Chapter 38
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 38
Chapter Title: Obsidian Society
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Shaking off the blood coating my hands, I dragged Yul-ryeong—who had been hiding in stealth mode in a secret space beneath the platform—out into the open.
"Eek.."
He'd pissed himself, his pants soaked through, and as he was hauled out, he began trembling and begging for his life.
I had no energy left to respond to his pleas, so I roughly tossed him onto the platform and dragged over a chair, collapsing into it.
There was no physical fatigue, nor any mental shock.
My body and mind were truly fine. I just felt a bit tired.
I'd personally executed well over a hundred people, and among them, there were surely some with pitiful circumstances.
That must be why I felt mentally drained.
This incident taught me that harming people brought psychological pressure and fatigue.
It wasn't that I'd been shocked by my own brutality in this insane massacre or developed trauma from slaughtering so many.
I was just worn out from hearing too many pleas for mercy and agonized screams. Nothing more than that stirred in me.
Was the game system imposed on me forcibly protecting my mind? Or perhaps my high mental fortitude allowed me to remain so composed.
Too much blood on my hands. My head was filled with the urge to wash them.
"Don't even think about running. Take off your mask first."
I yanked the kitchen knife from my side and hurled it next to Yul-ryeong's face as he stealthily glanced around, eyeing an escape route.
Thud!
The blade sank halfway into the platform floor.
Yul-ryeong freaked out, rolling aside, then turned back toward me, unable to control his shaking.
He removed the Hahoe mask he wore, shrinking like someone who'd given up everything.
There wasn't much useful info in his description window.
So I'd have to get the answers directly: why he'd orchestrated this, and what those spectators using "strange sorcery" really were.
"Here. Kneel before me."
"Y-yes, sir.."
Chae Joo-yul obeyed meekly.
Given one of his statuses was "Resigned," he'd likely already given up on escaping alive.
So what he wanted was probably a quick, painless death.
With Sowol skinning the survivors below the platform, he'd surely spill everything to avoid that fate.
"Joo-yul."
"Y-yes! D-did you call for me, sir?"
"I have questions for you."
"A-ask anything. I'll answer everything I know honestly."
"Good. Answer straight, and I'll grant you a merciful death by my hand."
"Y-yes... sir. P-please... please don't let that monster... eek.."
Chae Joo-yul slammed his forehead on the floor, begging.
To not die by the White-Faced Bride's hands. He begged over and over.
He trembled and sobbed pathetically, utterly repulsive, but if he spilled properly, I'd handle him myself.
"Fine. Let's begin."
"Yes..."
I pulled out my phone and started the recorder app.
With my hands covered in blood, taking notes wasn't feasible. I'd listen back later.
"First question. I've heard Nameless Talismans have diverse uses. True?"
"Yes, sir. They're said to be treasures that grant wishes."
I took one Nameless Talisman from the envelope in my pocket.
"Th-that...!"
"A Nameless Talisman. The real deal."
"Ah...."
Chae Joo-yul stared at it in my hand, eyes bulging, forgetting even his fear of death.
What was so special about it to drive people mad? To me, it looked nothing like a wish-granting artifact.
A wish-granting tool? No matter how I looked, it was just a wildcard talisman.
Though "whatever is needed now" could be interpreted as granting wishes, it was hard to believe a single talisman held such power.
"Exaggerated rumors, no? Does this really have such miraculous effects? It's just a talisman."
"N-no, it's not just any talisman!"
"...."
"A-ah. Sorry, forgive me, sir. I got carried away..."
"No, keep talking. Tell me why this talisman is so special."
"It... it's..."
Chae Joo-yul spilled all the tales about the Nameless Talisman he knew.
First, its origins traced back to the Three Kingdoms era.
Records only appeared from Silla, Baekje, and Goguryeo times.
"So it was made back then?"
I hadn't realized it was that ancient. Over a millennium old.
No wonder Ancient Text Deciphering evoked archaic characters different from modern hanja. Interpreting such an old item had been tough.
"And texts say... it even revived the dead."
"...You sure?"
"Yes, but... it's from the Japanese colonial era records."
That was the most recent account.
Afterward, Nameless Talismans vanished from the land. The society believed the last one revived a Japanese officer.
"There are also records of it curing an elderly couple's infertility... It's seen as a talisman that produces the user's desired result, hence 'wish-granting.'"
