Ghosts Die Twice (2)
[Why do you think I wouldn't know?]
Kangryeong Daegun replied as if unperturbed, but Ju Kang-rim read the agitation hidden beneath. It wasn't that he refused to reveal it—he simply couldn't know. Or rather, he didn't want to know. After all, Kangryeong Daegun wasn't some ordinary person; he was a powerful shaman.
"If you knew who I was, you wouldn't be spouting nonsense about life lines and hell."
Ju Kang-rim cackled as he wildly swung his hand axe at the reinforced ghouls. They were strong. And the curse lodged in his life line had pushed him to the brink of several close calls. But that was all. Ju Kang-rim had more than enough skill, power, and luck to withstand both the shaman's curse and the ghouls' assaults.
These are all Kangryeong Daegun's got right now.
Once I get past them, his neck is next.
"A shaman who doesn't even know the identity of the person trying to kill him? Shouldn't you have scattered rice grains the moment you saw my face and yelled, 'Why'd you take so long! What's that on your back!'?"
It was a statement loaded with prejudice against shamans, but it stabbed right at Kangryeong Daegun's solar plexus. The shaman fell silent after that—an implicit admission.
Ju Kang-rim fluttered the hem of his traditional robe as he charged at the oncoming reinforced ghouls, whispering to his Saingeom.
"I'll give you ten years."
"Damn it, damn it, damn it…."
Kangryeong Daegun muttered as he scattered rice grains across the floor. The ground was already littered with them—the ones he'd thrown to divine the fortune he desired. And to uncover the identity of his attacker, he'd spilled countless pints of blood and summoned spirits.
But he still couldn't figure out who—or what—Ju Kang-rim was.
"How can fate be this twisted?"
When he'd killed Ttakkachi and interrogated her spirit, he'd learned the name: Ju Kang-rim. That was it. Nothing more. No birthplace, no occupation, no death date.
From the start, he'd found it suspicious that Ju Kang-rim was still alive after he'd personally cursed him. Kangryeong Daegun was the strongest shaman in Korea. A curse like that, infused with such devotion, should have caused a fatal heart attack unless guarded by a general-grade protector spirit. And even then, only if the target was safely hidden at home—willfully diving into danger meant no spirit could protect them.
Yet that bastard keeps surviving even as he throws himself into the fire.
Suspecting a powerful protector spirit, Kangryeong had probed for one. But all he sensed was a bizarre, gloomy aura. Ju Kang-rim was utterly alone.
Can a mere mortal possess luck on par with a guardian spirit?
Kangryeong shook his head. A curse meant "death's coincidence" struck, no matter how long one's life line. Choking on saliva or standing up too quickly after sitting too long—that was human fate. Unavoidable by personal effort. That was one's horoscope, one's destiny.
"What the hell are you?"
Kangryeong sensed the reinforced ghouls outside being hacked and sliced apart. They should have had plenty of time to subdue Ju Kang-rim. Hell, based on what he'd seen, they could even deal a mortal blow without his lightning intervention.
But Kangryeong couldn't imagine them winning. All he could picture was Ju Kang-rim bursting through the door moments later, drenched in blood, smirking at him.
Then, a chill seeped into Kangryeong Daegun's shoulder. He flinched, shuddering.
[Indeed, I told you long ago to serve me.]
"Shut up."
Kangryeong replied without turning, struggling to ignore what lurked behind him: the divine spirit he'd accepted. Over the past century-plus, he'd absorbed countless ghosts. To bind them, he'd taken the spirit of the royal ancestral shrine—authority over every ghost in the land.
He'd been certain he'd become the true King of Shamans. But the result was something he'd never anticipated. It wasn't a mere ghost. Not even a general spirit or deity. It called itself a king, but Kangryeong instinctively knew he'd failed.
The hundred-year-old spirit called it a "Dweoksini"—a monster born from ghosts merging into an abyss of malice. Lacking confidence to wield its power, Kangryeong had borrowed only its authority to command lesser spirits. It had sufficed until now.
Until now.
"I won't use your power. I can't insult my ancestors."
A sinister laugh echoed through the air. Kangryeong bit his fingertips anxiously until blood welled up. Staring at the drops, he smeared them on the rice grains and rolled them in his palm again.
The Shaman King who ruled all ghosts of the Korean Peninsula. Under him, even general spirits, guardians, and ancestors were mere rabble. Especially since the Gates opened—it had grown easier. Infusing spirits into human bodies was once arduous, but now trivial. And with Shine Sand from the Vito family, effortless.
