A Lesson in Curses
"How should I deal with a rat that crawls in uninvited?"
"Whoa, whoa, calm down. I came to tell you about an opportunity."
An opportunity? He almost laughed out loud.
Right there on the screen floated the files on Robert Lee—the filthy records of how he had abandoned his homeland and naturalized elsewhere.
Was that what the man called an opportunity?
Hanul let a quiet chuckle slip free.
"Ridiculous. Pathetic, even. Do you take me for someone like you?"
"C'mon, why're you like that? Wouldn't it be better to play in a bigger pond?"
"A bigger pond? You want to play in a bigger pond?"
Hanul snorted.
"If you're so fond of big ponds, I could introduce you to a truly enormous one."
"Ah! Leave the tour guiding to me, yong!"
"Whoa, whoa, don't be like that. I'm just out here hustling hard myself."
"As an American, you mean? Yeah. Turncoats always get extra loud once they join a new outfit."
Robert Lee's eyebrows twitched. He forced the anger down and pretended nothing had happened.
"That's just how it is. More importantly—catching my presence just now? Not bad."
His gaze slid to Hatchery standing beside Hanul.
"That little brat—your summon? Familiar or something?"
"Master, shall I tear this rat bastard's mouth open, yong?"
"Mana capacity's ridiculous, too."
Robert Lee put on a show of admiration.
"Definitely worth requesting an SSS-class test. Summoner class is pretty attractive as well."
"Mr. Robert Lee, are you aware that you have committed illegal trespass?"
"Four-eyes, stay out of adult conversation. Anyway, I looked at your application—name was Kang Hanul, right?"
The moment he called Hanul's name in casual speech, Hatchery's eyes spun. Crackling arcs of electricity flared—but Hanul simply raised a hand and stopped her.
"Hatchery. Settle down."
"Ah! Sorry, Master! I got so mad for a second, yong!"
"I won't drag this out. You naturalize to the United States too."
Robert Lee added with a greasy smile,
"And while you're at it, transferring to our Eagle Guild would be even better."
"I listened because it sounded like last words you wanted to leave behind. Is that everything?"
"Last words? Your jokes are over the top. And another thing…"
Robert Lee snickered.
"I heard you're a returnee, so maybe that's why. You don't seem to get the situation. America doesn't want an SSS-class coming out of Korea."
"And so what?"
"You think I'm asking you this for fun? Refuse to naturalize? Then you don't get the SSS rank."
Seo Jihun, the office manager, could no longer stay silent. He pushed his glasses up and stepped forward again.
"That would be the position of the extreme nationalists, I presume."
"Some mongrel keeps butting in."
"Not a mongrel—Office Manager Seo Jihun. Kang Hanul is the acting guild master of our guild."
Robert Lee slapped his knee.
"Aha, now I get why you're jumping in. Don't worry. We'll pay the transfer fee. Money stuff gets handled clean."
"That is not the issue."
"Manager Seo, you calm down too. Naturalize? I have no intention of doing that."
Robert Lee pressed a hand to his forehead. Born and raised Korean, yet every gesture and turn of phrase had gone fully American.
"If you're gonna be like that, we've got a problem. Let me tell you one thing…"
He jerked his chin toward a corner. The spot where he had first appeared—more precisely, where Hatchery had dragged him and flung him, smashing a flowerpot. At some point a totem had been placed there.
"See that? Artifact made by an African SSS-class hunter under our Eagle Guild."
Hatchery clapped both hands over her mouth, but laughter still burst out.
"Starting to feel it yet? Doesn't matter if it's mana, internal energy, or psychic power—it restricts skill activation."
"Pffft—!"
"Know why? Because no matter the skill, the very concept of manifesting it into reality gets interfered with—"
"Pwahahahahahahaha! Pff—puhehehehehehehehahahaha!"
Hatchery suddenly clutched her stomach and collapsed into hysterics, even rolling across the floor.
"Pwahahahaha! Puhehehehe! Puhahaha! Oh man, my sides!"
Robert Lee looked flustered, then decided the summon simply had a weird personality and pressed on.
"Single-use, place it in one location for five minutes seventeen seconds, activates only within a ten-meter radius. But! It can even restrain SSS-class power to a certain degree—"
"Pwahahahahahahaha! Uhehehehehk… hahahak!"
"Of course I acknowledge you're strong. But if an SS-class like me fights you, no matter how—"
"Pwahahahahahahahaha!"
"Damn it, shut your familiar up. I'm explaining here."
Shing— Robert Lee drew a dagger.
"Anyway, only I, who received the pre-ritual, am fine in here."
Whoosh— and then a sudden surge of killing intent, skill or otherwise.
"Refuse? Then I'll sever your mana circuits so you can never cross into SSS-class again."
"I listened because I was curious what you'd try. Turns out it was nothing special."
"Whoa, drop the bluff. I felt how strong you were the moment I got here. But you can't use that power right now, can you?"
Robert Lee gave an American-style shrug.
"Do you even know that curses are one branch that came out of black magic?"
"Stalling for time? Bad choice. Decide by the count of three."
"Uhehehehehk… in front of Master he's gonna count to three… pwahak!"
Ignoring Hatchery's laughter, Robert Lee stubbornly counted three, two, one. Three fingers folded. On that signal—
Whoosh— Robert Lee vanished. In a split second the dagger streaked for Hanul's nape.
