life and death where our lifespan is written is somewhere else.”

Sarah’s guess was plausible. In the first place, the meaning of Life and Death was not a single volume, but multiple volumes, and people’s lifespans would be written in each book. The Grim Reaper manages the deaths of the people listed in the life and death book he owns.

“There was no one in the Ministry of Life and Death who knew us. He just didn’t know everything.”

“It’s a shame.”

“Ah! There was one celebrity. Shall I tell you who it is? He’s a famous person.”

“No. I’ll read it myself later, so don’t spoil it.”

Our lifespan was not written down.

Still, I was curious about how life and death came into existence. Because I was watching the men in Heejin’s gang earlier, I couldn’t properly see the contents of the book of life and death. I’ll have to take a look later when I have some time.

We took the train back to Seoul late at night.

*

Likewise, that evening, Heejin and the two men were returning to Seoul on the Starex.

Until yesterday, Heejin’s gang was full of dreams of becoming rich. However, Heejin’s gang, now penniless, was hurling insults at each other. This was because all the goods were robbed by mysterious exorcists who attacked the auction house.

“Fuck! Chansu, Jeongho. Why can’t you help when it’s important? If you had given me just a little more time, I could have grabbed the item and jumped out! Is it difficult to act as a punching bag?”

“Senior Heejin! It makes sense. How can we deal with a monster that throws filled drums at us like toys? If I had been tricked, my spine would have folded in half!”

“So you knelt down without fighting? Get rid of the thing with balls, you scaremonger.”

Heejin mocked Jeongho for surrendering without a fight. Jeongho responded that it was unfair. Chansu, who had been hit in the face by a male exorcist, was busy cooling his swollen face with an ice pack.

“Ha… .”

The moment Heejin let out a deep sigh, there was silence in the car. The scenery outside the car running on the road flew by. Jeongho, who was driving the car, looked at Heejin’s eyes and spoke carefully.

“But is the male exorcist really a person? You know that guy who threw the drum earlier? Power is no joke.”

“He says he is human, but you never know. It might be a monster pretending to be a human.”

“Right? It was impossible to deal with them from the front.”

Heejin’s gang suspected that the man among the exorcists who attacked them was a monster. I had to think like this to achieve mental victory. I wasn’t embarrassed to think that I lost to a monster rather than a person.

“Anyway, they really are like dogs. Senior, of course you will take revenge, right? Please curse and show the exorcists a bitter taste.”

The three people who handled the curse tools did not hesitate to directly curse anyone who interfered with their business. If it were any other time, I would have already put a curse on the exorcists. However, Heejin reacted indifferently upon hearing Jeongho’s words.

“Who wouldn’t want revenge? But they have strong feelings so I don’t think I should touch them.”

“Why? I’ve cursed all the people who have bothered me so far.”

“I think there is a shaman among the exorcists. Did you guys see the knives they were using earlier? Do you know what kind of knife that is?”

“What kind of knife is it?”

Chansu and Jeongho recalled the swords carried by exorcists. It was a sword with a curved end like a scimitar. They knew it was a magical item, but the two men didn’t know exactly what it was.

Heejin taught me the identity of the knife.

“It’s Gunungkal. A new sword used by shamans.”

Heejin saw clearly that the knife’s identity was Shinkal. That’s why I didn’t think about rashly placing a curse on the exorcists. Considering that he was carrying a new knife, it was clear that there must be a shaman among the exorcists.

“Oh, was it a new knife? For some reason, I felt like I had seen it somewhere.”

“That’s right. If you see them carrying a new sword, one of them must be a shaman. You can curse a shaman and get screwed. Conversely, if even a little bit of flesh flies, it will cost you a lot of money to solve it.”

“Is it ultimately a matter of money?”

“Everything in this world is about money.”

Heejin could retaliate against the exorcists with a curse, but she was afraid of the consequences. It was a well-balanced combination that combined both physical strength and magic. This time I had no choice but to bow down and move on. I just prayed that I wouldn’t run into the exorcists again.

“Life and death is a waste… .”

Heejin regretted the loss of her life and death.

The ocher sign of the Ministry of Life and Death flashed before my eyes like lost gold.

At that time, Jeongho, who was driving in front, made a curious voice.

“Huh? Who is in front of you?”

Heejin raised her head and looked outside the car. As Jeong-ho said, there was a person standing in front of the road where the car was running.

It was a man wearing a pitch-black coat.

There was no bus stop on this road, and cars did not travel often. But the man in the pitch black coat was standing quietly on the shoulder of the road. I couldn’t figure out why the neatly dressed man was standing on the backwater.

“What does it matter? Let’s stop worrying and go.”

“Yes.”

The Starex that Heejin’s gang was riding passed by a man in a coat. The rearview mirror showed a man standing on the road. Jeongho, who was driving, kept looking at the rear-view mirror and felt puzzled.

The figure of the man wearing the coat did not disappear.

The man was standing opposite the car moving forward. In that case, it was natural for the man’s image in the rearview mirror to gradually become smaller and then disappear.

“… … ?”

The rearview mirror kept showing the man in the coat.

Even when the car turned around the curve and the angle of light changed, the man was still visible. It was an absurd phenomenon.

Jeongho opened his mouth while breaking into a cold sweat.

“Hee, senior Heejin. Do you see that behind you? You can still see it from before.”

“… know. I can see it too.”

Heejin’s voice sank low as she answered. Chansu, who was rubbing his face with an ice pack, also opened his eyes wide and looked at the rearview mirror. Now, the three people were clearly seeing the man wearing the coat.

It felt like a man in a coat was chasing them.

Whatever its identity, it was clear that it was not a person.

A standing person cannot chase a moving car.

Heejin, overcome by a creepy feeling, spoke to Jeongho.

“Don’t look in the rearview mirror and run! Step on it!”

Jeongho stepped on the accelerator. As the motor whirred, the Starex began to accelerate. The place where Starex was currently running was a winding rural road. Beyond the guardrail was a high cliff.

How much time has passed?

I stepped on the accelerator as much as possible to increase the speed, and at some point the figure of the man wearing the coat disappeared. Heejin sighed in relief because she thought she had defeated the unknown man.

“Jeongho, it’s done. It seems like it’s gone.”

“Yeah, really?”

There was no need to drive dangerously anymore.

However, even after hearing Heejin’s words, Jeongho did not slow down. Starex ran on the road near the cliff while maintaining a frightening speed.

“What are you doing? Reduce your speed.”

“Seo, senior… .”

Jeongho, who was driving, stuttered. One of his feet was now pressing nervously on the brake. However, the car did not brake.

“The brakes don’t work!”

“What? Fuck!”

Jeongho lowered the gear to a low gear, but the car’s speed did not drop. The gears and brakes were broken. Heejin’s gang aboard the Starex fell into panic.

“Aaaa!”

Ahead, I saw a curved road with a sign indicating an accident-prone area. Jeongho quickly turned the steering wheel, but it was already too late. Starex, which was running recklessly, crashed into the guardrail on a curved road.

The guardrail could not stop Starex, which was running at full speed.

Starex smashed the guardrail and ran off the road.

Outside the road was a cliff.

The moment the car rose into the air, Heejin saw a road with a shattered guardrail.

There was a man in a pitch black coat standing on the road.

Heejin’s heart was beating like crazy.

━━Thump

The car body fell and violently collided with the ground.

The three merchants died in the exact same way as the crushed vehicle.

Their bodies were found with their entire bodies crushed.