Chapter 117
* * *
“Chairman Jang.”
A rough, murky voice echoed in the basement, which was as dark as if covered by a black curtain.
Even the sunlight that dyed the eastern sky red couldn’t penetrate the seamless concrete walls of the underground room. Dense negative energy filled the space.
“You’ve finally returned. Did you enjoy your trip to Wolhwa Island?”
The lips of the man called Chairman Jang twisted up diagonally.
But this was only a momentary change. Jang Gitae, with a faint smile on his lips, pressed a switch attached to the wall with a practiced motion.
Pop—
The desolate silence broke, and a bluish light bright enough to hurt the eyes swept away the darkness covering the gray walls. His sharp eyes, chilling like a blade honed over a long time, scanned the half-dokkaebi who had just been revealed.
“I expected something since it was a dokkaebi…”
Jang Gitae paused briefly and took a step forward. Though the sound of his shoes stepping on the hard cement floor was clearly audible, the half-dokkaebi stood rigidly without the slightest movement. Jang Gitae’s shadow fell over his expressionless white face.
“It’s smaller than I thought. It looks like I could kill it by twisting it with one hand.”
This place, where pale light shattered over torture instruments laid on an old wooden table, was known as the “Punishment Room”—a combination interrogation room and disposal facility for corpses.
A hand with distinct mass gripped the slender neck as if to strangle it. The pitch-black eyes grew even darker. These were the eyes of a destroyer who had countless times thrown away not only the lives of others but also his own life into the gutter.
Black Tiger’s eyes turned toward the back of the hand, where blue veins and bones protruded. Though the pose was threatening as if about to break it, there was no sign of anger or hostility in those black eyes tinged with purple. It was merely a gaze observing the action.
“But that won’t do. There couldn’t be a better puppet than this.”
Jang Gitae withdrew his hand, letting out a laugh as if it had been a joke. Despite his seemingly jovial attitude, a bright red handprint remained on the half-dokkaebi’s neck.
“My son has thrown down a declaration of war.”
Jang Gitae, who had turned his back on the half-dokkaebi, ran his fingertips over the torture instruments on the table one by one. He seemed quite pleased as he contemplated which one to choose.
“I’ve always been worried about him since he was young. Although his mind is exceptional, he took after his mother and became weak. I thought his capacity was small, only enough to be a mere shop owner, not a ruler like me.”
He picked up surgical wire cutters placed at the far right. After opening and closing the handles a few times, Jang Gitae applied force to the pliers he gripped and crumpled them as lightly as a piece of paper.
A strength too excessive to be human. It was the power of the fox bead.
Jang Gitae looked at the wire cutters with emotionless eyes, their form now distorted beyond function. After gauging the extent of the spirit power he had just exerted, he applied more strength to his grip, crushed them like an insect, and tossed them away.
“But my son was indeed my son. To think he harbored such ambition, ripened with malice inside him. I should apologize as a father for not reading his moves first. Ah-hahahahaha!”
After bursting into laughter loud enough to fill the spacious basement, Jang Gitae suddenly froze his expression coldly and gave a signal with his eyes. Black Tiger spoke to the half-dokkaebi who stood blankly with empty eyes:
“Now. Show us your skill.”
As soon as the order was given, Eun-hwi raised an enormous dokkaebi fire and sent the flames toward a shooting target installed on one wall.
Kwaboom!
The fireball, which precisely pierced the center of the target, passed through with a tremendous sound, crumbling the wall. When the white dust that had risen settled, a large hole in that spot came into view for Jang Gitae and Black Tiger.
“This is the vessel that will make us gods of this world. A precious vessel that will absolutely obey under any circumstances.”
Black Tiger placed his hand on Eun-hwi’s shoulder with a satisfied face. The half-dokkaebi, who performed commands obediently without showing any emotional expression or resistance, was literally a puppet moving on invisible strings.
“Soon, Yeo Moon-beom will come here to offer the dokkaebi hat. Once we get that, no one will be able to stop us. We’ll be able to enjoy even greater power.”
Their goal was to become rulers of this land, so the Wolhwa Island resort construction was merely bait to be given to those who would become puppets.
But now they could expedite their rise to the pinnacle by using the half-dokkaebi. Black Tiger’s deep amethyst eyes flickered with greed and turned red.
“All spirits become stronger during a full moon. And as luck would have it, today is the full moon. The moonlight will guide us to a new path.”
“I’m looking forward to the night.”
Jang Gitae picked up a revolver and spun the ammunition-filled cylinder. His attitude suggested that he could sacrifice his son’s life without hesitation for his own ambition.
He seemed to have no regret about losing his own child.
* * *
“Are you sure you can come with us?”
Yeo Moon-beom asked Professor Bang Ki-bong, who was anxiously looking at the side mirror as he started the car.
As soon as they had arrived at the port, Black Tiger’s puppets had attacked as if they had been waiting, causing a commotion.
Since this had been fully anticipated, there was no significant damage despite the knife fight that broke out. However, for Professor Bang Ki-bong, who had lived a life unconnected to fights, the raw battle that had just occurred seemed to have been quite a shock, as he was trembling like an aspen tree.
“I must go. The dokkaebi is waiting.”
Unexpectedly, Professor Bang Ki-bong showed his determination. His earlier declaration that he would sacrifice his life didn’t seem to have been just a joke. He was searching through the weapons box for something he could use, despite being drenched in cold sweat.
Realizing it was pointless to try to dissuade him further, Yeo Moon-beom handed him a stun gun instead of the automatic pistol Professor Bang Ki-bong had found, saying:
“They can track your position by the angle of the bullets. If you just drop dead for nothing, it will ruin the whole plan, so take this instead. Don’t forget that your role is defense, not attack.”
