episode_0079

Now, a frighteningly sharp ax was falling on my head.

Why is the ax falling?

That was because I blocked the Grim Reaper’s path. I stopped the man in the coat and eventually retreated to the shrine. However, Sarah, who was inside the shrine, was unable to successfully contact her until I arrived.

In the end, it was a failure.

Hongryeon did not appear on time.

I tried to save Sarah by blocking the path of the man in the coat, but it was no longer possible. My whole body became so sluggish that at some point it was difficult to avoid being hit by an axe. It eventually got to the point where an ax was flying over my head.

‘Is this the end?’

I thought I was definitely going to die. Unable to meet my deceased father and uncover the strange secret of his death, I, Kim Jin-woo, end up leaving for the underworld.

If I had known this would happen, I would have skipped school and used that time to do exorcism. It would have been a little less unfair if we had hunted down more evil things.

It was when a flash of light passed through my head.

The ax blade suddenly stopped falling. The ax blade that had split the hair and reached just before touching the scalp had stopped.

How do you know it’s stopped?

If I hadn’t stopped, my head would have split in half.

I was embarrassed for a moment.

Why did it stop?

Did the Grim Reaper show mercy?

I came to my senses and looked straight ahead. The man in the coat was struggling to hold the handle of the axe. The direction of force was downward, where my head was. That means it was never mercy. The man in the coat was hell-bent on killing me.

“Keuuu!”

In that case, it would mean that something unknown prevented the ax strike.

As I was assessing the situation, the sound of bells could be heard clearly in my ears. A clear sound was ringing from Serah’s bell placed on the altar. For some reason, the bell that was left alone made a sound.

“Sera?”

I turned my head and looked at Sarah.

I called his name, but there was no answer. Sarah, who had been going crazy after seeing me almost die, suddenly calmed down. It felt as if my personality had changed 180 degrees. I have experienced this phenomenon several times.

It’s just contact.

“… Success!”

It was clear that Sarah had succeeded in contacting her.

It was worth holding on until the last moment.

Hongryeon has now arrived at this location.

The lights that were brightly illuminating the shrine suddenly began to flicker.

The altar and the Buddha statue shook as if struck by a great force.

“Keuuu!”

The strange phenomenon that suddenly occurred was not the act of the man in the coat. His eyes were wide open as he looked inside the shrine, where everything was shaking.

The man who had never lost his composure since they first met showed signs of embarrassment for the first time.

━━Pow

The lamp, unable to withstand the unidentified pressure, broke. Shards of glass fell into the water, so I quickly ducked.

The inside of the shrine became so dark that it was impossible to see even an inch in front. I couldn’t figure out what was happening. One thing that was clear was that the cause of all strange phenomena was Hongryeon.

Then light came out of the darkness.

Light was flowing from behind Hongryeon. A dazzling halo became the only light in the dark place.

It was the shape of a beautiful and holy fairy.

Hongryeon spoke to the man in the coat.

“Myeongbuchasa. Stop carrying out the sentence. The sentient beings you are trying to harm did not steal the list with vain intentions.”

A listed driver?

It seemed like it was referring to a man wearing a coat. I heard that the grim reapers of the East are classified according to the work they do. A servant who runs errands in the sky is called a daily servant, and a servant who looks after things on earth is called a monthly servant. A list assistant is a person who manages the list.

The man in the coat narrowed his eyes and answered Hongryeon.

“Someone said, “You are the daughter of His Majesty Sangje.” Why do you disturb me?”

“The one you are trying to harm is the child who serves me as his body god. He was also my younger brother in a previous life, and I can’t just let him die.”

“Is that so.”

The man in the coat saw through Hongryeon’s identity. I also found out that Sera was a shaman who served Hongryeon. However, the man in the coat showed no sign of backing down even after recognizing Hongryeon.

“Anyone who sees the list must be taken to the underworld. Even if it is a shaman who serves His Majesty Sangje’s daughter, there is no exception. Even if I was a fairy in my past life, I am not now. You can’t get special treatment.”

“The chauffeurs are responsible for losing the list in this world in the first place, right? Why should people die because of your mistakes?”

“The driver who lost the list is already being punished. A new employee had an accident while working. I just came to clean up after my shitty junior.”

