𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟓𝟑
「. . .𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」
A vast cavity formed by a combination of seaweed and rocks, and an unidentified giant structure visible, filling it.
The sight was so absurd that at first glance, I could have mistaken it for an underwater palace, and it goes without saying how bizarre the scenery was.
I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, as Cheong Juhwa and Seo Ji-an also uttered words of wonder, mixed with doubt.
“To think that such a space would be hidden beneath the ground. . . . . . . .”
“Honestly, it’s a sight that’s completely beyond my expectations.”
It felt like we had been sucked into the ground, but it probably wasn’t actually the case that such a space had been created beneath it.
It seemed more likely that it was a kind of barrier created by the powerful force contained within the Yeouiju.
“. . . Ah, yes, that’s right. It doesn’t make sense physically.”
And this type of space is not so unfamiliar to me.
「. . .𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖𝙣 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙥.」
Like the Mirror Forest I had visited before, an event stage that can be entered when certain conditions are met.
Of course, it would be wrong to use such a classification in this place, which is clearly real, but the feeling itself was like that.
And through that, I was able to deduce one fact.
「𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙭𝙩 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙮𝙚𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙?」
It was quite possible.
The Azure Dragon’s Yeouiju itself was an item that had been hinted at knowingly or unknowingly since before, and too many hypotheses had already emerged to simply ignore it.
In that case, it would be reasonable to assume that some kind of event was originally scheduled to occur here after a longer period of time.
The problem was that we had discovered it at this point in time.
「. . . . . . .」
My steps, which had been moving forward, suddenly stopped.
At the same time, ominous thoughts crept into my mind.
「𝙄𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨?」
A complete Yeouiju is not usually a precious treasure.
No matter how excellent an elixir is, it cannot compare to it, and even the so-called special-grade beads pale in comparison.
As such, it is easy to assume that if there is an event associated with the Yeouiju, its difficulty level will not be simple.
「𝙄𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙨 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚, 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙬?」
That was what I was worried about.
“Can you supply oxygen?”
“It’s possible. There’s an air pocket above us.”
To be honest, the situation is not positive.
I don’t even know what’s ahead, and it’s not an environment conducive to fighting if something happens.
However, having come this far, it would be ridiculous to just turn around and go back.
Thinking that I would have to ask for the Azure Dragon’s help if necessary, I led the two of them slowly toward the interior of the cavity.
“I wonder how something like this came to be.”
It looked like a giant tree when viewed from a distance, but it was surprisingly rough and crude when approached.
There were holes everywhere, as if they had been dug by living creatures, and the same was true of the towering rocks and bedrock.
Perhaps those things had created an optical illusion like a building from a distance.
“. . .I think something must be living here.”
Cheong Juhwa spoke with a trembling voice, as if hoping someone would deny it, but no one refuted her words.
Seo Ji-an and I were also instinctively thinking the same thing.
We must have moved for about 20 minutes like that.
Seo Ji-an, who had been concentrating on scanning for traces of the Yeouiju, suddenly frowned.
And at the same time, she spoke urgently.
“The place where I feel the aura is changing in real time. I don’t know why, but it’s moving.”
“It’s moving? Does that mean. . . . . . . .”
“It could mean that it’s being influenced by the barrier, or that there’s something with a form.”
Something with a form, the implications of that phrase were simple.
Right here, in this place, there was a yokai that had swallowed the Yeouiju.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
At the same time, the Exorcism Headquarters Fourth Naval Squadron’s monitor room, which manages the maritime area in cooperation with the Navy.
Yoon Ji-won, a 2nd-grade exorcist on duty there, complained to Baek Chang-soo, a fellow 2nd-grade exorcist and her superior.
“Senior, does this even make sense?”
“Hmm? What is it?”
“Even if we use equipment to detect yokai, we can’t catch them right away, and since they’re fixed, we can’t take them with us when we go on patrol. Honestly, I don’t see why we need them.”
Yoon Ji-won’s complaint was not entirely unreasonable. Certainly, the task they were currently assigned to was quite inefficient.
When the equipment made by the Hwang family detects the aura of a yokai, they simply extract the data and report it.
However, no orders to sortie are given, and they have no authority to exterminate.
The only time they could directly exterminate yokai was when they encountered them head-on while on maritime patrol.
“If we’re just going to let them all get away, is there really any need to bring in expensive equipment?”
“. . . Well, it is a bit of a luxury.”
Baek Chang-soo nodded in agreement, as if he had often thought the same thing.
However, his playful expression quickly turned sharp.
“When I was a rookie, I also thought it was useless. Until I saw the 「𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙛」 with my own eyes.”
“What if?”
“Yes.”
Baek Chang-soo now knew why these things were necessary.
“In fact, the small fry aren’t important.”
