“…Doesn’t it seem suspicious at a glance? You just left such a person unreported right away?”
“The noble wizards here might not know, but such incidents happen frequently in the outskirts. Science and reason are words that don’t fit with the common folk. We are people who are more drawn to superstitions and monsters.”
At Sehwa’s retort, the old man answered with a hollow laugh.
“Moreover, they performed such nonsense miracles; who cares if it’s suspicious? Those who received that kindness probably wouldn’t mind even if that person turned out to be a warlock or a calamity in human form.”
“…”
“And most of the folks here come from humble backgrounds with little education. The fact that I’ve at least completed elementary education makes me the most educated around here. So, it’s not surprising that someone felt a bit of discomfort and secretly reported to the safety bureau. After witnessing the ridiculous event of a corpse coming back to life right in front of them…”
“It seems you aren’t afraid of them, elder. Considering they continue living in the village together after a dead person came back to life.”
“How could I not be afraid? It’s just that there’s no other choice. Where else could I go if I leave this village?”
“…Understood. Then where did that healer person go?”
“He followed the eastern entrance, so he probably went off to check the neighboring outlying villages connected to that road. But chasing after him now would be pointless. He said he would never return after leaving the east.”
“…Tch. What a blunder. I should have hurried a bit more.”
Sa Jaehyeok mumbled with a scrunched up face. He had just missed the most important evidence to confirm his suspicions.
“Let’s check around here first and then decide. Elder, where is the burial site you mentioned?”
Sehwa calmed Sa Jaehyeok down and turned to ask the old man.
“There is a graveyard site at the sunny foothill. It’s not far. I’ll guide you there.”
Sa Jaehyeok and his companions exchanged glances and nodded. They stood up with stern expressions and prepared to head straight to the graveyard.
“Oh my, what is this…?”
As they were getting up, Yena’s eyes widened at something she saw. Her gaze lingered on a shabby display cabinet next to the dining table.
On top of the cabinet, a photo of someone was slightly leaning.
A girl with brown hair, brown eyes, and cute freckles smiled brightly while looking straight ahead.
Jin Yeseo’s mind instinctively recalled Lee Hyun. The girl appeared to be around the same age as him in various ways.
“Who is this person?”
In response to Sa Jaehyeok’s question, the old man replied.
“That’s my granddaughter.”
The old man’s answer raised some questions. The mansion wasn’t particularly small, but there were no signs of a young girl living there at all.
“…Is this child also…?”
The old man calmly shook his head.
“That child has nothing to do with this incident. She passed away a long time ago after battling an incurable disease.”
“…Was her body cremated?”
“No. I sent her down the river. Her wish in life was to be free as water. She wanted to attend school and play with friends, but I couldn’t fulfill that wish due to my limitations. That’s my eternal regret.”
The old man’s words made Chaewon look at the photo with an expression of sorrow. At the bottom of the frame, there was a small, cute handwriting.
-21XX Year X Month X Day. A joyful moment. Yena.
*
The days in the mountainous region are notoriously short. The sun, descending beyond the peak, casts its last light over the graveyard.
As if to prove the history of the outlying village, countless gravestones fill the valley.
However, this place no longer served as a spot for rest. The soil had been pushed out as if something was pushing out from within the graves.
Rotten coffins were discarded haphazardly, and some even had their lids ajar, exposing their insides.
“…Ugh.”
“The smell…”
Chaewon grimaced as she surveyed the graveyard scene. Sehwa wrinkled his nose and muttered quietly.
Sa Jaehyeok moved forward towards the center of the valley, slowly counting the number of gravestones as he progressed.
“…Ha.”
He stopped in front of a particular gravestone, checked the name, and let out a cold sigh into the air.
He then bent his knees, scooping up a handful of dirt from the ground.
The soot-black earth showed no trace of life left in it. Only a nauseating sulfur smell seemed to resonate in the air.
And to his understanding, the soot-like dirt and sulfur odor meant only one thing.
Corruption.
“These filthy bastards…”
Sa Jaehyeok ground his teeth, the sound echoing sharply. With one hand, he gripped the locket hanging around his neck tightly.
Though he hadn’t seen the healer directly, what he had seen and heard since coming to this village was more than enough to fill him.
The sudden disappearance of the young woman who had returned.
The numerous miraculous phenomena that were absolutely impossible with modern magic.
This was a miracle made of sentences, not refined formulas and theories—the clear mark of divine power.
And the corruption that began to appear at the place where she had spent a long time.
He felt the nightmares he had tried to bury creeping back to life.
It felt just like that time fifteen years ago.
It had to be the final path to shake off the remaining regrets, but once again, he could not grasp peace.
“…Enough. Let’s go back. There’s nothing more to see.”
Sa Jaehyeok left the graveyard without looking back.
Returning to the village, the sun had already set, and darkness enveloped everything. The narrow, silent path was filled only with an eerie and supernatural atmosphere. The darkness in the alley spread over their faces, obscuring their expressions.
“What did you think?”
Old Han welcomed them back at the mansion.
“It seems we’ve investigated everything we could.”
“Is that so? You’ve worked hard. Come inside. I can’t let guests out at this hour…”
“Elder. May I ask you one thing? Do you know what day it is today?”
At Sa Jaehyeok’s question, the elder furrowed his brow and fell into thought for a moment.
“Let me see, it’s January 7th. Time flies…”
Sa Jaehyeok squeezed his eyes shut.
The date the elder mentioned had long since passed before he received the tip-off from the information bureau.
