Men in suits, with cigarettes dangling from their lips in a manner utterly unfitting for the era, furrowed their brows.
A blinding light, as if the sun itself had risen atop the mountain, was the cause of their consternation.
“Hey, is that… did that crazy bastard set the mountain on fire?”
****
Following the successful escalation of the ‘Chang-gui Lake’ ghost story to the ‘Jangsanbeom’ phenomenon, a frantic uproar had erupted within the Bureau of Administration.
Immediately after the report was submitted, Bureau employees were hastily dispatched, the ‘Jangsanbeom’ phenomenon having inexplicably surged to an A-class threat.
Having been deployed with such urgency, they hadn’t even managed to bring many dummy personnel.
That deranged Jangsanbeom made no distinction between friend and foe, mercilessly slaughtering anyone standing on two feet.
It seemed highly improbable that they themselves would be spared from its deadly reach.
The very reason for their presence here was, in itself, preposterous.
“How could a rookie, who’s just barely solved a single ghost story, possibly kill a Jangsanbeom?”
How could a mere novice, having only just resolved a minor haunting, ever hope to capture a Jangsanbeom—a creature even headquarters had shied away from, finding it too formidable to confront?
They had even received orders to secure Han Siyoung’s person.
To be precise, they were to secure his physical body.
‘Damn it, how are we supposed to find a body in that inferno? That Jangsanbeom would have torn it to shreds already, shit.’
In essence, they found themselves in an incredibly cursed situation.
Under the relentless pressure of their superiors, these innocent employees had been tasked with the unenviable mission of securing Han Siyoung’s body.
“Manager, what are we to do? If we go in now, we’ll all be incinerated.”
Gazing at the fiery abyss before them, they frantically scratched their heads.
“f*ck.”
The decisions handed down by their esteemed superiors never seemed to culminate favorably.
No one truly knew what horrors were unfolding atop that mountain.
Yet, witnessing the voracious flames that devoured the entire forest, spreading far and wide,
they cursed without pause.
A chilling certainty settled upon them: this was far from the outcome the Bureau of Administration desired.
“We’re screwed. Hey! Make it rain, somehow! If that bastard Han Siyoung burns to death, we’re all dead too!”
To salvage the dire situation and prevent their own heads from rolling,
they were forced to toil tirelessly once more.
****
Will-o’-the-Wisp (TL Note: A Korean folk creature, often depicted as a mischievous goblin or sprite, associated with spiritual energy or ghostly flames), shining with its A-rank practical utility, had truly proven to be my salvation.
I had only just discovered its remarkable advantage: the ability to move dozens of meters away from me.
This newfound capability meant I no longer needed to move independently.
“It’s hot.”
Thus, I could orchestrate such a massive conflagration.
How dare it attempt to slowly torment me to death?
This, you wretched monster, is human strategy.
As the air grew increasingly hot and thick with smoke, breathing gradually became an uncomfortable struggle.
I had just finished purchasing several cloth masks from the store and distributing them among the soldiers.
Naturally, I had soaked them in water first.
“I’ll ask again. What is our objective?”
“To return!! Aliveee!!”
Our collective fighting spirit would surely become the strength needed to withstand their malevolent intent.
“Good, that’s the spirit.”
A vast field stretched gracefully across the mountain.
This was a plateau.
Indeed, the entire world surrounding us was engulfed in flames, creating the illusion that the very moon was stained crimson.
Smoke, rising into the heavens as it consumed the forest, choked the sky.
In this battlefield, where the very clouds were now indistinguishable,
beyond the distant horizon,
something monumental emerged from the blazing inferno of the forest.
It stretched its colossal frame, planting its feet upon the plateau.
Two eyes, gleaming and burning with a light brighter than the flames themselves, became terrifyingly visible.
“Did you decide to fight because your home is burning?”
In a world drenched in crimson,
the raw killing intent emanating from the beast, a solitary entity possessing an unnatural hue, prickled against my skin.
So dense and concentrated was this malevolence that it seemed to make its very form ripple and distort.
You monstrous bastard, do you find this battlefield to your liking?
“…So, you intend to step forward yourself, do you?”
As if profoundly provoked by the stage I had set,
it began to move with astonishing speed, instantly traversing the vast distance.
With every blink of my eyes, the gap between us exponentially narrowed.
“All units, prepare to fire.”
Our objective was singular.
That white-furred monstrous bastard.
I raised my fist, clenching it tight.
The moment the sizzling sound of gunpowder boiled in my ears,
“Fire!!!”
A thrilling barrage of gunshots, like a sudden peal of thunder, instantly engulfed the heavens and earth, piercing the eardrums.