The Nameless Talisman did produce needed effects, but on a scale beyond imagination.
Reviving the dead, granting children to the barren elderly. Legends like that.
Like all myths, not all could be trusted, but if half were true... it was easy to see their obsession.
"I get it's impressive. Next question."
"Yes..."
"What are these Obsidian Society goons you summoned? They all used the same sorcery."
"Ah... well..."
Chae Joo-yul glanced around warily, gathering his thoughts before speaking.
He acted like someone terrified of the Obsidian Society.
"The Obsidian Society... is a group of sorcerers and shamans who've dabbled in killing... basically spirit arts users... moving to resurrect something."
"Resurrect something?"
"Yes... I suspect they're trying to summon a 'Buried God.'"
Buried God?
I thought I knew the World of Doom lore well, but this was new.
Most ancient gods were calamity-level anomalies, so their target likely was too.
"Details on this Buried God they're after."
"I-I'm not too sure myself..."
"Spill everything you know."
"Yes, sir. So..."
Buried Gods: collective term for vanished, destroyed, or sealed ancients.
Theirs was the Scorched Earth Ghost King—lord of ghosts over burned, desolate lands.
The Obsidian Society tracked Nameless Talismans to awaken this entity buried somewhere in Korea.
"They see the talisman as the key?"
"More precisely... they seemed to think it leads to the key. They said something like needing the talisman to get it."
"Dangerous bunch. More on the Obsidian Society?"
"They... travel via tunnels, sewers, subways. Avoid sunlight... skulk underground like moles."
Rat-like vermin confined to the shadows. They loathed sunlight, only surfacing at night if needed.
"How'd you contact them?"
"They got my number and reached out... I had no way to contact them."
"You brought in scum like that? What's wrong with your head?"
"I-I just planned to use them for chaos, grab the talisman, and discard them..."
"Hah. Fine. How'd they pinpoint me as having the talisman?"
The info that it entered Korea came via Muyoungseok, but why were they so sure I had it?
They gave Chae my details, luring me here.
How did the Obsidian Society know?
"Maybe... by sacrificing people... as offerings to ask."
"What?"
"Th-that's... what I learned investigating them."
Illegal immigrants from abroad.
Rumors said the Society took them. Most vanished—likely sacrificed.
"Their god might not be just the Scorched Earth Ghost King... That's all I know."
That was the end of Chae Joo-yul's info.
Another god. No wonder their sorcery was so odd.
Were they borrowing divine power?
Their lackeys used sorcery unlike any Taoist, shaman, onmyoji, or sorcerer I'd seen—more like "blessings" or "prayers."
It had the distinct holy aura of Sister Shin Seo-hyeon or Monk Gu Hye-ryeong. Likely from their patron god.
For more, ask the World of Doom Gallery veterans.
"Alright, Chae Joo-yul. I've heard enough."
"Th-then now.."
"Time to end it. Abandon hope of living."
"Ah...."
I snapped Chae Joo-yul's neck swiftly, ending his life as he wept.
Now it was clear: the Obsidian Society had to be crushed.
They sought to summon a forbidden entity with the talisman—and knew I had it.
Ruthless criminals without scruples, targeting me and my close ally Yu-ha.
Destroying or burning the talisman wouldn't stop them; their tenacity was infamous.
They'd kill and dissect me to confirm, and suspect Yu-ha too.
Once targeted, fight to the end—until I died or erased them from existence.
"Darling..! All done."
Sowol called just as I'd broken his neck, so I handed the body to her and headed to the storage room.
Since earlier, I'd sensed steady pulses—not attacks. Couldn't pinpoint it.
Listening closely, it was "wiretapping."
"A-ack! W-wait! We surrendered! You said hiding in the storage room meant we'd live!"
"We just wanted one talisman... not die to a monster like you..!"
Inside were a boy and girl around Yu-ha's age, hiding.
The girl's face mosaicked by sorcery, the boy cloaked in a black orb...
Or was that kid a girl too? Boyish style fooled me.
"You two. How much did you overhear?"
I asked them.
They'd spied from inside, catching my talk with Chae fully.
Involved now, they needed handling.
Seal their lips with a binding, secure their identities, or best: confine them in our building until the Society was gone.
Still kids who'd fled quickly to storage—no killing, but I'd have to keep them close until then.