INV 66

“More than a dozen agents dispatched from the underworld have already died… and the damage to the celestial side is beyond estimation. Fortunately, civilian casualties haven’t occurred yet, but national-level memory manipulation will be necessary. Even as we speak, occult eyewitness accounts are spreading like wildfire. The great evils haven’t even made their appearance yet, and already…”

Kwon Yihyeon did not yet realize the weight of those words.

Above all, the Chacha he knew.

“At the very least, he wouldn’t have called the monsters. I mean, there must have been some sort of, well, misunderstanding…”

Then, Geom Biyeon, who always smiled with an unsettling politeness, glared at Kwon Yihyeon with a raw, unmasked face.

“Whether someone called them in, or they came on their own. That sort of thing doesn’t matter. What matters is that in this cramped little land, hundreds, thousands of great monsters—any one or two of whom would be a handful—are swarming in without end.”

“…”

“Will you cooperate now?”

Kwon Yihyeon nodded without a word, and Geom Biyeon immediately pulled out a horse-gate medallion.

He was about to add more…

“Reaper Gwak will stand by at Samra…”

“I’m going. My kids too.”

“…”

“So what? Who are you? Do you think you can stop me? You? Just you?”

Gwak Deukcheon acted like his usual ill-mannered self.

However, Geom Biyeon, who had been wearing a terrifyingly stiff expression, displayed a smile that seemed to loosen up for the first time.

“Yes, you are consistent as always. It’s quite good to see a figure with neither progress nor development.”

“Ah, this bastard, even in an emergency he’s acting out…”

“We are departing.”

“Hey! I’m talking to—”

Simultaneously with those words, the horse-gate medallion burst with a pure white light, swallowing everyone at the scene.

Whirrr

Swooooosh!

When he opened his eyes, he was in the firmament. It meant his feet weren’t touching the ground; he was levitating in the sky. A fierce wind whipped against his ears, and the view before him was practically flashing. His knees buckled at the nonsensical height. Yet, other people were moving calmly, stepping through the void. No, to be precise, it wasn’t a total void. Because clouds were spread beneath their feet…

‘Clouds don’t have a cotton-candy-like texture after all.’

Along with that strange realization, his tension snapped. As Kwon Yihyeon sat there alone, Lim Muyoung belatedly came to his side and began to explain.

“Y-You were surprised, weren’t you. Before we go out to a site to face monsters, we usually set the nearby area as a coordinate value first and scan the surroundings of the site thoroughly. Otherwise, we might fall into a trap… We are experts in ghosts, but, well… ghosts or spirits lack intellect, so they aren’t relatively good at using their heads. But monsters can use their heads… so we have to be careful about that.”

“Ah… thank you for the explanation.”

Kwon Yihyeon was still half-dazed. In exchange for the renewed realization that the partner he had been playing lovey-dovey with until this morning was Jae Angshin, his breathing kept feeling tight. Lim Muyoung crouched down next to him, patting his back, and continued the explanation slowly.

“Since many immortals… have come from the celestial realm, it’ll be okay. Don’t be too surprised…”

“…”

However, the more he offered comfort, the darker Kwon Yihyeon’s face became. Lim Muyoung flustered about, looked around, and quickly diverted the topic.

“It looks like the Taoist art is about to be completed. Soon, the number of nearby monsters will be displayed… on the hologram screen above…”

“…”

Lim Muyoung froze with his hand reaching toward the air. The entirety of South Korea was painted bright red, and around it, endless red dots were swarming toward the direction of South Korea.

It was a scene akin to a depiction of hell.

⋆˙⟡

Ordinary people cannot see ghosts. Since their spiritual eyes aren’t open, it’s only natural. However, one can see monsters.

Because monsters have a physical form.

Therefore, the celestial realm manages monsters so that humans cannot see them.

In other words, if the celestial realm doesn’t do its job properly, occult phenomena appear frequently in the world.

And now, the world has fallen into chaos.

