Dojin stretched his arms back beside Iri, loosening up his body.
“Do you think they’re planning to connect after midnight? They say yin energy is strongest after midnight.”
“Could be. He’s got decent self-control, at least. But hey, I’m getting creeped out too—bring me a jacket or something. Why are you being stingy and only giving one to the Immortal?”
“Get one yourself. That’s what you get for coming dressed like that.”
Whether Ihaeja was using a male form or a female one, he usually appeared in a neatly arranged hanbok. Today, though, he showed up with white hair, a sleeveless glow-in-the-dark shirt, and the overall look of a sloppy street punk. Both arms were covered in tattoos.
“We might end up fighting an Evil God. It’s for psychological intimidation. Humans dress like this when they want to scare someone these days.”
“Who told you that?”
“My lover.”
Dojin recalled the first time he’d met Ihaeja. Back then, he’d seemed like a mysterious divine spirit with profound abilities. Now… no more, no less—just a lovesick divine spirit with his head in the clouds.
“So you’re not giving me clothes?”
“I told you to get them yourself.”
“Immortal, isn’t your disciple a little too rude? How’s he supposed to rule as a King at this rate?”
“So since you can’t stab me directly, now you’re stabbing my master instead? Who’s the one failing at being a proper divine spirit right now?”
“I was talking to the Immortal—why are you butting in?”
“My master and I are one body.”
Ihaeja snorted.
“Honestly, it’s ridiculous that you call him ‘Master’ so punctually. You haven’t even performed the Gido Ceremony yet. You’re not master and disciple—just employer and employee.”
He wasn’t wrong, so all Dojin could do was glare fiercely without responding. When the disciple was cornered, the master finally spoke.
“I’ve only just begun accumulating virtue in earnest, so it’ll pile up quickly. I’ll perform the Gido Ceremony before autumn passes.”
“Well, from what I can see right now, it looks like you’ll need at least another hundred years of cultivation just to pay the admission fee to the True Mortal Realm. Hm. Still—good luck.”
“Ihaeja. Don’t mock him.”
“Mocking? Not at all! Immortal, you’ve been taking your disciple’s side way too much lately! How’s a guy supposed to live without resentment? Should I call someone who’s on my side?”
Ihaeja grumbled. Iri gave a faint smile.
“When we fight the Evil God this time, please don’t step in—either you or Master. I’ll handle it. Honestly, I might be a bit short on virtue, but in terms of Taoist arts, I’ve probably already surpassed you, Ihaeja.”
Dojin, who never knew the meaning of intimidation, blatantly provoked him instead.
Since this wasn’t the first time, Ihaeja stayed calm.
“There’s a rumor going around among the divine spirits that you got completely wrecked by Gangnim Herald. What kind of nonsense are you spouting?”
“Master showed up midway, and the match ended abruptly. I could’ve won. You never know until it’s over. And it’s not like you would last more than a few minutes against Gangnim Herald either.”
“Why do you assume that? I’m a pretty strong spirit myself. And unlike someone, I don’t even consider getting into Taoist duels with Gangnim Herald. Because I’m mature.”
“Don’t make me laugh. I’ve met quite a few divine spirits so far, and among them, you’re the most immature one.”
“What, punk? What about the Apothecary divine spirit? Are you saying I’m less mature than him?”
“Yes. Completely. You’re my perfect role model for what I should absolutely never become. Please stay immature forever.”
“Hey! Duel me! Let’s go—right now!”
At last, Ihaeja took the bait. While he looked ready to unleash Taoist arts at any second, Dojin shamelessly clung to Iri instead.
“Master, aren’t you cold? Should I bring another coat?”
“…Enough. Both of you. You’re giving me a headache.”
Only after Iri frowned and reprimanded them did things finally quiet down.
Returning to the original topic, Ihaeja spoke.
“Do you think there’s another Evil God besides Maninsa and Berimos?”
The Evil God inhabiting Lee Ah-jin—Maninsa.
The Evil God who toyed with the Tongyeong dokkaebi—Berimos.
Those were the only two Evil Gods they currently knew of.
“Berimos is probably the one blocking internet access, right? If there’s another Evil God on top of that…”
“For now, we should act under the assumption that there is another. Yin-aligned beings are naturally drawn to people who talk about them.”
The well-known ghost story saying—’If you talk about ghosts, ghosts will come’—wasn’t an urban legend. It was true. Vengeful spirits were, by nature, attention-seekers. They were the ones who refused to cross over to the underworld, stubbornly clinging to the living world because they craved attention.
The exorcism video from two years ago—the very catalyst for the ‘Saeboreumi Research Group’.
That video, too, had been filmed out of necessity because of a vengeful spirit desperate for attention.
Two years ago, Yama King had requested Iri to retrieve a particularly troublesome vengeful spirit. Iri tended to avoid matters related to the underworld, so he’d refused at first. But then—
‘We haven’t been able to collect it for five hundred years. It’s a nasty one—evading both the underworld and the Podo Office. We need your power. If we leave it alone, it’ll throw the Middle Realm into chaos, and that won’t be convenient for you either, will it?’
