Chapter 116
“A favor…? What kind of favor?”
Since he hadn’t really received any kindness as the Black Fox claimed, there was no need to repay anything. But since he had given a soul-bound promise, it seemed reasonable to grant one small request.
“Show me your dokkaebi fire.”
…Huh? Dokkaebi fire?
His expression was similar to Yeo Moon-beom’s when he had shown interest in the dokkaebi fire that had once been used instead of a lantern. Perhaps he was more curious about the power possessed by dokkaebis than about dokkaebis themselves.
Yeo Moon-beom’s warning suddenly came to mind—that the fox was clearly trying to steal his divine power and he should escape. His voice desperately calling Eun-hwi’s name echoed in his ears again.
What should I do…
Noticing Eun-hwi’s hesitation as he held only the stem of the glass instead of gulping down the alcohol like before, the Black Fox added a reason:
“It’s been three hundred years since I last met a dokkaebi. I remember how beautiful the dokkaebi fire I saw last time was.”
“Ah…”
If it was three hundred years ago, he might have seen Gabi’s light. Though there were many ghosts like the Yagwanggwi that could create fire, only dokkaebis could emit a light so achingly blue and beautiful enough to bring tears to one’s eyes.
He must have been captivated. My father’s dokkaebi fire is extraordinary.
The half-dokkaebi looked at the Black Fox’s face, steeped in what seemed like nostalgia for old memories, and agreed willingly. Though he was still frightened of him, he couldn’t refuse a request from a ghost who praised dokkaebi fire.
“Alright.”
He closed his eyes briefly and focused his consciousness. Just as he created dokkaebi fire with the highest purity and brilliance, concentrating more than usual—
“…Huh?”
As if someone had pressed a switch to turn off the light, the brightness before his eyes vanished instantly, and everything was engulfed in darkness. Sound, smell, and the sensation on his skin also disappeared as if erased by something.
“There are three conditions for the puppet-making technique. First, gain the target’s trust. Second, synchronize emotions with each other. Third, have my request granted.”
The Black Fox’s voice, scratching his throat lowly, echoed all around. It was a voice that controlled everything about him, as if it were a divine proclamation.
“Did you think I wouldn’t deceive you because I said I wouldn’t harm you? You stupid little dokkaebi.”
The Black Fox mocked the half-dokkaebi with a tone dramatically different from before.
Eun-hwi had thought there was something oddly similar in the Black Fox’s speech and behavior to Yeo Moon-beom’s, but that too was nothing more than a ploy to catch him off guard.
I shouldn’t have trusted him.
I should have been suspicious.
Again, like this…
The cursed words that no one would ever love a half-breed like him echoed in his ears. Along with Yeo Moon-beom’s warning not to be bewitched.
Eun-hwi swallowed his tears in his crumbling consciousness. His body, soon no longer his own though still his, imprisoned the half-dokkaebi’s soul behind a door to the abyss with a massive lock.
The consciousness he had barely been holding onto vanished like smoke.
“Dokkaebi. Dokkaebi. Won’t you show some dokkaebi fire to Lord Black Fox?”
As soon as the Black Fox gave his command, dokkaebi fire rose from Eun-hwi’s hand.
The Black Fox twisted his lips in a smile at the eerily amorphous flame, devoid of any emotion. Sharp-pointed teeth were revealed between his thin lips.
“Finally, I have obtained the ultimate puppet. Nine tails are not far away! It’s only a matter of time before all humans in this land are under my feet! Kuhahahahaha!”
Kwak Young-ho, who had been sleeping, awoke at the laughter that shook the boat. He too had become a puppet, with his eyes rolled back completely white. The captain steering the boat was the same.
The Black Fox was the ruler here.
* * *
‘Even Yeo Moon-beom… Even Yeo Moon-beom tried to use me!’
“Eun-hwi. I…”
‘No! I don’t want to hear it!’
“…Eun-hwi! Eun-hwi!”
‘You said you had no intention of harming me. Can you promise? I don’t trust anyone except my father. I need a soul-bound promise.’
“No, Eun-hwi! If you demand something like that, then…!”
Yeo Moon-beom was frustrated before the gradually disappearing afterimage of the half-dokkaebi. The anxiety that had been lingering in his throat and chest became fierce despair, engulfing his entire body.
“No…”
It was entirely his fault that Eun-hwi had closed his heart and rejected him.
He felt unbearable regret for having lost the trust of the one he loved and for having brought about this entire situation.
‘Choices come with responsibilities. Never regret your choices and fulfill your responsibilities no matter what moment you face.’
He had wanted the power to never lose a precious being again.
But now that he had obtained the power he so desperately wanted, there was nothing left to protect.
It was as if the result mocked his foolishness in trying to have everything while rejecting the principle of the world—that gaining one thing means losing another.
