Chapter 45

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 44

Chapter Title: Palace of No Desires

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Sunlight was already filtering through the office window, suggesting the sun had risen.

Outside the window, birds were chirping away, and before I knew it, Sowol, who had been nestled in my arms, woke me up.

"Darling... your phone is ringing. Looks like a call."

"Mm..."

I'd set it to silent during yesterday's fight with the Three Extinction Assassins, so I hadn't even noticed the calls.

Sowol handed me the phone, and checking it, I saw it was a message from Master Moon Seon-woo.

She must have only seen the text I'd sent last night this morning.

"Ah, hello? Yes, Master."

Master sounded utterly exhausted, as if she'd pulled an all-nighter, and informed me she'd drop by the office soon.

She said she'd be here in an hour, so I hurried to wash up, finished preparing to greet her, and was sitting on the office sofa sipping coffee.

Soon, Master Moon Seon-woo entered, dripping wet, water droplets falling from her clothes.

"It's been a while, Fixer."

"Come on in...? Wait, Master, did you fall into water on the way? It's not even raining outside, but you're soaked like that..."

"There's a reason for it... but explaining would take too long... I'll skip it."

"Shall I get you a towel, then?"

"You have one? I'd be grateful."

Whether it was too embarrassing to explain or not, Master brushed it off vaguely. I handed her a towel, and she quickly wiped the water from her hair and arms.

"Thank you... Anyway, to get to the point... While participating in the academic festival, those Black Yao Society bastards tried to mess with our Yu-ha... Right?"

"Exactly. Yu-ha's sleeping in the next room right now."

She said coffee made her sick just looking at it now, so I pulled out some orange juice and handed her a glass. Master downed it like makgeolli.

Her actions and speech seemed half-asleep.

"Hah. I'm glad both you and Yu-ha are safe, Fixer. I was so busy I sent her as a substitute to the festival, and she got dragged into this... Thank you again for protecting my spiritual daughter."

"No need. It was what I had to do."

Master bowed her head in thanks, then pulled an envelope from her bosom.

"I don't have much to offer you properly..."

"No, you didn't have to go this far. Haha. I'll gratefully accept."

The envelope felt quite heavy. She was being so generous I couldn't refuse, so I quickly pocketed the money she'd given me.

"So, what's your plan now? From what I see, our protectors have mobilized too. They'll comb the country for the Black Yao Society. They'll get caught on their own... But looking at your eyes, Fixer, you plan to handle it personally."

Master Moon Seon-woo read my true intentions just from my eyes, living up to her title.

She saw right through me—I'd be taking action myself.

"Yes. I'm thinking of going after the Black Yao Society's cult leader today."

"The cult leader? You've already pinpointed his location?"

"Not perfectly, but I have a rough idea of where he might be."

"Impressive... Would you share that location with us?"

"Well..."

I had no intention of sharing the cult leader's location with others.

There were two main reasons.

First, involving other factions increased the chance we wouldn't kill him outright.

For instance, if the church joined the subjugation, they'd likely try to capture him alive.

Buddhists would hesitate to kill unless it was a yokai— they'd avoid taking life even for sinners.

The Anomaly Management Department aimed for capture, not kill, from the start. They'd hand him to Chinese authorities for profit instead.

The Lunar Blossom Sect might quietly assassinate him, but the second reason prevented bringing them along.

'According to the veteran... most companions brought to hunt the Black Yao leader end up dead.'

The leader's spells were unimaginably dangerous.

Unless you had my level of HP, sacrifices were inevitable in a fight with him. So I planned to go alone.

To take him down without casualties, I'd need to contact Chinese public security for a method, but that would take too long. The already-triggered 'Twin Ghost King Revival' event might conclude as the Black Yao Society's success.

In the current situation, infiltrating their lair alone and beheading the leader solo was best.

He wasn't even a proper opponent right now anyway.

The Black Yao leader was a mid-game boss, appearing early due to anomalies.

Probably because I cleared Cursed Mountain Lodge too fast and got the Nameless Tablet early, twisting the story and pulling the Black Yao forward.

I remembered the veteran saying it was his first time seeing this—likely due to the Baby Mode Pack.

It made me overpowered, clearing impossible quests early, causing later enemies to appear now...

Essentially, self-induced 'level scaling'.

"You plan to go alone."

"Yes. It seems the best option now. Too many people, and the leader might flee."

"If it's alright, may I accompany you, Fixer?"

"No. Looking at your state, Master... better I go solo."

"Haha... You're right; I'd just be baggage like this. Truth be told, I had no real intention. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Just politeness."

She laughed off my blunt implication that she'd be dead weight, no offense taken.

Then she sank deeper into the sofa, looking like she had no plans ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to get up. Utterly relaxed.

Like a senior handing off work to a junior, relieved not to go herself.

"Very well. You have your reasons, Fixer. I'll guard the kids and this building. Go worry-free."