At these cold words, Professor Bang Ki-bong nodded with a tense face and clutched the Taeguk amulet and stun gun to his chest.
“We have pursuers. Hold on tight.”
After checking the black vehicle following at a terrifying speed through the rearview mirror, as if about to crash into them at any moment, Yeo Moon-beom stepped on the accelerator.
The fact that Jang Gitae had sent his subordinates despite knowing they were no match for Yeo Moon-beom suggested that he wasn’t trying to kill him right away, but rather was stalling for time until sunset.
Darkness was the hunting ground of spirits.
However, one thing they had overlooked was that he too possessed a fox bead.
Yeo Moon-beom tightly gripped his ringed hand. He was unbearably worried about Eun-hwi, who wouldn’t answer no matter how many times he called. Though he was maintaining a facade of cold reason, it felt like his heart was breaking into pieces every moment.
Even after shaking off the pursuing vehicle, Yeo Moon-beom didn’t reduce his speed. Despite having weapons to counter them, he had no intention whatsoever of falling into their trap.
* * *
“…Ugh!”
“Aaargh!”
Large men dressed in black suits fell one after another as bullets struck their heads.
Yeo Moon-beom, who had quickly replaced his magazine, fired at a puppet sneaking up from behind. He immediately moved to the window and opened the curtain, causing the places where the bullets had lodged to burn as they caught the sunlight.
Despite the horrific sight of their heads bursting and shriveling, Professor Bang Ki-bong followed Yeo Moon-beom silently without even screaming.
Puppets lying in ambush throughout the building rushed at them with all kinds of weapons, but they were helplessly overwhelmed by the absolute difference in skill. Yeo Moon-beom perfectly executed both attack and defense with quick and graceful movements.
“It’s here.”
He pressed a button installed under the bottom of the second desk drawer, opening a hidden door. The Punishment Room was only accessible through a secret door in the study, followed by a maze-like underground tunnel.
Dealing with puppets that kept emerging in the narrow passageway where attacks couldn’t be avoided, he eventually ran out of ammunition.
With no choice but to discard his gun, he unleashed power using the fox bead. As the puppets were swept away like fallen leaves, a black shadow appeared in the distance, and the negative energy spread throughout the area concentrated in one place.
Black Tiger, who appeared disguised as Hyun Geon-ho, asked in an excessively polite yet cold voice:
“I thought construction would resume today. What brings you here, Mr. Moon-beom?”
“I came because I have something I must tell my father.”
“Oh dear. The chairman is busy playing with his new toy. You’ve come all this way for nothing.”
Despite the obvious provocation, Yeo Moon-beom made no reply and instead applied force to the gloves on his hands, extending the blades. The expression of Black Tiger, who had been smiling deceitfully with narrowed eyes, changed instantly.
“Oh ho! So you were the one who killed White Fox?”
Black Tiger exclaimed in amazement, unable to hide his surprise. Though he seemed genuinely surprised, the composure on his face remained completely undisturbed.
Without giving him even a moment, Yeo Moon-beom launched himself forward and unleashed attacks, pushing the fox bead’s power to its limit. Black Fox, who had leapt up as if making the air beneath his feet vibrate, blocked Yeo Moon-beom’s fist with his eight tails.
“Where have you hidden the dokkaebi hat?”
“Well. I wonder where it could be.”
Yeo Moon-beom spread his arms, as if suggesting that Black Tiger should search his body if he was so curious.
“Why don’t you look for it yourself?”
Black Tiger, thoroughly provoked, created a whirlwind with his tails and attacked Yeo Moon-beom. But none of the tails could overpower him. The black fur that collided with his fiercely swinging fists lost power and fell to the floor.
The evenly matched battle continued. Not missing the gap that appeared amid the swirling black wind, Yeo Moon-beom narrowed the distance and struck Black Tiger’s body with all his might.
Thud!
Though he landed the blow, the blade of his glove couldn’t penetrate Black Tiger’s skin because he had protected his body with part of his tail. Pretending to be hit by the attack, Yeo Moon-beom closed the distance once more and drove a tiger claw through the tail shield into Black Fox’s abdomen.
“Aargh!”
He delivered multiple hooks to the burning belly of Black Tiger, whose knees had momentarily buckled, causing him to lose balance. As Black Tiger lowered his posture to avoid the trajectory of his fist, Yeo Moon-beom quickly pressed the blade of his glove against his neck and asked:
“Where is Eun-hwi? Tell me now.”
“Well. I wonder where he could be?”
Still maintaining his composure, Black Tiger imitated Yeo Moon-beom’s answer exactly and began to deploy a spell as he withdrew his tails. It seemed he intended to inflict a fatal wound to find out where the dokkaebi hat was hidden, if he couldn’t make Yeo Moon-beom a puppet.
“How about this!”
The black negative energy shot like a dagger barely grazed Yeo Moon-beom’s left arm as it passed. Red blood seeped through his torn shirt.
Noticing Yeo Moon-beom’s condition, whose stamina had dropped due to the prolonged fight, Black Tiger sneered arrogantly and cast his spell. It was a curse spell that would crush the entire body with evil energy, destroying it beyond recognition.
“Now!”
The eight tails that had been spinning in the air merged into one. Soon, the tail, which had become a massive lump, rolled like a boulder toward Yeo Moon-beom.
“It’s useless to try to escape!”
As if predicting where he would flee, the black mass changed direction toward a depression in the ground, following Yeo Moon-beom’s movement.
But then.
The mass of negative energy was sucked into a single point, then bounced back intact and engulfed Black Tiger’s body. The spell had been reflected by Professor Bang Ki-bong’s Taeguk amulet, who was wearing the dokkaebi hat.
Not missing the opportunity, Yeo Moon-beom delivered a blow with all his strength. White light spread throughout the cave.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