“Crazy, what is this…!”

A graduate student shrieked and slumped down. At the end of his gaze, a round shape like a pitch-black chestnut floated in the air. It had a small, black body, and right in the center, a single bright red eyeball full of malice was rolling around.

It was a spore born from misfortune. A minor evil that floats around in spore form and causes misfortune to cling to things.

If one or two of them were floating around, the graduate student would have mistaken them for a cat or a mouse. However, the current situation couldn’t be resolved with that much.

“What is this…!”

Hundreds of minor-evil-class monsters were moving together in swarms.

“Everyone, look at this! Damn! This thing is moving! It’s flying! Yes, I didn’t do this! It’s a real phenomenon! Please like and subscribe! Thank you!”

Quick-witted people rushed out with personal broadcasting equipment and began filming the bizarre phenomenon.

It was no different for terrestrial broadcasting.

It was just a more dignified format.

“We will connect to Reporter Jung Chan-wook, who is out on the field. Reporter Jung Chan-wook?”

“Aaaah! Th-these things keep sticking to me, aaagh! Aaaaaagh!”

“…!”

Although the dignified pretense of the terrestrial broadcast brought about a result that was worse than not doing it at all, regardless.

Minor-evil-class monsters will cling to humans like dandelion seeds and suck away their vitality. If it were a few dozen, a healthy person might suffer for a few days before their immunity drops and they catch a cold, but with hundreds, the story is different. For someone already in poor health, their life would be in danger.

The problem didn’t end here.

“At Namsan! A mysterious lifeform of a corresponding length has appeared at Namsan Tower…!”

“Observation results from Jeju Island show that an unidentified object has been discovered approaching by parting the sea!”

“Subscribers! This is a sign that the world is ending…!”

“…!”

Kwon Yihyeon bit his lip hard. The situation on the ground was being reflected in real-time on the screen in the sky.

With every step the great monsters took, new vices were being birthed from the misfortune they brought with them.

Therefore, Kwon Yihyeon couldn’t help but think this.

‘Have I been underestimating Jae Angshin all this time?’

The Chacha Kwon Yihyeon knew would not have caused this situation.

Of course, he doesn’t think Chacha initiated the current situation. However, even if the being known as Jae Angshin doesn’t want it, hadn’t he excessively overlooked the fact that by his mere existence, he receives the worship of all monsters? Even if it were anyone else, Kwon Yihyeon at least shouldn’t have done that. Kwon Yihyeon…

Surely there were monsters everywhere who wished to enter the service of the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. They say if you become an ally, the best under heaven will provide retaliation as well. How much more so if it’s Jae Angshin.

If there was an offering to be made to a disaster, it was fresh blood.

There must be a reason for the great monsters to gather in one place like this.

‘Then, what should I do in this situation?’

It was just as Kwon Yihyeon, with his hands clasped and chin resting upon them, was brooding while nibbling his lip.

“Scram! Move aside! Where does a mere human think they are…!”

“Yeah, yeah. I am truly sorry that a mere human didn’t move aside.”

A familiarly annoying voice scratched through his mind. Kwon Yihyeon turned his head.

There, Gwak Deukcheon was arguing with a person who looked like a mountain spirit.

“But for someone who couldn’t do anything until the situation got tangled up like this and is now seeking human help, ‘mere human’ is a bit much, don’t you think? Oh, or is it a forced attempt to cover up incompetence? Is that it?”

“You wretch…!”

Kwon Yihyeon didn’t know the specifics, but he realized from the team members’ reactions that it wasn’t a bad confrontation.

“Our team leader is doing great!”

“I wondered where he’d use that personality of his! He uses it when fighting others!”

“Team leader! Win!”

However, the words that followed were unexpected.

“It is you lot who are suspicious! Why are you protecting a mere contractor of Jae Angshin!”

“…?”

If it’s the contractor of Jae Angshin, is that me?

Kwon Yihyeon reflexively turned his head in that direction.