Chapter 80
Mother.
No matter what happens, I will definitely avenge you.
Please watch over me until I pay the price for my sin.
Yeo Moon-beom reaffirmed his vow for revenge, not taking his eyes off his mother’s corpse, which was turning white as fragments of light settled on it.
On the day he gained wealth and a father’s presence, things he had never had before, Yeo Moon-beom lost everything in his life.
The warm and peaceful embrace, the infinitely loving smile, the gentle words that always encouraged him, and all the new memories they could have made together.
The sense of loss he had momentarily forgotten while immersed in playing house with the half-dokkaebi resurfaced along with guilt and anger. Yeo Moon-beom absorbed the divine power pouring in like a waterfall and trapped it in his fists. Yellow fireballs with increased power blazed fiercely over the back of his hands, where the bones showed white.
“Go on ahead. I’ll be back soon with Dr. Hong-salgwi.”
“Come back quickly, Yeo Moon-beom.”
“Alright. I promise.”
To retrieve Professor Bang Ki-bong’s soul, which had sunk halfway into the depths of the unconscious, he had to eliminate the Eodukseoni that was hiding behind the darkness and fanning the flames of fear.
Yeo Moon-beom sent Eun-hwi into the mass of light created by countless pillars of light first. He couldn’t put the fragile child who knew nothing of fighting in danger any longer.
Only he could drive away the darkness he had created.
The time had finally come to finish his revenge, as well as Professor Bang’s and Eun-hwi’s. His well-shaped lips curved into an elegant arc.
“You see, I can’t stand being in debt.”
He took a boxing stance, ready to throw a punch at any moment. Then, looking down at the Eodukseoni in the form of Jang Gitae with eyes brightened by the dokkaebi’s divine power, he said:
“Shall we begin?”
Kya-ak!
As the Eodukseoni stretched out its arm, a black fox with sharp claws extended rushed in. Its long fangs were bared menacingly, as if about to tear out his throat at any moment.
“Too slow.”
If he had been asleep and unaware, he would have taken the hit, but this was the subconscious world he controlled.
The movements, as if in slow motion, were clearly visible to him. Yeo Moon-beom waited until the fox monster came within range, then threw a straight punch, burying his fist in its face.
Thwack!
A strong impact sound resonated and echoed through the air. Simultaneously, the black fox’s body, engulfed in yellow dokkaebi fire, crumbled as easily as a clay doll.
“How dare a mere human use the power of a dokkaebi!”
Sensing the unusual atmosphere, the Eodukseoni, which had been about to crush Yeo Moon-beom by inflating Jang Gitae’s body to an enormous size, stepped back with a tense expression.
Thud. Thud.
The heavy sound of Yeo Moon-beom’s footsteps echoed through the cement-floored corridor. The Eodukseoni’s eyes widened at the pressure that seemed to weigh down on its skin.
Yeo Moon-beom, who had been staring at his enemy before him with smiling eyes but a cool gaze, spoke in a cold voice:
“You’re just a monster craving attention.”
His extended index finger pointed at Jang Gitae’s head, with its forehead exposed by pomade, unchanged despite having just killed someone.
“An unsightly monster that can’t do anything alone. A pathetic monster that can only instill fear with its poor imagination.”
“Shut up!”
The Eodukseoni glared at Yeo Moon-beom with bloodshot eyes. Its clenched jaw, with thick veins bulging, clearly showed its anger, but it didn’t have the strength to bite Yeo Moon-beom’s neck while he was alive.
The Eodukseoni could never extinguish the dokkaebi fire that enveloped Yeo Moon-beom’s body like a protective shield.
“Don’t you understand yet? I am darkness, and darkness is me. There is no human who doesn’t fear darkness. Hurry and become a part of me!”
Black mist enveloped the Eodukseoni’s entire body, and it soon transformed into a woman with a pure appearance like a white lily. A very beautiful but pitiful woman, with only half her body remaining after being eaten by the fox monster.
“Moon-beom. Let’s stay together. Are you going to leave mom alone and go by yourself again?”
Yeo Moon-beom silently watched his mother clinging to his trouser leg for a while, then lifted her up and cupped her cheek. He wiped away the flowing bloody tears with his thumb and whispered in the Eodukseoni’s ear:
“What I fear isn’t darkness. It’s light so bright and clean that I become ashamed of myself.”
“W-what?”
“Got you.”
Yeo Moon-beom firmly grasped the Eodukseoni’s white hair and smirked. Of course, he didn’t forget to strike the struggling old man’s abdomen with his knee.
“You know how I deal with bluffers at the gambling table?”
Thwack!
The Eodukseoni’s body fell forward from the impact delivered without a shred of mercy or hesitation.
“Bluffing is met with bluffing. It wasn’t me who was fooled, but you, sir.”
With a sneer bordering on mockery, he pulled the hair he was holding and forcefully dragged it down. As he looked down without any fear, the Eodukseoni’s body, having lost its power, grew smaller and smaller.