After listening, I realized that the man in the coat had not lost his list. It seemed that the new Grim Reaper had come to clean up the lost list. It would have been absurd if he had lost the list and was trying to kill Sarah, but that wasn’t the case.

“So, let’s move on. It was just one driver who made a mistake, so there’s no need for everyone to be unhappy, right?”

“That’s not possible. Those who die must die.”

I tried to persuade him, but it didn’t work.

The man in the coat insisted on principles until the end.

“If things go badly, you will be unhappy, right? Myeongbuchasa.”

“What?”

“I will make you unhappy.”

Hongryeon stretched out her hand towards the man in the coat. The pure white palm unfolded, and the body of the man in the coat floated into the air like a balloon. The man in the coat struggled while holding the axe. It was as if he was being held in a huge grasp.

I couldn’t believe it even when I saw it with my own eyes.

When I opened my palm, why did the man in the distance float into the air?

“Wow.”

It wasn’t the end that floated like a balloon. The man in the coat was in pain, clutching his neck as if he couldn’t even breathe. The ax he was holding in his hand fell and rolled around on the dark floor.

“Huh… ! Pfft! Hehehehe!”

This was torture.

Torture was being carried out by a mysterious force.

I was startled when I saw Hongryeon standing with her hand outstretched.

Although I was not conscious of it for a while, Hongryeon was a divine spirit from heaven. This means that he is a spirit who can extinguish a person’s life like a candle with a single wave of his hand. If Hongryeon hadn’t acted on her whims when we first met, Sarah and I would have been trapped in a dream for the rest of our lives.

‘It’s no joke!’

I felt creepy.

The man in the coat was seen suffering without even a single protest. If that mysterious power were used on a person, their body would explode and they would die. The one being tortured was the Grim Reaper, but for some reason my hands also became wet with sweat.

“Wow! stop! Please stop!”

“So, I should have listened when he said something nice. The manager is becoming unhappy.”

As usual, Hongryeon had a smile on her lips.

When the man in the coat made a sound of breath, Hongryeon withdrew her outstretched hand. Then the man’s body, floating in the air, fell to the floor and rolled around. The man in the coat was lying face down on the floor, sweating coldly.

“Myeongbuchasa. Why don’t we just pretend that Sarah looked at the list as never happened?”

“Wow, that’s nonsense… ! How can you pretend that something you clearly saw didn’t happen?”

Hongryeon said while touching Sarah’s forehead with her finger.

“I will erase this memory from your head. All you have to do is erase the memory of seeing the list, right? Then the day of people’s death will not be known.”

what?

Can Hongryeon erase Sarah’s memories?

It seemed like if such a ridiculous thing were possible, the problem would be solved. The reason the Grim Reaper tried to kill Sarah was because the contents of the list should not be leaked. If the memories were deleted, the reason for killing Sarah would also disappear.

“Still, the principle is to take the wife and child to the afterlife… . There is no guarantee that memories will be completely erased.”

Hongryeon blurted out a word to the man in the coat who was hesitating.

“If you want to be unhappy for the rest of your life, stick to your principles until the end.”

“Hmm… .”

The man in the coat was silent.

The ax fell from the man’s side and rolled on the floor.

After a very long silence, the man in the coat opened his mouth.

“I understand. It would be better to compromise by erasing the memories. Instead, I will retrieve the life and death parts now.”

Negotiations were made.

Of course, it could not be called a peaceful negotiation. If Hongryeon hadn’t shown force, it seemed like the man in the coat would have taken Sarah to the underworld. It seemed like the Grim Reaper thought principles were more important than I thought.

“Jinwoo.”

“Yes?”

Hongryeon looked at me and made a hand gesture.

I just waved my hand lightly, but it gave me goosebumps for no reason.

“Please return the book of living and dead to the driver. I’m going to be busy, so I’ll have to send it to you quickly.”

“Okay.”

The remains of the deceased were kept in the shrine.

I immediately took out the book of life and death hidden under the altar and handed it over to the man in the coat. The man in the coat took over the fate of life and death while agonizing like a defeated soldier.

“Take that.”

“… … ”

“Please pick up the ax when you go back.”

The man in the coat heard Hongryeon’s words and left Hyehwadang without a word.