“…Still, I can’t give up.”
Regretting a permanent loss once in a lifetime was enough. There was no time to be frustrated.
After all, who knew better than he what happened to those who lost their vitality after becoming puppets of the Black Fox?
Yeo Moon-beom took out his phone and called the Black Fox. As expected, the cursed fox monster’s voice never came through, only the ringtone continued.
He ended the call and summoned Oh Seok-gu to the island. Then he headed to the inner room and opened the lid of a mother-of-pearl box.
Inside the wooden box engraved with delicate patterns were three crumpled ten-thousand-won bills, a yellow bundle of money, a land document proving ownership of the entire Wolhwa Mountain, and a demon-faced ring.
“I’ll be there soon, Eun-hwi. Just wait a little longer.”
He took out the jangseung dokkaebi’s ring and slipped it onto his middle finger. Yeo Moon-beom was relieved to feel Eun-hwi’s energy, however faint, transmitted through the ring.
Though captured by the Black Fox, he was still alive and breathing. So he just needed to retrieve him, even if it meant exchanging his current power for it. As long as Eun-hwi could be safe, it was perfectly fine if he never forgave him.
Finally, the grace period had ended, and the day of the decisive battle approached. Now that his intentions had been discovered, an all-out war was necessary. Jang Gitae wouldn’t leave a broken—no, useless—chess piece alone.
Yeo Moon-beom pulled up the surveillance camera footage on his phone. Had they removed the cameras after the Black Fox’s report? The screen that had been working fine until that morning was gone, filled only with horizontal lines of noise.
It was laughable.
He had already memorized the positions of all objects and movement patterns. And what household items could be used as weapons.
Even if he couldn’t check the situation in real-time, as long as he had the dokkaebi cap, the only significant enemy was the Black Fox alone.
He hurried down to the village to conserve energy until Oh Seok-gu’s boat arrived. As if he had been waiting, Professor Bang Ki-bong rushed out of the inn as soon as he heard movement and asked Yeo Moon-beom, unable to hide his anxious look:
“Director Yeo! Is the dokkaebi sir safe?”
“The Black Fox took him off the island.”
“Ah… If only I had been more alert…”
“There’s no use regretting what’s already happened. Didn’t you say regret is just a propellant for moving forward in life? How can you regret in front of me?”
He patted the shoulder of Professor Bang Ki-bong, who was covering his face with his palms and sobbing. Having survived against the Black Fox, he had already done his part.
The burden of regret was entirely his own.
“By the way, how’s your leg?”
“It’s better after putting on some pain patches.”
“I’ve called for a boat. Go straight to the hospital when it arrives at the harbor.”
“Why would I go to the hospital! I need to rescue the dokkaebi sir!”
Professor Bang Ki-bong bellowed as if he had never been sobbing. Faced with this neurotic reaction that made him seem like someone with a split personality, Yeo Moon-beom replied with an exasperated expression:
“What do you think you can rescue in that condition? Don’t interfere and just go to the hospital.”
“I have the Taeguk amulet! This saved my life earlier!”
Unlike the Jomakyung mirror that only reflects the appearance of evil spirits, the Taeguk amulet, made to drive away evil spirits, was an all-purpose weapon capable of both attack and defense by absorbing and reflecting a ghost’s attack.
Having discovered the existence of the dokkaebi cap, the Black Fox would certainly have prepared countermeasures. Moreover, in a disadvantageous situation with a hostage, this amulet might be able to land a significant blow on the Black Fox if used properly.
If revenge were his only goal, he could simply follow the scenario he had drawn in his mind hundreds or thousands of times.
But since safely rescuing Eun-hwi was the top priority, he had to use whatever resources were available.
“Listen carefully, Professor Bang Ki-bong.”
Yeo Moon-beom revealed his long-standing plan, explaining the circumstances of how the Black Fox came to find this island and why Eun-hwi had been captured.
“I thought you were a monster without blood or tears… So that’s why you needed the dokkaebi’s power and the fox bead.”
Professor Bang Ki-bong let out a sigh with a face that finally understood all the questions. His gaze toward Yeo Moon-beom had softened considerably compared to before, perhaps feeling sympathy for a life as tortuous as his own.
“I’ll definitely succeed in the rescue operation, even if I have to sacrifice my life. Just trust me, Director Yeo.”
“You don’t need to sacrifice your life. Eun-hwi wouldn’t want that either.”
Unless it’s my life.
Yeo Moon-beom swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to say and took out his phone.
I will visit you this afternoon, Father.
It had been fifteen years since he had used the title “Father” instead of “Chairman.”
Booooom—
The ship’s horn echoed through the darkness that was gradually clearing after the long, long night.
The day of revenge was dawning.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