Thanks to that, he'd believed reviving his dreamed-of dynasty possible. Yet now, crumbling like a sandcastle to some unknown foe?
But defeat loomed. Kangryeong gritted his teeth and rolled the rice grains. His eyes widened at the result.
For the first time in decades, he'd divined his own horoscope. How much life remained? How to live? Even after becoming immortal, he'd tried a few times out of paranoia, but always the same outcome—so he'd stopped.
The result: death. Suicide, no less.
His life line ended today. No vision beyond. No escape.
His heart pounded. Cold sweat beaded on his brow; breaths came ragged. The terror of death from the museum surged back. The underworld vista from the lightning strike clawed at his legs.
He tried to stand but collapsed unknowingly.
Me? Dying? By my own hand?
As one who'd dominated fate through divination, shamanism, and horoscopes, he trusted his reading above all. But suicide? Impossible.
No despair or fear could break him. And even if so, how could anything kill an immortal?
He'd burned in fire, drowned, taken bullets. Nothing worked. No curses stuck.
Desperately seeking a way out, he found none among his rabble spirits.
"Damn it!"
Wiping sweat, he racked his brain as Ju Kang-rim's footsteps thundered closer. Heart nearly stopping without even facing him.
The bastard survived my curse. So can I!
Total mobilization: remaining sacrifices, chicken blood, his own. He scattered and danced. Bell-fan and knife clashed noisily.
In his frenzy, a cool tickle on his cheek. Dweoksini's whisper again.
[Finally ready to serve me?]
Dweoksini and the approaching Ju Kang-rim—which terrified him more? No long deliberation.
"I... I shall serve."
Cackling laughter spread. Amid the dizzying sound, Kangryeong clenched his teeth, focusing. Later, he'd suppress Dweoksini with a rite or offerings—but first, block Ju Kang-rim.
[Ju Kang-rim, was it? You want him exorcised?]
"Leave him to me," Kangryeong rasped. "Something powerful blocks the curse behind him—a guardian spirit. Drive it away."
The cackling faded. Before the container door opened, Kangryeong scanned Ju Kang-rim's horoscope repeatedly, as before. Somewhere here lay his true nature.
If the evil spirit severs that link, I can find a way to beat him.
Kangryeong Daegun delved deep into Ju Kang-rim's horoscope and fate alongside Dweoksini, tracing his trail to uncover the guardian spirit.
At first, only darkness and gloom—no trace. But borrowing Dweoksini's power, he parted the shadows, revealing Ju Kang-rim's veiled horoscope.
Dweoksini's might was immense; traces Kangryeong had missed now sharpened into focus. He shook the bell fan madly, urging it on.
Dweoksini savored the shaman's surging power. But as they scanned Ju Kang-rim's life, Kangryeong's unease grew.
More dead than living in his path. Endless slaughter and chaos defined him.
Is this demon from hell itself?
Then, both sensed it: the formidable presence behind Ju Kang-rim. Dark, oppressive gloom.
[That's his guardian spirit.]
Dweoksini realized it was that very aura, too vast to grasp fully—like the blind touching an elephant.
Indeed, an immense guardian shadowed him. Kangryeong nearly quailed at its scale but felt no fear. His Dweoksini had devoured every ghost in Joseon's eight provinces, even stealing royal authority—the ultimate evil.
Who could challenge it?
Beyond general spirits. A yaksha, maybe?
No mere human dodges a curse like that.
Vanquish this guardian, and the curse would claim Ju Kang-rim instantly.
"I am the Shaman King, ruler of all ghosts in this land!"
Glossolalia erupted from Kangryeong's mouth.
"Reveal yourself!"
But the guardian didn't stir. Kangryeong bellowed louder, thrashing.
Dweoksini's power was his strongest yet. Enough to crush Ju Kang-rim easily.
If not for this guardian.
How mighty is your backer? The Four Guardian Gods? King of the Underworld?
Now it was pride. He needed its identity for satisfaction.
He stepped into depths he'd never plumbed—unaware such levels existed. Terror, his death-near fate, propelled him.
[Ah!]
Dweoksini suddenly groaned. It turned to a horrific scream.
[Aaahhh! No! Stop! Enough! Nooo….]
Riiip.
A tearing sound, and Dweoksini's voice cut off.
Kangryeong felt his shoulders lighten. He frantically sought traces—none anywhere. Dweoksini had vanished. In an instant, silently.
In his heated vision, something appeared.
A flower bloomed. No—the first thing was a floral-patterned shirt.
Then darkness swallowed his sight. A pungent cigarette scent lingered.