Chapter 57
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 57
Chapter Title: The Revelation's Answer
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I left the garden of the Lunar Blossom Sect's main hall with a lingering unease, descending the mountain alongside Taoist Master Mun Seon-woo.
Since the moment Hayul's seal had been broken, Master Mun Seon-woo had been unconscious the whole time and hadn't heard the conversation between me and the Oracle. As we made our way down the mountain path, he asked about everything that had happened.
I skipped over most of the details and simply said I'd earned the right to beat up the Elder Council. The master reacted like he'd heard the most absurd story imaginable.
"So, you're saying the Oracle asked you, a Fixer, to monitor the elders' corruption—even if it means beating them senseless? Does that even make sense?"
"It doesn't make sense to me either. No, actually—what doesn't make sense is the elders charging at me without thinking. What the hell is wrong with those people? Are they insane?"
"They might really be out of their minds. I can't stand the elders either. The way they picked on Yu-ha and all... They've always been rotten to the core."
Taoist Master Mun Seon-woo nodded in agreement with my words, affirming that the elders were indeed madmen.
"But why would the Oracle decide to leave reforming the Elder Council to you, a Fixer, instead of handling it herself? Especially when you're already entangled in the oracle. It's strange. I just don't get it."
"Doesn't make sense, right? Yeah, I don't get it either."
The Oracle had judged herself incapable of handling it and dumped the normalization of the Elder Council on me, an outsider. It could be seen as an admission of her own incompetence.
Part of me wondered if it even made sense, but seeing her current state, it did. She was struggling.
Handing me the right to thrash the elders might have been a desperate attempt to lighten her load as much as possible. It was so heavy she felt like it would crush her to death. That's why she'd turned to me for help.
'If the Oracle were in good shape, those elder bastards wouldn't have dared act up like that.'
The Oracle's time awake was extremely limited. She'd apparently selected the elders to handle everything in her stead and kept things running that way until now. But those elders had become the problem.
Stagnant water always turns foul, after all.
Perhaps the Oracle had judged that if things continued, the Lunar Blossom Sect would meet its end in the hands of the current elders—and that's why she'd granted me this authority.
"How on earth has the Lunar Blossom Sect even stayed organized this long? The Oracle is basically a vegetable who could die any moment, and the elders below her are completely out of control, doing whatever they please. Is the sect really okay like this?"
"Huh? Wait a minute, Fixer. A vegetable? You mean the Oracle is in a vegetative state? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, you wouldn't know, Master. From what I saw, the Oracle is completely out of it. She couldn't even get out of bed. She was in a state where dying at any moment wouldn't be surprising. It was pitiful, really. She seemed to be holding on by sheer will alone. Honestly, if she wanted to die, she could probably go anytime."
She was only clinging to her duties out of a sense of responsibility.
In my eyes, the Oracle wasn't in a normal state at all.
Neither physically nor mentally—she was shattered to a heartbreaking degree.
Taoist Master Mun Seon-woo, who had been unaware of the Oracle's condition until now, wore a look of profound shock at my repeated statements.
The fact that the Oracle was essentially a walking corpse on the verge of death, barely able to stay awake and spending most of her days asleep, was known only to the Elder Council, the shrine maidens, and me.
Frankly, there was no benefit to spreading it around. I'd only told Master Mun Seon-woo because I trusted him.
[Status: Worry, Anxiety, Restlessness]
The master's condition had deteriorated sharply.
Not only was the organization he'd devoted his life to in peril, but the future of the nation itself seemed uncertain, leaving him mentally cornered.
'Truth be told, I'm the same. I had no idea things were this precarious.'
If the Oracle died, Mujin Mountain would turn into a catastrophe-level anomaly and go berserk, releasing all the disaster-level anomalies trapped here.
Mujin City would be exposed to the world as is, and the shamans tied to this place would scatter in search of their own survival.
The biggest problem would be the loss of a central figure for the shamans.
Beyond that, the anomalies in rural areas and remote regions that the Lunar Blossom Sect had been handling would go unaddressed, breeding even stronger malevolent entities that would cause chaos everywhere.
Some might even abandon everything and flee the land altogether.
Even now, churches were struggling with priest shortages, and Buddhism was facing crises because fewer people wanted to become monks.
If things worsened further... there might be no one left willing to fight evil.
It was the worst-case scenario.
Hope would vanish.
The light might go out.
No matter how courageous a person was, they could do nothing against endless despair.
"Still, Fixer, how could you just let it slide? I figured you'd turn the shrine upside down."