Tak— the hand gripping the dagger locked in midair, bound by invisible mana. He tried to move, but his entire body refused to budge.
"…I-Impossible? The totem's restriction should definitely be active—!"
"SS-class, you said. A little fast, I'll give you that."
Hanul's assessment was indifferent.
"Even if this reconstructed body of mine is still a bit underripe… if my reaction had been a fraction slower, that cute little dagger might've actually stabbed me."
"Even if you got stabbed you'd be perfectly fine, yong!"
By then the dagger was already spinning lazily on Hatchery's palm. Robert Lee stared at his empty hand in blank despair.
"Impossible! Me—not even noticing while she took the dagger—?!"
Thick, viscous mana flowed from Hanul's fingertips.
Black Magic Spell — Abyss Spectrum
Crack!
Violet sparks flared around Robert Lee. He resisted with raw mana.
"Ghk… kuhhk!"
"Oh. At SS-class it really is a bit different."
"Ghhhk…… ghhhk!"
Robert Lee kept resisting. The price was brutal. He never managed to expose his memories, yet the rebound force tangled with his mana circuits and his body began to stiffen like stone.
Proper recovery would take three or four days of rest. The instant Hanul released his wrist—
Thud— flop—
Robert Lee's legs trembled like a newborn calf. The muscular bulk crumpled without strength, collapsing to the floor like some tragic heroine.
"Master, here it is, yong!"
Hatchery had already fetched the totem from the corner.
Crunch— psssss—
She squeezed. The wooden chunk crumbled into sand.
"I suppose I have no choice but to teach you a thing or two about curses."
"Oh, be happy, yong! Master's personally teaching a lesson!"
Hanul's gaze drifted to the tablet screen—comments about Robert Lee packed the display.
"Conveniently, there's perfectly usable curse material right here. See those comments?"
"…I don't give a damn about the noise of swine."
"Even that kind of rotten perception can become a curse."
Dark crimson mana swirled at Hanul's fingertips.
Rebound Curse
Crack—!
Black thread-like mana burrowed straight into Robert Lee's heart.
"Ugh! What are you doing to my body…!"
He clawed at his chest and screamed.
"A basic curse. Everyday formula in the Demon Realm."
"Ah, I used to play with that a lot when I was little!"
Range setting. Making the entire Korean Peninsula the domain was still beyond this reconstructed body. He settled for Seoul.
"You said you wanted to come into Korea so badly, right? Inside the domain, the hearts of everyone who holds a grudge against you will manifest as the curse."
Then he layered on another formula.
Crack—
Between Hanul's pinched fingers something wriggled—a grub-like worm. Its round mouth bristled with circular lamprey teeth, tentacles undulating, spots blooming across its surface until it was nauseatingly grotesque.
Black Magic Summoning Formula — Demon Parasite
True to a Demon Realm species, it hatched from negative emotion.
The two formulas linked. Instantly a boil-like swelling rose on Robert Lee's cheek; something the size of a grub writhed beneath the skin.
"Ugh! What is this weird foreign feeling on my cheek… Aaaaagh!"
"Ah! These are my favorites!"
"Cute little things that grow in the Demon Realm. All the negative emotion directed at you will make excellent nourishment for the parasites."
Writhe, writhe—
Bulges rapidly multiplied across Robert Lee's skin; spots bloomed. His flesh began to bloat slightly, corpse-like. Hanul murmured in mild admiration.
"Parasite proliferation is faster than I expected."
"Ooh, right, yong! This human must've piled up a ton of grudges, yong!"
Hundreds of thousands—no, millions—of people's hatred converted into curse energy. Parasites hatched on that feast, then burrowed into Robert Lee's body and began gnawing his life force.
"Ghk… gyaaah! Me, an SS-class hunter, reduced to this… ghhhk!"
Robert Lee crawled across the floor, thrashing.
Go Changsik watched from the side and went pale with shock. An American SS-class was being toyed with like a plaything.
Seo Jihun felt the same. He had known Hanul was strong, but this strong?
"…Hm?"
Hanul himself seemed distracted by something else. He paused as if sensing a signal, then cast his gaze beyond the glass window.
A reaction from the marking magic I placed on Eunha.
Nothing grand—just a detection-type spell that read psychological state and physical changes in real time.
She's furious right now.
As far as he knew, today's schedule for his niece: an unofficial meeting ahead of the formal talks with China and the United States. The agenda was so critical that Minister Eunha herself was attending. Something must have gone wrong during the unofficial session.
"I'll be stepping out for a moment."
"Uuuugh… Kang Hanul… stop right there!"
Bloodshot eyes flared in the crawling Robert Lee. He flailed, barely managed to push himself upright.
"This… undo it right now! Me… R-Robert Lee of the Eagle Guild!"
Trembling hands scraped the floor as he struggled to rise. Drool spilled from his lips.
"Uuuugh! Forcing me to use this secret art… you bastard…"
He seemed to detonate some last-resort technique. Hanul did not even glance back. Instead Hatchery beside him lifted a foot and drove it into Robert Lee's side.
KRAAANG! Robert Lee flew and smashed into the wall.
"How dare you lay a hand on Master's body, yong! You worm bastard!"
He punched clean through the wall and crashed into the conference room next door. Concrete fragments rained down on him like a shower.