Chapter 76
“Dr. Hong-salgwi!”
As Eun-hwi tried to urgently loosen his arms from around the neck and jump off the back, Yeo Moon-beom firmly grasped his thighs to keep him from moving.
“Stay still. It’s dangerous.”
Even though the Eodukseoni wasn’t visible to the eye, nor was the thick negative energy palpable, Yeo Moon-beom stopped Eun-hwi with a voice more resolute than usual.
“But Dr. Hong-salgwi…”
“He’s not dead yet.”
Though unconscious and collapsed, a faint life energy remained in Dr. Hong’s body. As he said, the doctor wasn’t dead. Not yet.
“Then shouldn’t we save him before he dies?”
“Rushing in blindly like a moth to a flame will only get us burned alive too.”
Yeo Moon-beom replied in a cool tone while gauging the distance to the Eodukseoni with Eun-hwi on his back. Before Eun-hwi could feel puzzled by its seemingly visible form, a hoarse voice rang out first.
“When an elder makes the first move, you should greet them. You’re ill-mannered like your father.”
The Eodukseoni, deliberately provoking by mentioning the Jangseung dokkaebi, extended a black shadow towards Dr. Hong.
“Aaaaargh!”
Dr. Hong, who had been lying motionless as if dead, trembled violently in a seizure before going limp again. The Eodukseoni’s body, which fed on fear, swelled up so large that its head poked out above the tiled roof.
“Oh ho. I thought the monster hunter the crows saw was this one, but it was that one?”
The Eodukseoni, having read Dr. Hong’s memories upon contact, scrutinized Yeo Moon-beom with sharply raised eyes.
“Well, well. I’ve already become a celebrity. Are you here for an autograph, pretending to be a fan?”
Yeo Moon-beom retorted with a dry chuckle. Though momentarily taken aback by the Eodukseoni’s sudden appearance, he wasn’t surprised, having been prepared for the spirit’s revenge since leaving the house.
He coldly glared while mentally strategizing how to begin the fight while protecting Eun-hwi.
Eun-hwi also tilted his head with wide eyes.
…Autograph? Monster hunter?
What’s that about?
Though he didn’t understand what they were talking about, it wasn’t the time to ask about those things. Seeing that all the life energy left in Dr. Hong’s body had disappeared, it seemed even his soul had been plunged into the realm of unconsciousness.
“Oh no. The Eodukseoni has taken all of Dr. Hong-salgwi’s soul!”
The yew wood prayer beads, made from lightning-struck Gangtae tree, were a sacred object with positive energy that spirits couldn’t touch.
Nevertheless, the Eodukseoni, composed of negative energy, was able to wear the beads around its neck because it had captured a human soul with positive energy within its body.
“If you’re thinking of escaping, it’s best to give up early.”
A metallic voice tinged with ominousness rang out from above. Having erased its presence using the prayer beads, there was no way to escape the Eodukseoni’s darkness no matter where they fled.
If they wore the dokkaebi hat and erased all traces, it would be a different story, but they couldn’t abandon Yeo Moon-beom and Dr. Hong just to save themselves.
“A child without manners who brings in monster hunters deserves punishment, don’t you think?”
It seemed the Eodukseoni might crush them with its enlarged body at any moment. In this tense standoff, the half-dokkaebi trembled, not knowing what to do.
What should I do? What should I do?
The situation was vastly different from facing the human-faced bird. Unlike the human-faced bird that had shown openings in its excitement, the Eodukseoni maintained a flawless guard that seemed impenetrable. It appeared unfazed even if Yeo Moon-beom were to attack with an axe like before.
Still, I can’t give up.
Eun-hwi looked down at Yeo Moon-beom, who seemed scared and was tightly gripping his legs, refusing to step into the Eodukseoni’s domain.
He was the only one who could protect Yeo Moon-beom, who had no weapons. The half-dokkaebi created a defensive wall by floating dokkaebi fire in the air and boldly shouted at the Eodukseoni.
“If you’re going to torment someone, torment me alone! Don’t harass innocent humans, you bad guy!”
“Bad guy? Hanging around humans has made you lose your fear. You’re just like your father, exactly like him. Hahaha!”
The Eodukseoni, finding something greatly amusing, laughed loudly and swelled its body even more, blocking out the moonlight. Like a black curtain falling, everything around was plunged into endless darkness.
The Eodukseoni, being of tree origin, was an evil spirit fundamentally different from the Jangseung dokkaebi that yearned for light. In the deep darkness resembling an abyss, only the dokkaebi fire Eun-hwi had summoned glowed blue.
“…Hah. No choice, I guess.”
Yeo Moon-beom sighed in annoyance and lowered his stance by bending his knees. After setting Eun-hwi down on the ground, he spoke quietly in a calm voice.
“Hurry inside the house. I’ll handle this.”
“No, you can’t. You’re in danger, Yeo Moon-beom.”
“Forgot? Even the human-faced bird lost to me.”