"Once I saw the Oracle's condition, I couldn't even get mad—it was too pitiful. The elders piss me off, sure, but the Oracle's a woman who's spent her life in selfless service without receiving anything in return. Yelling at her wouldn't change a thing, so I just took the letter of authorization and called it done."
Deep down, I wanted to give her a solid flick on the forehead hard enough to raise a bump, but if I did that, she'd probably drop dead.
What was scarier was that the Oracle might secretly be hoping for exactly that.
She might want to shrug off her heavy burdens, escape into death, and gain her freedom.
The Oracle couldn't die yet. Sorry, but her role wasn't over.
"Huh? Did you just say you received a letter of authorization?"
"Yeah. The Oracle said she's sorry for using me and gave me the letter."
"I've never heard of a letter of authorization being given to an outsider before. She must really like you, Fixer."
"Seems like it. She chattered on endlessly."
As the master said, the Oracle did seem to like me a lot. She'd properly apologized for feeling sorry, and begged me several times to understand because it was a request.
Come to think of it, the Oracle had been so excited she was practically spitting blood as she talked.
Looking back, the content of our conversation felt like a child's tantrum.
She'd poured out to me how hard things were for her, why the world was in such chaos, and why the elders wouldn't listen. She wanted praise for her efforts and sympathy for her pain.
Now that I thought about it, maybe she was roundaboutly saying she couldn't hold on any longer.
Of course. She'd endured countless ages of suffering for Mujin Mountain and this land. It was only natural she'd want to let go and rest now.
Her life had been nothing but pain since her lifespan ended long ago. I could understand the Oracle's feelings—she was putting in more effort than necessary, like Emperor Hwang Hee wanting to retire.
Knowing that, I'd just listened to her complaints and nodded along.
Responsibility isn't infinite. And there was no reason for the Oracle to bear the weight of our lives.
The Oracle was in a state where she could abandon Mujin Mountain at any time. But she endured because of her 'kind heart' that wanted to save humanity.
Even though she had no need to impress me, she'd kept explaining the circumstances of this incident and begging for my understanding.
Even though it was a situation where I needed to manage her favorability so it wouldn't drop, the Oracle had instead apologized to me and promised compensation.
Of course I had to show her respect. With things at the point where I needed to beg her to endure just a bit more agony, how could I treat her roughly?
Her very existence was the bulwark of the Korean Peninsula. And as the Oracle herself said, I wasn't the kind of cute girl Mujin Mountain would like, so I couldn't take her place carrying its burden.
I had no right to criticize the Oracle for picking up our log when she couldn't properly manage Mujin Mountain herself.
She was already shouldering the peninsula like Atlas, doing everything she could. Demanding she carry the log properly on top of that would be too shameless. I'm not a psychopath.
So I forgave her. Once I knew how much she was suffering.
If she declared she was done and tossed aside the massive Mujin Mountain log, saying oracles and prophecies be damned, we'd be the ones at a loss.
'This is a mess. Things are royally screwed up. No clear solution in sight.'
This was what they called a total crisis.
The corrupt spirit arts users I'd encountered at the academic festival? Just kill them all. Most were criminals trying to kill me anyway.
The Black Night Society's cult leader and executives? Simple—kill them. They were villains who were almost too easy to kill.
But the broken Oracle of the Lunar Blossom Sect and the elders thrashing about like they couldn't abandon the sinking ship? They were extremely, incredibly tricky to deal with.
Killing them all wouldn't solve anything. They weren't unambiguous villains to begin with. With good and evil so blurred, it was a massive headache.
If the Lunar Blossom Sect collapsed, my workload would multiply dozens of times. I needed to find a solution while the Oracle was still barely holding on... but no solution was in sight.
'Maintain Mujin Mountain as is, replace the Oracle, purge the elders... Is there a way? Why is the difficulty this high? This is hardcore mode, right? It was supposed to be Baby Mode Pack...'
Did killing the mid-boss Black Night Society leader too quickly spike the difficulty?
No, that actually seems the most plausible. I'm too good, so the difficulty is scaling up automatically. Nothing else explains it.
This is driving me crazy. Pondering how to fix the current situation, the problems feel too vast and complex—it's disorienting.
I had no idea where to even start.
The difficulty is too high. Can't they just give me absolute evil I can kill guilt-free?
Why throw me into this dilemma?
"It's bleak. No answers."
"I agree... The biggest issue is that despite not knowing when it'll blow up, we haven't found a single replacement for the Oracle all this time."
How could that be? Over those endless ages of suffering, they must have searched for new Oracle candidates.
The Oracle had openly said she'd tried every method available.
That meant countless candidates had emerged—and all failed.
In the end, the problem was Mujin Mountain's stubbornly picky tastes.