“Hey, elder.”
“Why do you keep calling me? I don’t know what might happen to those outside, so let’s hurry inside…”
“Isn’t it time for you to rest?”
“…? Well, it’s getting late…”
“Elder, you know that’s not what I mean.”
“What does that mean…”
“I checked the gravestones at the burial site, and there was a gravestone with your name inscribed on it.”
“…”
From behind Sa Jaehyeok, the sound of his companions swallowing their saliva could be heard. An ominous wind brushed past their ears.
“…U-uh? No way…”
The old man’s entire body began to tremble. Only then did he seem to realize, looking down at his hands, stuttering.
With recognition, the illusion shattered. The outlying village they were in had already become the heart of the underworld.
What had just been there was not a person but rotting flesh and crunching bones. Someone had defied the laws of nature to bind them there. They had been talking to a specter all along.
“Th-that can’t be… cough, cough…”
The old man clutched his throat with both hands and coughed dryly. His mouth could no longer speak human language. He didn’t even know how he had been able to converse until now. His vocal cords had long since rotted away.
“Ka-hack… cough…! Clang…!”
“…Farewell.”
With that farewell, a flash of light split the air. The blade that had been strapped to Sa Jaehyeok’s waist was suddenly in his hands.
Thud- The old man’s head fell straight to the ground. Thunk, thunk. Without delay, Sa Jaehyeok sliced the rolling head in half.
Looking inside, only a hollow laugh escaped his lips. If the old man was a ghoul, the evidence that should have been there was completely absent. There was no trace of fungal masses that should have filled his brain nor mushrooms that ought to have sprouted along the back of his neck.
It was actually an entirely expected result. What kind of ghoul could sit rationally and converse with a person, let alone put a tip-off to the safety bureau themselves?
If the old man was at fault, it was simply for believing that he was still alive.
Sa Jaehyeok turned his gaze back to the table where he had sat across from him. One of the legs was about to collapse completely due to rot.
The tray held thin finger bones, and the broken teacup contained a murky liquid that might have been rotting for years.
The only intact item there was the photo of his granddaughter.
“…Chaewon. Sehwa. Jin.”
“…Yes.”
At Sa Jaehyeok’s words, the companions nodded and stepped outside the mansion. Following soon after were the red flames that began to invade his ears with the wails of the damned.
All he and his companions could do was to send them back to peace.
-Why, why is this happening all of a sudden…!
-Wh-what for…! Cough…!
-Clang!
-KABOOM!
The pleas of the dead, unaware that they had already died, echoed in a string. The sound of bones rolling over the ground was loud. The sound of an old building collapsing in flames reverberated everywhere.
Sa Jaehyeok was lost in thought, unaffected by it. Two questions tormented him.
If the witches had already resurfaced long ago, there should have been simultaneous chaos occurring all over by now.
Furthermore, it should have been directed towards large cities with dense populations, not wandering along the outskirts like this.
This was akin to an instinct engraved in the genetics of those creatures.
Though he briefly felt a headache from the completely different behavior patterns compared to fifteen years ago, he soon decided to stop pondering.
He didn’t need to understand the witches. He just had to do what was necessary in front of him.
“…The numbers?”
He asked the companions who returned after some time.
“…54. The number of gravestones was the same.”
“Good job. Where’s the nearest force?”
“Probably the 33rd Mountain Brigade. It’s a few days’ journey away…”
At Chaewon’s continued response, Sa Jaehyeok clicked his tongue.
“Tch. That’s cutting it close. Chaewon. You’re to head there and request reinforcements. Bring whatever troops you can, whether by using my name or the Heukryeon’s name. And thoroughly block all routes leading to the nearby metropolitan area.”
He began issuing commands to his companions.
“Jin. Sehwa. You two will return straight to the capital city. Then persuade the members of the council to explain the situation and to issue an emergency decree. You can take the soil from the corruption site as evidence. Stupid fools. It’s not like I didn’t say it already…”
“Then what about you, Oppa…?”
In response to Yena’s question, Sa Jaehyeok answered immediately.
“Of course, I have to follow the trace of the witches. I can’t let those women go. I don’t even know what their intentions are this time. So…”
“That’s nonsense!! How can you do that alone…!”
“You know what I mean. It’s too dangerous. You all should go back quickly…”
Sa Jaehyeok’s firm words were halted by Sehwa, who tightly gripped his collar.
She looked at Sa Jaehyeok with an expression that seemed ready to cry at any moment.
“…We decided…not to do that again… alone…”
“…”
Sa Jaehyeok was at a loss for words, glancing around. The expressions of Chaewon and Yena were not very different from that of Sehwa’s.
He sighed inwardly. Today, he had no choice but to agree with the public’s evaluation of them.
They were truly foolish and, on one hand, pitiful women.
“…I’m sorry. I misspoke. Let’s go together. We’ll at least send out the crows first.”
“…Okay.”
Sehwa finally let go of his collar. The companions began to whistle, busily summoning the crows, sending messages and items back into the sky.
Sa Jaehyeok looked at the sky visible through the broken roof of the mansion. What he conjured in his mind was a masked boy. A poor child who had unknowingly gotten caught up in the waves.
“Tch.”
Originally, he had planned to submit his discharge papers after this journey. He had also thought about stopping by the capital to check on Lee Hyun to see how he was doing.
But somehow, it seemed that he still had unfinished business to attend to.
“I wonder… has that guy dated anyone yet…”
His voice echoed hollowly.
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