Whoosh—
He summoned dokkaebi fire all around to prevent the Eodukseoni, now as small as a mouse, from escaping anywhere. The bright yellow fireballs swirled around the Eodukseoni, flickering like a dance.
“Farewell. To the world of nothingness.”
The flames, gradually closing in, caught on the black robe. Feeling heat unlike anything it had ever experienced, the Eodukseoni shrank its body even smaller to reduce the burning area. Not missing this, Yeo Moon-beom struck the Eodukseoni with a punch of tremendous force.
“No! Aaaaaargh!”
With an explosive burst of strong light, the mass of darkness was forcibly pushed out and then scattered into the air as a handful of ashes.
“Don’t think this is the end! As long as night exists in this world, you’ll endlessly wander in darkness…!”
Pfft.
Yeo Moon-beom laughed at the sight of the Eodukseoni spewing curses even in its dying moments, still not coming to its senses.
“This damn bastard is mouthing off till the end. Gambling dens are usually brightest at night.”
With the overflowing power of the dokkaebi he now possessed, no evil spirit’s grudge could affect him.
After returning Professor Bang’s soul to its rightful place, Yeo Moon-beom focused his consciousness. It was time to return to his original body and reunite with Eun-hwi.
He closed his eyes and slowly regulated his breathing. Before long, stars twinkling in the cloudless night sky and a round full moon came into Yeo Moon-beom’s view.
Along with the half-dokkaebi who shone brightly with his silky hair and golden eyes, even in the deepest darkness.
“Yeo Moon-beom…!”
Facing that exceptionally white and clear face, he felt a lump in his throat as if something hot was stuck there.
The reason this purity, which he had constantly wanted to tarnish for being so clear and clean, was now so welcome was probably because he had realized Eun-hwi’s sincere feelings towards him.
The feelings of the one who had been searching for him so desperately and jumped into his arms.
“I said I’d come quickly, but it took a bit of time. Did you wait long?”
Eun-hwi tightly hugged Yeo Moon-beom, who was gently smiling while brushing back the hair that had fallen over his forehead. The warmth that couldn’t be felt until just moments ago was now transmitted through their touching skin.
“No. You came back quickly, so I didn’t wait long at all. Are you hurt anywhere?”
In truth, every minute and second had felt like an eternity passing. The terrible scenes he had briefly seen in the subconscious world kept appearing like afterimages before his eyes, so the half-dokkaebi had waited for him without being able to feel at ease at all.
“Who doesn’t have a story? I think I’m more pitiful.”
Perhaps the memory of that snowy winter night he had seen was the story Yeo Moon-beom had said he would tell someday. There was a reason why a deep shadow of regret fell over his face whenever he talked about his mother who had gone to heaven.
He couldn’t express how fervently he had prayed that Yeo Moon-beom wouldn’t be consumed by the darkness in his heart.
Though he had lived until now thinking that he shouldn’t fight recklessly, just for today, he didn’t care whether the Eodukseoni lived or died.
It was the other side that had crossed the line and done unforgivable things despite being given plenty of chances.
Only then did Eun-hwi breathe a sigh of relief and carefully examine Yeo Moon-beom from head to toe for any injuries, just as he had done when Yeo Moon-beom was attacked by the human-faced bird. The man who had been lying down got up from his spot, dusting off his mud-covered legs as if to show he was really fine.
“Oh my, you…”
As Eun-hwi tried to support Yeo Moon-beom’s body by grabbing one arm and forcibly inserting his head under it, suddenly groaning sounds were heard.
“Dr. Hong-salgwi!”
He had completely forgotten about Dr. Hong’s existence, worried only about the one person who filled his heart. At Yeo Moon-beom’s nod to go quickly, Eun-hwi picked up the yew wood prayer beads that had fallen to the ground and ran to Dr. Hong.
The doctor shook his head, pressing his temples firmly as if his head hurt from just waking up from a long nightmare.
“Are you okay, Dr. Hong-salgwi?”
“…Dokkaebi-nim?”
“It’s alright now. The Eodukseoni is gone.”
“You’ve saved this unworthy life again. How can I ever repay this kindness… Thank you. Thank you, Dokkaebi-nim.”
“It wasn’t me, you should thank Yeo Moon-beom. Yeo Moon-beom saved you.”
“…Manager Yeo saved me?”
To think that the human who would have likely left him to die with a sneer had saved him.
Unable to believe it, Dr. Hong gaped like a man with a dislocated jaw, stuttering. Yeo Moon-beom, who had been watching the doctor’s eyes darting around aimlessly, frowned as if he had given unnecessary help and asked:
“Why did you come here in the middle of the night?”
Dr. Hong exclaimed “Ah!” and urgently brought up his business.
“It’s terrible, Manager Yeo! They’re about to hold a dokkaebi exorcism ritual in the village!”