Holes were gouged into the very ground where the Jangsanbeom had stood moments before.
Two shots found their mark.
However,
“What incredible resilience!”
As if completely unfazed by the bullets, it unleashed a brutal, unyielding charge.
Its speed remained undiminished; at this rate, the stockade was undeniably destined to be shattered by its relentless assault.
At long range, we had to inflict the utmost damage.
Upon closer inspection, wisps of smoke were indeed rising from the areas where it had been struck by bullets.
This confirmed that damage was, in fact, being dealt.
“Everyone! Keep firing without pause!”
Every soldier fired their weapons in unison, following the command.
They swiftly reloaded their firearms, reignited the powder, and fired again.
It was a genuine relief to see how practiced and familiar everyone seemed with this rapid sequence.
‘I must be the one to slow its speed.’
I seized a spear that I had prepared beforehand.
Bulging veins snaked across my forearms.
A thrilling sensation coursed from my shoulder, electrifying my fingertips.
Shaking the stockade with the force of my throw, I hurled the spear.
Swoosh!
It struck precisely between its eyebrows.
Thwack!!
“You bastard, you’re sickeningly proficient at blocking.”
Its front paws had been remarkably adept from the very beginning.
Witnessing it effortlessly deflect every attack confirmed that its greatest weapon was undoubtedly those powerful forelimbs.
Nevertheless, my attack had succeeded in slowing its advance.
Consequently, the frequency with which the soldiers’ bullets found their mark increased.
Realizing that we absolutely could not allow the distance to close any further, I snatched up several more spears.
With a force that felt as if my shoulder would dislocate,
I hurled them!
Having apparently registered the threat of the continuous ranged attacks,
it now focused intently on evasion.
Yet, even as it evaded, it steadily continued to close the distance.
“That thing… what is that monstrosity?”
“Ugh… ugh!”
Its ferocious countenance now came into full, chilling view.
Not just for me, but for the soldiers as well.
Gulp.
I felt it too.
It was only by virtue of our position atop the stockade, observing it as if from a zoo enclosure, that we were safe.
If we were to descend to the ground now, we would undoubtedly become its next meal.
Such an overwhelming sense of dread emanated from its very being.
In its grotesquely distorted face, I witnessed an abyss of unending malice.
I absolutely could not afford to lose.
If only to avoid a horrific death.
If only to avoid succumbing to such a vile creature.
“Do not fear! Everyone, maintain continuous fire!”
I instructed even those who were firing arrows to switch to guns.
Arrows proved utterly incapable of piercing its hide.
They merely ricocheted off, making me wonder if its skin was truly made of steel.
“B-brother!”
Just as we concentrated all our efforts on the creature,
an unforeseen variable began to erupt from behind us.
Ten burning tigers had breached the rear of the stockade, surging directly into our interior.
“This is madness!”
A diversionary tactic.
That cunning beast had sent its subordinates into the inferno to divert my attention.
Then, it had deliberately absorbed our frontal assault, buying precious time for this rear attack.
There was no other choice.
I had intended to conserve as much stamina as possible until the inevitable life-or-death confrontation with that monster, but now…!
“Do not lose sight of that thing, everyone.”
I redirected all personnel who had attempted to fall back, ordering them to maintain pressure on the Jangsanbeom.
Then, I transformed my knife into a sword.
“Ghost Sword (TL Note: Gwishin Geom, a sword imbued with ghostly power).”
The souls of the dead.
It cleaves them, rends them, and severs the malevolence that clings to them.
The martial art the Ghost Sword had imparted to me was ultimately a blade forged to cut down the deceased.
I knew not what drove its desire to sever the very concept of the dead,
but that maddening obsession, coupled with a talent that transcended mere fixation,
had ultimately culminated in a bizarre, unique martial art.
Gwi-do Sin-geom (TL Note: A martial art, literally ‘Ghost Path Divine Sword’).
Third Form, Sa-ryeong Bun-do (TL Note: ‘Blade Splitting Dead Souls’).
A raw, untamed energy surged from my grip, unleashing a ferocious sword qi (劍氣).
Kwa-gwak-gwak!!
It tore apart the gaping maw of the first tiger that lunged forward.
The even wilder momentum that erupted then roughly scraped the earth.
The tiger, now left with only its lower jaw, crashed to the ground, kicking up a larger swirl of dust.
I plunged into the dirt mounds created by the impact, dancing amidst the fiery, ash-colored beasts.
Gracefully carving arcs through the gaps in the earth,
my sword began to shred the tigers’ flesh.