"You'd do that?"

"Yes. I already laid a barrier over the whole building before entering... I'll hold it down, so don't worry... Mind if I borrow this sofa?"

"Pardon? Uh... sure."

With my permission, she sprawled out fully on the sofa.

She'd been half-dozing through our talk. Couldn't hold out anymore.

She looked like someone deprived of sleep for days.

"It's... been a week without sleep..."

"What? How does a person survive a week without sleep?"

"As you see... I'm not exactly sane right now. Jirisan has an imugi..."

"..."

Last time it was a tiger at Jangsan, now an imugi at Jirisan?

She'd been hunting disaster-class yokai on her own.

No wonder she looked so drained.

"Leave this place to me... hurry... and go..."

Master Moon Seon-woo mumbled sleepily before passing out completely. I left her sleeping and prepared to head out.

This time, only Sowol would come with me. No other companions.

"Then, I'll be off. Take care of the kids."

As I quietly bid farewell and reached for the door, the sleeping Master pointed at my ring with one last warning.

"That ring's yokai... not just calamity-class, is it?"

"Pardon...?"

"If it's disaster-class... be extra careful from now on. Soon, there'll be those who won't listen to reason."

Her warning was straightforward.

Calamity-class might be overlooked by some, but disaster-class meant attacks to eliminate Sowol.

Master didn't pry about Sowol, but not everyone would be so lenient.

Hardliners might pick fights, insisting yokai must be exorcised.

Even with her castle guardian and protector spirit traits, she was still a disaster-class threat that had harmed countless spirit arts users.

Someone would see her as a massive risk and try to remove her.

"Thanks for the advice. But no matter who comes at us, it won't be an ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠issue."

To exorcise Sowol, they'd have to kill me first.

Or eradicate all yokai and anomalies from the land for peace.

Neither seemed feasible to me.

'She's out again.'

After her final advice, Master was snoring away. I left her in the office and stepped outside.

Bungbung greeted me, wagging its wipers happily in the morning sun.

"Bungbung. We need to head to Anseong, Gyeonggi-do. Can you make it?"

Of course, I had no idea the route, so I asked Bungbung to take me. It started the engine in response.

Before I even touched the accelerator, it sped up, heading toward Anseong.

'The most likely spot where that cult leader bastard is hiding...'

Near the reservoir in Geumgwang-myeon, or the one in Gosan-myeon.

Check those first, then focus on mountain paths for private temples.

The problem: more private temples than expected. I'd probably need to scour all of Anseong today.

We luckily found the suspicious spot without much trouble.

After over three hours at Gosan Reservoir with no clues, we searched Geumgwang Reservoir and, in just ten minutes, Sowol detected someone's cries.

"Over there... we need to go that way..."

Following Sowol's guidance, we drove Bungbung up a rugged mountain dirt road for a while.

Gradually, a ornate temple hidden by trees and forest came into view.

From outside, it looked like any rural road, but inside, it reeked of a cult.

"This must be it."

Warning signs claiming private property, iron gates blocking the entrance.

Suspicious vans abandoned in the grass, growls from taoist hounds trained to attack intruders.

This was definitely it. Matched the veteran's description perfectly.

'He's down there.'

My high perception stat picked up the presences of yokai and humans swarming underground.

I could sense it now without Sowol telling me.

How many had they killed down there?

This temple was built on sin.

No—a slaughterhouse disguised as one.

'Time for them to react.'

With CCTVs everywhere, the ones monitoring from below must have noticed me.

They might try to flee. To ensure the leader couldn't escape, I'd lay some bait.

"Ahh. Not sure if you can hear me, but I've brought something you really want. See?"

I pulled out the Nameless Tablet and the Summoning Earth Spirit Tablet.

Both keys to awakening the Incinerating Ghost King.

In other words, catch me now, get the Summoning Earth Spirit Tablet to revive him, plus the Nameless Tablet as a bonus. A total win-win.

Let that go? No way.

Even knowing I killed the Three Extinction Assassins, they couldn't resist.

High chance they'd lure me deep into the lair to seize the items and kill me.

Especially if the leader was confident in his skills—he'd drag me to his home base.

That's exactly what I wanted.

'Open the entrance.'

Soon, the locked iron gate opened, and a man and woman in black robes approached from the temple.

They looked stronger than the Three ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Extinction Assassins, at least.

Sending these lunatics as protectors from the start.

Planning to kill me on the way down?

"We greet the owner of the Nameless Tablet. Black Sage invites Fixer Lee Do-hyun to the Palace of No Desires."

Palace of No Desires—a deep palace untouched by wishes.

In other words, a place even gods can't see.

Thoroughly hidden underground. No wonder no one finds it.

"Good. Let's head down."

I followed the two protectors into the temple.

Inviting a malevolent spirit into the tiger's den—I'll rampage accordingly.