It was an inconvenient truth, but even now, there must be quite a few low-level yokai wandering around in this ocean.
However, it didn’t really matter. At that level, they were easy enough for exorcists employed on cargo ships or other vessels to exterminate at their leisure.
“Don’t you know how this base operates when a high-ranking yokai is detected in your jurisdiction?”
“I heard about it briefly during training, but yes.”
“It’s chaos. It’s like a scene out of a war.”
Three years ago, when an A+ rank yokai appeared in the East Sea, Baek Chang-soo participated in the battle with the combat forces of all the nearby bases.
The memory of that time was not easily forgotten, no matter how hard he tried.
“It’s better on land. You can’t even use your spells freely on the ocean.”
Furthermore, even after fighting so desperately, it was a huge loss if they let their opponent get away.
Unfortunately, such things happened all too often in this sea.
“As you know, it’s not easy to catch even a low-level B-rank yokai without fail right here.”
“. . . . . . .”
“That’s why high-ranking yokai are called disasters at sea.”
Yoon Ji-won, impressed by her senior’s unexpectedly serious explanation, also wiped the playfulness from her face and asked a final question.
“. . .Has a yokai of that level ever appeared in our jurisdiction?”
“Well, the one that appeared three years ago was technically in the jurisdiction next door. But still, you never know.”
In other words, the task they were currently assigned to existed for that one unlikely event.
Yoon Ji-won nodded and exclaimed in admiration.
“To invest this much resources just for the possibility of detecting them in advance. . . . . . . . Korea really is a good place to live.”
“It just means that the damage is great when you make a mistake. There’s a reason why two 2nd-grades are stuck here. It’s because it’s really necessary.”
“Yes. I apologize for complaining. Would you like some cup ramen?”
“Sure.”
Just then, a huge response appeared on the screen they were watching.
However, it soon disappeared after only a second or two.
“Did you see that just now? It looked like something came up.”
“Well. . . . . . .”
Usually, yokai don’t give such a lukewarm response when they appear.
For the time being, it seemed more likely to be a false detection.
However.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙞𝙯𝙚, 𝙞𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙡𝙖𝙧𝙜𝙚. . . . . .?」
Even in that brief moment, Baek Chang-soo had analyzed the response from the observation equipment relatively accurately.
If Baek Chang-soo was not mistaken, that response was clearly.
“It seems to have been an error after all. There’s no log left.”
“. . .Right?”
Rather than that, it had to be that.
If this momentary observation was true, then it would be time to once again join forces with the nearby Navy and Naval Squadron and head to a battlefield where their lives could not be guaranteed.
Glug glug.
Slurp slurp.
Listening to the sound of the coffee pot boiling, Baek Chang-soo stared silently at the screen with anxious eyes.
Trying hard to ignore the memories of that day that were slowly beginning to surface in his mind.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“What’s the path?”
“There’s no regularity at all. It’s not chasing us.”
That was the only saving grace. Whatever the identity of the thing was, it had not yet discovered us.
Seo Ji-an continued to check the direction of the aura and asked for my instructions.
“. . .What should we do, continue forward?”
There is certainly too little information to make a clear judgment. However, after a moment’s thought, I started walking again.
“Let’s go for now.”
Anyway, even if I run away from it now, a S-rank yokai called Myudusa is waiting for me ahead.
There was no reason or time to avoid this difficulty.
「𝙒𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙗𝙖𝙩 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧.」
Fortunately, each member of the current party is as good as an elite.
Seo Ji-an who can fully demonstrate the power of nature-type spells in the ocean, Cheong Juhwa who has already gained impeccable skills as an exorcist, the Azure Dragon, and myself.
To be honest, with this lineup, I’m not afraid of even a high-ranking yokai.
Even the Hoyaukamui we encountered last time would not be difficult to exterminate if we met it now.
However, as we advanced further and began to enter the depths of the cavity, I sensed some kind of anomaly.
And I had to admit that I had been somewhat mistaken in my thinking up to now.
“What, what is this. I suddenly got goosebumps.”
“. . .This is strange. This is the first time I’ve felt this way. Something is not right.”
As they said, I too felt a tingling sensation running all over my body.
In addition, the Shadow Assimilation trait continued to send warnings through the shadows.
To turn back right now, to get away from this place as soon as possible.
「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩.」
There were few cases where the Shadow Assimilation trait had shown this kind of reaction.
At most, it was when I met Yoo Ah-in, Seo Ji-an’s bodyguard, when I was still unable to use even intermediate-level spells, or during Geusdae’s resurrection ceremony on Yeongwol Island.
「. . . . . . .」
So, at least two things were certain.
Whatever the identity of the thing lurking inside this inner sanctum, it was far more dangerous than I had thought.
To get past it, we might have to risk our lives.
Leave a Reply