“Still…”
“Don’t you trust me?”
Yeo Moon-beom smirked, pulling up the corners of his mouth, and took out the dokkaebi hat from his bundle. Instead of putting it on his own head, he placed it on Eun-hwi’s. The half-dokkaebi’s body instantly became transparent, blending into the surrounding scenery.
“Don’t look at anything and run straight inside. I’ll put rabbit bandages on your legs later.”
Just as Eun-hwi was about to urgently stop Yeo Moon-beom, who was smiling playfully even in this serious situation, he noticed blue flames flickering on the ringed hand in his field of vision.
Was his father once again infusing power through the ring?
Dokkaebi power stronger than before surged around him. Looking at Yeo Moon-beom, armed with mental strength and will so strong that no spirit could leave a grudge, Eun-hwi grasped his trembling hand with the other.
“…Be careful, Yeo Moon-beom.”
If it were his usual self, he would have tried to stop the fight like with the human-faced bird. But with Dr. Hong’s soul taken hostage, the battle was inevitable, so the half-dokkaebi quickly moved towards the main gate. It was to find something to use as a weapon.
“Tsk tsk. No matter what tricks you try, you’ll only exhaust yourselves…”
The Eodukseoni clicked its tongue, as if Eun-hwi’s disappearance was futile.
No matter how sacred the object used to conceal his presence, the negative energy in his voice couldn’t be erased. Yeo Moon-beom kept his gaze on the ground and moved towards the source of the voice, replying:
“We’ll see. Who exactly will be exhausted?”
The moment the toe of his black shoe came into view, he quickly took out his phone and turned on the flashlight. The intense light illuminated everything around, peeling away a layer of darkness that had enveloped them like a shell.
“…Ugh!”
“Die.”
Yeo Moon-beom struck the air with his fist, blazing with blue fire. To inflict damage most effectively, he followed up with attacks by shining the phone’s light the moment cold energy touched the back of his hand.
Thud! Thud!
Before long, the black mass that had grown as large as a house began to shrink little by little. Though it was a terrifying evil spirit that crushed people to death, it was an entity that could be defeated if one didn’t harbor fear of darkness.
However, there was one thing Yeo Moon-beom had overlooked.
The fact that by swallowing Dr. Hong’s soul whole, the Eodukseoni’s body had partially humanized.
“To think you’d try to defeat me with such a trivial thing! How laughable!”
The flashlight’s beam was far too weak to dispel the darkness imbued with positive energy.
The black mass swarmed like clouds, enveloping Yeo Moon-beom’s arm holding the phone. In an instant, the Eodukseoni blocked the holes where light was leaking and increased its size, pouncing on Yeo Moon-beom’s entire body. Without even giving him time to draw out the dokkaebi’s power.
It happened before he could even process his shock.
“My son, Moon-beom.”
Yeo Moon-beom’s body, which had been resisting with all its might, stiffened like a rock.
“…Mother?”
The beautiful woman he thought he’d never see again stood before his eyes. Even though he knew full well it was an illusion created by the Eodukseoni, Yeo Moon-beom couldn’t help but waver.
That was because she was the one and only family member he had longed for so desperately.
The person he wanted to meet so badly that he’d willingly fall into the trap if only he could convey the words he couldn’t say while she was alive.
If he could defeat the Eodukseoni in the subconscious world even if his soul was taken immediately, he could retrieve Dr. Hong’s soul as well. He had no intention of losing so pathetically before fulfilling his lifelong goal of revenge.
“Yeo Moon-beom!”
Eun-hwi, who had just opened the main gate and was stepping into the barrier, instinctively looked back at the disappearing fragments of light. Yeo Moon-beom, being sucked into the subconscious world upon contact with the Eodukseoni, poked his head through the gaps in the darkness and called out to Eun-hwi.
“Don’t worry about me and go in… Hur… ry…!”
“No! Yeo Moon-beom!”
“Light… Stronger light…”
“Yeo Moon-beom!”
Finally engulfed by darkness and his soul taken by the Eodukseoni, Yeo Moon-beom’s body collapsed lifelessly like a puppet with cut strings.
“Oh no. Yeo Moon-beom… Yeo Moon-beom…”
He should have headed home faster to find a weapon. It all felt like his fault for not picking up the pace because his thighs were sore.
For a moment, everything went dark before his eyes and he couldn’t think of anything. As he stood leaning against the gate pillar with both hands clutching his head, the Eodukseoni, gradually taking on human form, looked into the barrier and burst into laughter.
“Humans are such weak beings! Now there’s one left. I’ll avenge those who couldn’t even leave behind vengeful spirits! Ahahahaha.”
Just as the Eodukseoni, having swallowed Yeo Moon-beom’s soul and swollen to the size of a huge mountain peak, was about to punch through the barrier, a voice was heard.
‘Child. Close your eyes and listen to the voice in your heart. The light to dispel darkness is within you.’
The mountain god’s voice came from somewhere.