With Yama King pleading so earnestly, Iri had no choice but to accept.
If it were mere exorcism, he could’ve simply crushed the vengeful spirit into submission. But to retrieve a soul, he had to fulfill its wish. When Iri asked what it wanted, the vengeful spirit replied—
‘I want to become famous. I want to fight a skilled exorcist, burn out in a glorious end, and remain in everyone’s memory.’
Iri had agonized over how to carve the existence of a ghost into the memories of modern people, for whom ghosts had become something unscientific. That was when Dojin, upon hearing the story, came up with an idea.
They would stream it on the internet—staged, but real.
That was how the exorcism video was born.
“The people in the ‘Saeboreumi Research Group’, who talk about ghosts every chance they get, must look absolutely delicious to vengeful spirits and Evil Gods.”
“Exactly…. Ah.”
Iri pressed a hand to his forehead as if struck by a headache. The previously sprawled-out Ihaeja and Dojin jolted up and rushed over.
“What’s wrong, Immortal?”
“Master! Are you feeling sick?”
“No…. It’s just—my karmic debt feels heavy.”
The stream had been too successful.
In an era where exorcists had all but vanished and ghosts were treated as nonsense, putting such bizarre, supernatural footage out into the world had caused vengeful spirits and Evil Gods to rapidly gain power over the past two years, running rampant across the world. As a result, both the underworld and the Podo Office had been stretched thin—and an Evil God like Berimos, or something tied to ‘Saeboreumi’, had slipped right under their noses.
Even Yama King was probably regretting that request now, pounding the ground in frustration.
“Master, this isn’t our karmic debt. It’s Yama King’s and the Podo Captain’s. They couldn’t do their jobs properly, so they begged you for help. Get a grip, okay?”
Iri wobbled like a sheet of paper under Dojin’s grip.
“Hah…. Master’s turned into dried paper. Those Evil God bastards—I won’t let them off the hook, fuck.”
“To dare do this to our Immortal—unforgivable! You take Maninsa. I’ll take Berimos.”
“I don’t care about dividing them up, but don’t ever say ‘our Immortal’ again.”
“Now is not the time to be jealous—”
Ihaeja suddenly froze. A strange light flickered in his black eyes.
“They’ve connected.”
The moment he spoke while staring into empty air, Iri snapped back from brittle paper to the master of all things.
“Location?”
“It’s an apartment in Seoul.”
Ihaeja recited the address.
Iri stepped down from the pavilion and extended his arm. As he opened a passage, he spoke.
“The moment you enter, set up a barrier so the Evil God can’t escape. There’s a high chance it’ll try to flee the instant it sees me.”
“Yes.”
“Leave it to us.”
Hearing their reliable replies, Iri stepped straight through the passage.
They arrived inside an ordinary apartment. The lights were brightly on, and a man with an unremarkable face spat out the water he’d been gulping down when he saw the three of them suddenly materialize out of thin air.
“W-What the hell—what is this? Fuck, who are you? Where did you come from?!”
“He looks like a normal person.”
Following Iri’s instructions, Dojin raised an eyebrow while immediately forming the barrier. Ihaeja quietly confirmed that this was the right place.
Iri slowly approached the man, surveying the room.
“What the hell are you? How did you get in? You just appeared out of nowhere—are you ghosts or what?!”
“…….”
“Fuck. Don’t come any closer! Who are you? Robbers? What the hell are you?!”
After silently watching the terrified man, Iri spoke.
“Come out.”
At that instant, the man’s body collapsed to the floor.
What emerged was a damp, foul-smelling, dark gray substance. It looked like grime or oil—something akin to crude sludge. It seeped out of the man’s body and gathered into a single mass.
—Ruuuun awaaaay…!
That command—’run away’—wasn’t directed at Iri’s group. It was a spell cast on itself.
The mass writhed and rose toward the ceiling with a low moan, only to crash back down. It tried to seep into the floor next, but the floor rippled and spat the black lump back out. Panicking, it flung itself in all directions, but it couldn’t escape the barrier Dojin and Ihaeja had created together.
—Grrrgh…!
“An Evil God…? No. A vengeful spirit?”
If it wasn’t an Evil God, then it had to be a vengeful spirit—but Dojin couldn’t bring himself to believe that thing qualified.
“Assume your proper form.”
At Iri’s command, the black mass bulged and shifted, eventually taking shape. Two arms, two legs, and a single head—a humanoid form.
The being—whatever it was—gaped its mouth wide open.
—Whooo are yooouuuu…!
“Who are we?”
Dojin echoed.
“You just asked who? Just now… to my master?”
Blinking rapidly, Dojin turned to look at Iri. Iri tilted his head slightly.
“You don’t know who I am.”
—Must I… know youuuuu…?
The black entity spoke while locking eyes with Iri.
It wasn’t pretending.
It truly didn’t know.
