The Grudges of Haewondang (2)
The Grudges of Haewondang (2)
A white cotton cloth emitting demonic energy.
And countless characters wrapped around it, as if enclosing it.
The barrier created by the shaman's power was preventing the demonic energy from leaking out.
The characters imbued with the shaman's spell were controlling the gravitational pull that dragged everything down and forced it to collapse.
The force of that gravity was so immense that just looking at it made one frown.
"It's nasty."
A deep grudge that could never be felt from mere scraps.
I can hear their voices, filled with lingering attachments to life.
"Is there a way?"
Instead of answering Seo Yerin's question, I looked at the cotton cloth that was still pouring out resentment.
-Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me. Save me.
Those voices filled with resentment, begging to be saved.
And the system message was telling me there was a way to resolve their resentment.
[Recommended Method]
[Fulfill the resentment of the deceased.]
[To fulfill the resentment, you must personally check what kind of stain is on the pure white cotton cloth.]
Pure white cotton cloth.
But the system message was clearly saying it was stained.
Just by the demonic energy I could feel, it was certain.
The demonic energy of the Majok clinging to that white cloth I see right now.
That itself was the contamination clinging to the Sochang, which connects the path between this world and the afterlife.
"Is this as far as I can approach?"
"...That is correct. The characters spread around the Sochang are protecting the area so that the demonic energy cannot contaminate it."
The faint divine power emanating from the characters written around the cotton cloth refreshed the air.
Vwoom!
The warm divine power I had felt from Seo Yerin.
I could feel it weakening the gravity around us.
"What happens if I cross this line?"
"...Don't even think about it. The moment you cross the boundary line blocked by the spell, we cannot be responsible for your safety, Cheosa-nim."
Cheongyeon Sinmo looked at me like I was a lunatic for wanting to cross the gold thread.
"I know it sounds crazy. But I want to touch that cotton cloth with my own hands."
"Touch it? That thing?"
"B-Boss?"
Hmm.
Yeah.
I figured this reaction would come.
I know it sounds crazy, too.
Touching a cotton cloth filled with such evil power.
I wouldn't have even attempted it if the system message hadn't told me to.
But the system message has never lied to me before.
Since awakening as an S-rank Cleaner, it has never lied; it would just say it didn't know if it didn't know.
Seeing it present a method so firmly and clearly.
This must be a method that works.
That's what I thought.
"I will check it personally to confirm the contamination."
"That didn't mean you had to touch it directly. You can see it enough from here..."
"Sinmo-nim, what I am trying to deal with is not the demonic energy."
"What do you mean by that?"
"What I am trying to launder is the resentment of the dead."
At my words, her face turned toward Seo Yerin.
"Yerin-ah, what does this mean? Did you convey it properly?"
"...Yes, Master."
The Sinmo looked at me.
"Right now, the dead are contaminated by demonic energy and cannot even properly express their resentment. Can't you hear them? Their voices, suffering."
"I hear them."
I could hear them clearly.
The voices of the dead still wailing to be saved.
"Their wish is to return to this world. The dead cannot be brought back to life. Therefore, giving them false hope is..."
The Sinmo, who was trying to persuade me while facing me, shut her mouth.
A deep sigh escaped her lips as we made eye contact.
"You have something up your sleeve, don't you."
"Yes."
"...Very well. But once you enter in there, we cannot take any responsibility."
"Understood."
Well, I got permission.
"Elena."
"Y-Yes! Boss!"
Perhaps because of the atmosphere the Sinmo was exuding.
Elena, who had been extremely tense, jumped in surprise and answered me.
"Take out the dye restoration agent from the second carrier. And there should be bleach in there too. Bring that out as well."
"Yes, got it!"
"And add a little divine power to the dye restoration agent and bleach."
"How much?"
"As much as possible."
Because I seriously think I'll need a lot.
"And Peep."
-Peep!
The little guy spread its wings wide.
"I'd like to get some of the Spirit's Breath."
As I said that while gently stroking its wings, Peep flapped its wings and shivered.
Fluffy pink down feathers popped out from its body.
[Breath of the Spring Spirit]
The top-grade breath touched my hand.
Just that alone made my body feel warm.
It was a grim look for someone just going to touch a piece of cotton cloth, but it couldn't be helped.
That white cloth that is still emitting deep resentment.
I have to prepare thoroughly because I don't know what will happen once I cross the barrier made of characters that are at least suppressing that resentment.
"Oppa, I'll follow you too."
Seo Yerin, who had been watching, approached me.
"Yerin-ah, what are you saying?"
The Sinmo Cheongyeon looked at her with a surprised face at the sudden declaration.
"Don't you need a shaman to find the way inside? I will guide you well so you don't get lost."
"..."
Seo Yerin's polite tone, which I could never hear in society.
Her tone, with her shiny blonde hair tied up neatly, felt slightly surreal.
Since she was speaking so firmly...
"Since I was the one who entrusted the request, I will take responsibility."
"..."
Sinmo Cheongyeon looked flustered.
Has this never happened before?
"...Haa."
She sighed, her lips moving as if she were about to say something.
"Understood. If you have made such a decision, I will follow it as well. And Jinsoo Cheosa-nim, please take this."
In her hand was a golden thread that looked like it had been braided by hand.
"This is..."
"When you go in, tie this thread around your waist. It will keep you from getting lost in the resentment of the dead."
"Thank you."
"And..."
She sighed and said to Seo Yerin, who was standing next to me.
