The Eve of the Storm
A storm was brewing across the Republic of Korea. Centered around Dawn's Light Guild, personnel dispatched from various countries scattered out to begin full-scale investigations. Their objectives: tracing remnants of the mengmang-grade ghost story and locating Phantom.
They tracked dozens of ghost story incidents every single day. Major and minor ghost stories still emerged every night, and there were a few cases suspected to be disaster-grade or higher. But...
"...It won't show itself that easily, huh."
A briefing on the latest investigation results was underway around a long table. Dispatch personnel from various countries and key executives from Dawn's Light Guild. Despite nearly a month of investigations and surveillance, the existence they sought had yet to reveal itself.
"Not even a mengmang-grade, let alone the unidentified ghost story Phantom—we haven't seen hide nor hair of it."
An agent from the French guild crossed his arms, voicing his frustration with a hint of irritation.
"We're still struggling to accept the concept of 'mengmang-grade,' and we don't even know if it's real. Isn't this just a waste of time?"
"Right? I'm starting to doubt if it even exists."
An agent from the American guild nodded in agreement.
"They created a new 'mengmang-grade' rank here, but from our perspective, apocalypse-grade was the top. Something above that...? Do you really think it exists?"
The conference room began to buzz with murmurs. The Korean side insisted on the existence of mengmang-grade, while the overseas dispatch teams still couldn't wrap their heads around the concept. Their complaints and doubts stemmed from one simple reason: no mengmang-grade ghost story had ever been confirmed.
"But during the Bosingak incident, didn't the Netherworld display a 'mengmang-grade' rank?"
Elissa Hayes, representative from the UK guild, leaned her elbows on the table and raised the question.
"That could have been faulty information."
But a rebuttal came immediately.
"Pardon?"
"The Netherworld often mutates in confusing ways. Even entities we considered apocalypse-grade didn't have fully established criteria. Creating a new rank based on a single incident— isn't that jumping the gun?"
"So, a single case isn't enough to judge?"
"Exactly. Moreover, the same goes for this Phantom. It vanished after Bosingak and hasn't been sighted once since. Energy was detected during the 'Forgotten Ones' incident, but no one actually saw it."
"But how do you explain these photos?"
"Maybe the crowd, gripped by extreme terror, mistook the crimson-black aura of a ghost story for a humanoid form? The photos could be a fluke."
He boldly countered every point before concluding with his own take.
"The photos are too clear to be a mistake. And people's testimonies about Phantom are remarkably consistent."
Leon, the American guild representative, stood up to offer his view.
"One thing's for sure—something was there that day. And that something quelled the ghost story. That's a fact. Doesn't it remind you of the [Eclipse Incident]?"
The room fell silent in an instant, and several members from the Japanese guild stiffened.
"The past incident in Japan, where an entire city was trapped in darkness by a powerful ghost story. I heard some entity temporarily sealed it..."
His cold blue eyes fixed on Ren. Ren said nothing, but his hands trembled faintly—his composure cracking at the old memory.
Leon eyed him briefly before looking away and gathering his thoughts.
'What happened that day at Bosingak.'
A mengmang-grade ghost story, the Collector, appeared. Then Phantom emerged and stopped her. As a result, an unprecedented mengmang-grade ghost story vanished.
'But it hasn't shown up since...'
"I see two possibilities. First, Phantom wasn't originally from Korea. It just happened to appear during the Bosingak incident—it's not something that was lingering here from the start."
"And the second?"
Ren asked with expectant eyes.
"Second, Phantom is still here. But it's moving in ways we can't detect."
"Hiding?"
"Or existing in a completely different manner from us. Whether through physical concealment or a fundamentally different perception."
"So, no way to find it?"
"There is a way. Heh."
This time, Elissa stepped in with a soft smile.
"If we can draw out a powerful ghost story directly, we'll encounter Phantom again."
"Draw it out...?"
Ren mulled her words over, his red eyes gleaming.
"Wait a minute. Draw out a ghost story...?"
But most of the agents fiercely opposed her idea upon hearing it.
"That's too dangerous! Using a ghost story to summon another? We know exactly how that could go wrong."
"Calm down. I was just suggesting a possibility."
Elissa took a slow sip of her tea.
"Looking at past cases, we can see when Phantom appears: places with 'powerful, dangerous ghost stories' and 'people in peril.'"
Phantom saved hundreds of thousands from the Collector. Phantom protected the city from the Forgotten Ones. Based on just these two instances, her reasoning seemed quite logical.
"What do you think? It's a hypothesis, but pretty convincing, right?"
"Elissa. Your idea sounds like we need to unleash a dangerous ghost story right in the middle of a city to lure Phantom."
Leon immediately saw the dangerous implication in her hypothesis.
"Oh, Leon. I didn't say that."
"We're not amateurs. You don't think we'd miss it, do you?"
"Heh. Don't make me out to be the villain. This is just a briefing. Feel free to dismiss it as idle talk."
Elissa wrapped up the meeting with a laugh. Yet her words left a lingering unease and inexplicable anxiety in everyone.
"Luna, I'm heading to work."
"Si-hyun...!"
Luna lay in bed, stretching both arms toward Si-hyun.
"Haha, Luna, you really like the new bed, huh?"
With a real paycheck now in play, Si-hyun had recently upgraded from their cramped old bed to a king-size one.
'It was getting too tight for two people anyway.'
He'd originally planned to buy Luna her own bed, but the girl clung to him every night without fail, so it seemed pointless.
'Well, I've gotten so used to sleeping with her in my arms. Kinda like a security blanket.'