Seventh Form, Sa-ja Hyeon-sin (TL Note: ‘Manifestation of the Dead’).
The more fluidly the sword bent and twisted, the sharper its edge became.
The hides of the surrounding beasts were ripped, their bones ground to dust.
Udeudeudeuk! Pukwak!
I carved the agony I inflicted deep into the bones beneath their flesh.
‘Damn it.’
In response, an immense strain bore down upon my wrist.
However, the sword did not falter, refusing to be bound by the mere limits of the body.
I could do more.
Faster.
Sharper.
Drawing a swift semi-circle, I severed the arm of a tiger that brought down a colossal front paw from behind.
I evaded a low strike aimed at my legs,
then plunged the sword into the forehead of the creature that had dared to target my precious leg, before ripping it out.
Blood erupted chaotically, and the ash-colored fur of the beasts scattered everywhere.
But I could not stop.
Roar!!
Fifth Form, Mang-hon Swae-il (TL Note: ‘Chain of Lost Souls’).
Directly in front of a seemingly unharmed creature that charged, baring its fangs,
I diagonally adjusted my center of gravity and delivered a ground-cleaving strike that found its mark with brutal precision.
Tudududuk!
With the last tiger, its body half-severed and impaled into the ground, finally silenced,
no more beasts dared to attack.
Kuwak…!
Grrr…
The remaining three, though appearing relatively unscathed,
could not bring themselves to approach.
I had utterly crushed their spirit with sheer, overwhelming force.
Even though they bore terrible burns, the creatures, tails tucked and fur bristling,
were not tending to their wounds; instead, all their senses were focused intently on me.
“Hah, huff…”
Then, as I struggled to catch my breath,
“Kuaaahhh!!!”
“It’s, it’s climbed up! Haaaah!”
Oh, for f*ck’s sake.
The Jangsanbeom had finally scrambled onto the stockade.
It stomped on two soldiers with its feet, then seized another in its maw, audibly crunching down.
Spears were hurled around it, and guns fired in desperate resistance,
but with a single thrashing movement, three more soldiers were crushed.
“Everyone, fall back! Damn it…!”
I immediately attempted to rush forward, but
a colossal shadow fell over me.
This time,
“What.”
It charged at me first.
The entire body of the Jangsanbeom, having leaped into the air, soared so high it seemed to blot out the sky,
rising higher and higher,
before beginning its swift, terrifying descent towards me.
Its body, catching the infernal light of the burning forest,
appeared as if the very moon were plummeting to earth.
The killing intent etched into its monstrous face was distorted into a malevolent, demonic grimace,
clearly not the sublime moon of the night sky.
Whoosh!!
The Jangsanbeom’s strike, having soared through the air,
aimed directly at the crown of my head.
Kwaaaaang!!
“Brotheeer!!”
It slammed down.
“You mustn’t go! Snap out of it!”
“Let go of me! Brother! Siyoung Broth…er?”
No, it had almost slammed down.
Trembling…
The immense, mass-driven strike
had been halted midway.
“You’re a monster.”
The familiar voice brushed past my ears once more.
The voice of someone who had shared time with me.
My upper clothing was already little more than tattered rags.
A searing sensation consumed my thigh.
“You damned bastard, who are you to… to…”
In the midst of the incoming strike, with the firm intention of severing its wrist,
I unleashed a strike of lost souls, stepping one pace further forward.
The surging slash connected precisely, like a hammer driving a nail, and should have embedded itself deeply, utilizing the creature’s own mass as leverage.
“Keugh… Cough!”
And yet,
it wasn’t severed.
Still, it was almost severed.
Does your wrist sting a bit?
“Aaaahhh!!”
My own wrist was far from normal.
Having recklessly absorbed that brutish mass, it was completely twisted and mangled.
“Ugh…! Ugh!”
Spitting out a nosebleed, I poured all my grip strength into my almost crushed wrist.
Crunch…
After forcibly realigning the bones,
I gasped for breath during a brief, tense silence.
Dark, ominous clouds began to shroud the sky.
“Come on, you damned bastard.”
I, too, mimicked the malevolent grin it had shown,
and after shaking off the remaining blood, drew my sword to finish this battle in this fading moonlight battlefield.
“…”
An expression of weariness.
There could be no one in this world more weary of you than I am.
“Tuh!”
Spitting out a tooth,
I charged at the creature again, like an unquenchable flame.
Swaaaaah-!
Suddenly, a torrential downpour began,
yet we, exchanging blows, showed no sign of stopping.
Continuing to fight, turning the surroundings into utter chaos.