"Yerin-ah, if anything happens, ring the bell twice. I will open the path for you."
"Understood, Master."
Just then, Elena, who had finished infusing all the divine power into the dye restoration agent, packed the supplies.
"Boss, everything is ready."
-Peep!
Our laundry shop employees, who were extremely tense.
"Alright. Let's go."
If we're all prepared, we have to go in.
"Jinsoo Oppa."
Before entering the barrier, Seo Yerin called me.
"I believe in you, Oppa."
"Don't worry. I have a way."
I patted her back.
"Let's go in. I don't want to stay here any longer. I want to finish as quickly as possible and get off work."
I intentionally put on a more humorous smile to ease the tension.
Elena, Peep, Seo Yerin, and I wrapped the gold thread around our waists and crossed the gold thread that was sealing the demonic energy of the cotton cloth, entering inside.
And at that moment.
Whoosh!
An immense amount of demonic energy, and...
-Save me!
-I want to go back!
-It's a lie!
-I couldn't have died!
-This isn't right!
-Aaaargh!
The voices of the dead rushed over us.
A sensation that felt like my mind was fading.
This is tough.
The demonic energy and resentment were so fierce that just standing there was draining, and I felt like I would get lost.
I felt like I understood why Sinmo Cheongyeon told us to wrap the gold thread around our waists.
The distance between me and the cotton cloth, which had felt like it was just a stone's throw away a moment ago, became distantly far, as if it were hundreds of meters away.
"What is this...?"
"It's a space distortion. They expanded and contracted the space so that the Sochang, the source of the demonic energy, could be observed from a distance."
"Then what we've seen until now..."
"The main body was hundreds of meters away."
"And it was that potent even from there?"
"Kyaaak! Boss!"
Elena clasped her hands together against the pouring demonic energy, and a holy light formed around her, blocking the contamination of the demonic energy.
"Oppa, come in here."
Seo Yerin's divine power supported that barrier.
-Peep!
Peep's power tightly sealed the inner finish.
"Me?"
There was nothing I could do in this situation.
I just focused my gaze on the cotton cloth in front of me.
Maybe I could find the contamination that I couldn't see from beyond the gold thread.
"The demonic energy is even nastier today... Oppa, do you see anything?"
"I'm looking."
"Be careful. If you touch a Sochang that hasn't properly sent off the dead, you could be dragged in, soul and all."
The thick demonic energy felt between the fibers of the cotton cloth.
Beyond the sticky demonic energy that wasn't felt when looking from afar.
I could see the clear contamination detected by the Cleaner's vision, which ordinary people cannot see.
"Huh..."
The cotton cloth was not white.
I had been surprised at how it could maintain such a white color despite emitting such thick demonic energy.
'This is...'
A clear boundary line that can only be seen if you look closely with the Cleaner's vision.
And the minute black color visible between those boundary lines.
A minute sense of incongruity that you wouldn't notice unless you looked really carefully.
I reached out and touched the cotton cloth.
"Oppa, wait!"
I heard Seo Yerin's urgent voice.
But that was only for a moment.
"...Huh?"
She looked at me, or rather, at the Sochang with surprised eyes.
The Sochang, which had clearly been a pure white cloth, crumbled and fell away, and pitch-black color filled its place.
"W-What is this...? Why?"
The cotton cloth that had been white had already lost its color.
The white color we saw from afar was actually just a shell that had risen like dead skin.
"As expected."
The contamination that had been deeply embedded between the fibers was already completely contaminated, reacting to the powerful demonic energy.
"It's already lost its own color. That's why it hasn't been able to connect the afterlife and this world."
"The cloth scraps that were in the seal box were clearly..."
"Because they were in the early stages."
"Does that mean it got more contaminated by demonic energy as time passed?"
"Probably. The separated pieces were sealed, so the demonic energy didn't grow, but the main body was different."
"But why didn't anyone notice?"
"Demons are cunning. They try to deceive humans more than anyone else."
In the past, it was only possible to defeat demons if almost all guilds gathered their strength together.
Because when the initial gates opened, there weren't many powers like divine power or magic that could suppress them.
But now, even if demons open gates and create dungeons, we have reached a level where subjugation is possible to some extent.
We're at the level where we even close the gates they open.
That's why they chose a cunning method.
Instead of tearing dimensions with force, they chose to parasitize on the sticky emotions and lingering attachments of humans.
Once they completely take root in an object of this world, even the world's counter-force cannot recognize them as foreign matter, making them hard to expel easily.
Originally, this cotton cloth must have been all white.
But now, it was stained black beyond repair.
"There's only one type of demon that would pull this kind of trick."
A demon that gnaws at reason with deception.
Jinchwireu.
They were commonly called Shadow Demons.
"This has become a hassle."
But just knowing who did this was a big harvest.
"Elena, dye restoration agent."
"Yes!"
"Will this work?"
"Come to think of it, demonic energy is also a contaminant to the cotton cloth. It should have an effect."
I'll have to spray it to see how much.
I poured the dye restoration agent, infused with Elena's divine power, onto the cotton cloth.
And at that moment.
-Aaaargh!
Black stains were torn off from the cotton cloth where I had poured the dye restoration agent, and they rushed at me.
"Oppa!"
"Boss!"
I hear the voices of the two calling me urgently.
"It's okay. I'll be right back."
"You'll be right back? Where are you going?"
Where else. To the dead inside that cotton cloth.