Of course, I didn’t forget to pick up the ugly axe.

*

This is after the Grim Reaper left Hyehwadang.

I went outside the shrine and took a moment to catch my breath. Because of the Grim Reaper’s misbehavior, Sarah’s house was a complete mess. Not only the TV but also many pieces of furniture were destroyed. The light in the shrine was broken and the lights did not come on.

Fortunately, the light came on in the living room.

The moment I arrived in the living room with the lights on, I felt someone following me from behind.

It was Hongryeon.

“Jinwoo, I’m glad you didn’t die.”

Hongryeon has not yet left Sarah’s body.

Although the halo emanating from the body has disappeared, the tone of speech is still Hongryeon’s.

“I survived because the fairy came at the right time.”

“I didn’t come, but Sarah called me. I succeeded in contacting him through my own will.”

The reason Hongryeon was able to arrive in time was because Sera was able to successfully contact her.

“From now on, will you come right away when Sarah calls?”

“That seems impossible. The reason the call was successful earlier was because I was lucky.”

“Are you saying it was a fluke?”

“Yes.”

However, once it was successful, it didn’t seem like Sarah could contact her at will.

It was a fluke that I succeeded today.

“It’s time to go back.”

Hongryeon said while looking at the night sky through the living room window.

It was a night sky with a round full moon.

I’m sorry we have to part ways, but I have to let you go.

It was when I was about to say goodbye to Hongryeon.

“By the way, Jinwoo, how is your body?”

“My body? I’m tired, but I’ll get better if I rest. Your hands will also get better if you apply medicine.”

“Really? Don’t you think you’re going to die right now?”

“I don’t think I’m going to die.”

Hongryeon suddenly came up to me and put her face close to me. I was surprised and took a quick step back, but Hongryeon followed me as far back as I went. In the end, my body ended up hitting the living room wall while I was taking a step backwards.

There is no place to retreat anymore.

“Stay still, Mr. Jinwoo.”

For some reason, Hongryeon reached out and scanned my body. White and beautiful fingers were touching me. I felt itchy, but I couldn’t even move. Earlier, I witnessed the Grim Reaper being made into a mukbap with some Seomseom Jade.

“It’s fascinating.”

“Well, what is so amazing about it?”

“It’s amazing that you’re alive.”

Hongryeon’s finger, which had been tickling my chest, suddenly pointed to where my heart was.

It was a heart that was actively beating.

“Grim reapers are of a different class from evil spirits or monsters. Because it is their job to take away the souls of all living things. Of course, it is necessary to have overwhelming force so as not to interfere with work. I have never seen a record of an ordinary person disrupting the Grim Reaper and surviving.”

“Are you saying I should have died?”

“Originally, he should have died with a single blow. You persevered until the end.”

Hongryeon’s clear eyes stared at me.

It was a gaze so persistent that it felt burdensome.

“No matter how you look at it, he’s an ordinary person… Where does the dragon power come from? Maybe you are the one with superpowers.”

I heard from Hongryeon, who is no different from a god of superpowers, that you are a god of superpowers.

I didn’t know whether to be happy or upset.

It was when I was making an ambiguous expression.

Suddenly, Hongryeon hugged me.

‘uh?’

It was sudden skinship.

The soft skin and sweet scent made me dizzy.

“… … Fairy?”

Hongryeon was hugging me and burying her face in my arms.

The person hugging me right now was definitely Hongryeon.

Although I was possessed in Sarah’s body, the atmosphere was different, so I couldn’t help but feel very unfamiliar.

For a moment, the image of Hongryeon, who looked like Gyusu from a sheep family’s house, that I had seen in my dream came to mind. The beautiful girl with straight black hair that I saw back then appeared like an illusion to Hongryeon, who was now possessed in Sarah’s body. I felt unfamiliar and excited, so my heart beat faster.

“What is it all of a sudden?”

I couldn’t push Hongryeon away so I asked her carefully. I couldn’t figure out why there was a sudden embrace between the man and the woman. Of course, Hongryeon’s behavior has been full of things that were incomprehensible from the beginning.

“You’re holding Jinwoo? Your chest is wide and firm.”

Hongryeon said while squinting her eyes.