No, wait—stop! Even if Luna had been sweet and adorable lately, he couldn't get too complacent!
'Luna's a mengmang-grade ghost story. One slip-up, and who knows what could happen.'
Mengmang-grade transcended even apocalypse-grade. In novels, apocalypse-grade events were rare but could shake a nation; mengmang-grade dwarfed that.
'The name isn't "mengmang" for nothing. There are ways to resolve apocalypse-grade, but never a single confirmed mengmang-grade case.'
An entity that could end an entire world. And one of them was the little girl he held in his arms.
'No one would believe this tiny girl holds that kind of power.'
"Si-hyun... what's wrong...?"
"Oh, sorry, sorry. Got lost in thought."
"Thinking about... another girl...?"
"What."
The grip of Luna's hands on his back tightened bit by bit.
'Ever since that time she smelled another woman on me, she does this sometimes.'
Si-hyun chalked it up to a kid's obsession with her favorite toy.
"Why would I think about anyone else when I have a princess as pretty as you right here?"
"Really...?"
"Totally real. So, Luna, could you loosen your grip a little? I might turn into a pancake, haha."
"Okay...!"
Luna eased her hold slightly.
"I'll be back soon today, so wait nicely. Got it?"
"Yeah... Si-hyun."
"No other girls' scents either, so don't worry."
"Si-hyun, what are you thinking about?"
"Oh, nothing, Elissa."
'Damn it! Right after promising Luna, what the hell is this situation?'
During lunch break, as he peacefully sipped coffee alone at the cafe, Elissa had appeared out of nowhere. She'd approached casually, saying she was bored and wanted to chat.
"So, what brings you to me?"
"Oh? I mentioned it earlier. I just wanted to talk."
"I'm just an office drone—no exciting stories here. Field agents must have way more episodes."
"Don't you want to talk with me, Si-hyun?"
'It's not that I don't want to—I'm just scared I'll get grilled at home later!'
He'd just promised Luna that morning. Breaking it right away?
'If our princess gets mad, the world ends after I'm done for first!'
Sticking around Elissa too long spelled trouble, so Si-hyun wanted to bail fast.
"Anyway, I need to get back to work."
"Ten minutes."
"Huh?"
"Just ten minutes. Surely the man who rested his face on my chest can spare that much? Heh."
"Sigh. Fine, I'll sit a bit longer."
Even after Si-hyun sat, Elissa didn't bring up anything special. Just idle chit-chat: how's the coffee, how's work, that sort of thing. The kind of talk any coworkers might have.
'Wait, she really just came for small talk?'
"Si-hyun, your reactions are... entertaining, somehow."
"What reactions?"
"The emotional fluctuations? They're pretty subdued."
"You can read that too, Elissa?"
"Heh. My special talent. What it is? That's a secret. You'll learn naturally if we get closer."
'Then don't say it in the first place!'
Classic line Koreans hated most. Time to show her.
"Elissa, want me to tell you how to make someone's emotions fluctuate?"
"Oh? You know how?"
"Yeah. Limited to making them mad, though."
"I'm curious."
"There are two main ways to piss someone off. First, trail off mid-sentence. Second—"
Si-hyun cut off and stared at her.
"Si-hyun, you won't tell me the second one?"
Her tone rose slightly.
"That's exactly what you did to me. How's that?"
"Hmm. Yeah, it stirred something."
"Well, awakeners hiding abilities isn't rare, but I felt like teasing. Haha."
"Si-hyun... I've thought it since we met, but you're fun."
Her sea-blue eyes gleamed as she looked at him.
"One last question, Si-hyun."
"Shoot."
"What do you think of Phantom?"
"...Phantom?"
"Yeah. Everyone's talking about it."
"So the rumor about you asking staff about Phantom is true."
"...Oh my. I didn't think you'd know that."
'I've got years of office politics under my belt. This is child's play.'
Orphaned and self-raised, Si-hyun had plenty of life hacks.
"Heh. Just personal curiosity. I'm very interested in Phantom."
"Because it's another mengmang-grade?"
"That's part of it, but..."
Elissa trailed off mysteriously, as if holding back a secret. But she quickly flashed a kind smile again.
"Opinions on Phantom are split. Some see it as our protector; others, a mysterious threat."
"What do you think, Elissa?"
"Me...?"
She seemed lost in thought, then suddenly looked up at him.
"Si-hyun, you're surprisingly good at drawing people out."
"Nah, I just listen well."
"Heh. But not quite enough to get what you want from me."
'An elite British agent spilling easily would be weirder.'
Si-hyun figured he'd gotten all he could and shared his take.
"Honestly, I think Phantom might not exist."
"...Doesn't exist?"
"Yeah. It showed up a few times during incidents, but no solid proof, no clear sightings."
He shrugged.
"Could just be rumors people cooked up."
'Please think that.'
His identity couldn't leak.
'Dealing with mengmang-grade rumors is headache enough. More hassle, and I'll go bald for real.'
He wished Phantom would just fade quietly.
"You think so?"
Elissa smiled, leaning forward slowly.
"If Phantom isn't our enemy, and it truly pities us..."
Her voice lingered strangely.
"...Don't you think it'd come save us when we're in danger?"
'Like I'd jump into danger on purpose.'
The notification window was on the fritz anyway—no forced pulls, no going!
"Elissa, just checking—you're not planning something dangerous, right?"
"Of course not. I'm not that bad."
She laughed lightly, like a joke, and sipped her coffee.
"But... who knows. Some 'bad person' might..."
"...?"
"...have some 'bad ideas.' Heh."