"That damn Mujin Mountain. Obsessive freak... This is all because the mountain's tastes are so damn particular. Why fixate so hard on one Oracle and refuse to let go? Sigh..."
Young shamans lined up to become the Oracle, but the mountain's obsession with Haun was the real issue.
Of course, it had helped humanity greatly, but its unwavering pure love was the problem.
Why cling so hard to Haun Oracle? First love? Can't accept any other?
The Oracle's words about anomalies' love being heavy suddenly made sense. It was so heavy it was killing everyone.
The most vital Oracle was on the verge of breaking, Mujin Mountain was a pure-love pedo fixated on Haun, the elders needed purging—and there were no talents to fill the gaps.
The Lunar Blossom Sect was at the edge of a cliff.
At this point, should I just let it collapse? It feels fated to...
No, that won't do. If this place falls, the other groups will follow like dominoes. Then I'd be hunting anomalies day and night without rest.
Like Master Mun Seon-woo, working 365 days a year nonstop—and it still wouldn't be enough. If the balance collapses, the peninsula is done for.
Above all, to protect my work-life balance, the bulwark needed to hold firm.
The elders being unlikeable or the Oracle's actions not sitting right—that wasn't the issue.
If I couldn't fix the Lunar Blossom Sect on the brink of collapse right now, everything was over.
The Lunar Blossom Sect needed extreme reform.
"If the Oracle's condition is as dire as you say, Fixer, then the sect is barely holding on by a thread. But we have no idea what kind of person Mujin Mountain wants. What do we do?"
"No clue here either. Can't even talk to Mujin Mountain. I might disappoint you this time, Master."
"No, disappoint? Don't say that. If you give up, who'll solve this?"
"True... Yeah, you're right."
Yes, the master was right. I was a Fixer.
Even in the worst situations, I had to find the answer.
But could I find the perfect solution this time too?
I wasn't confident.
I needed a hint. Or a clue.
The board was set.
I knew what the problems were, and vaguely what needed fixing.
But not how to fix them.
If just one more clue came my way, I felt like I'd see the path.
-You're at an important crossroads.
As doubt began creeping into my mind, the Silent Sea Ghost King—who'd been silent until now—finally spoke.
It was a completely serious voice, unlike when he'd been craving crab meat.
"An important crossroads?"
"Yes?"
"Ah, I was communicating with the Ghost King."
"I see. Sorry about that."
I told the apologetic Taoist Master Mun Seon-woo it was fine, then asked Hayul again.
"What do you mean by 'important crossroads'?"
-Exactly as it sounds. I don't know what it is, but... there's a feeling of a massive current that led you here...
"A massive current?"
-Yes. Something beyond the perception of lowly creatures... Right, humans call this 'fate'...
"Fate..."
-An irresistible flow dragged you here... but the choice is yours. Will you ride the currents of fate and drift along? Or will you pierce through fate's raging torrent and forge ahead? You must choose. For humans can shape their own futures...
With that, Hayul fell silent again.
Her words were profoundly meaningful.
'Important crossroads. The fate given to me... and the flow. Get swept away? Or break through.'
If I went with the flow and got swept away, the story would end there.
But if I broke through the torrent, I'd reach a new destination.
A shift in thinking. I needed to take the path no one else would.
The path only I could walk...
'Fate led me here. And at the center of that fate is the Oracle's revelation. Here, I saw the fragile Oracle and the deranged elders. Maybe this is...'
Suddenly, I recalled the day I'd exorcised the demon Andromalius with Sister Shin Seo-hyeon.
That day, I'd been convinced Father Kang Yo-han wouldn't survive.
But after all the battles, he pulled through.
That's when I felt it—a miracle.
Yes, God definitely exists.
It's just that His light doesn't reach everywhere.
Like how light never entered the Wuyuan Heart Palace.
No matter how great a god, He couldn't illuminate every shadow in the world.
So maybe fate had led me to the lightless Wuyuan Heart Palace.
Because I could illuminate even that.
In my own way. With methods only I could use.
The same held now. Mujin City needed light too.
"Ah."
I got it.
I finally understood the meaning of the revelation.
Anomalies weren't enemies that had to be eliminated.
Not all anomalies hated humanity either.
Mujin Mountain was still confined to the realm of 'anomaly.'
And I'd already turned one anomaly into a 'god' once before.
Sowol was the clue.
The catastrophe was twofold.
But the third reveals itself.
When the moon waxes and wanes six times.
The boundary forgets its initial restraint.
Above and below merge with this and that,
Sharing blood and calling to each other.
Those without precepts
Forget their names and walk into the reverse side.
The unified land
Becomes unified ash.
The one who opens the door walks the human path
Proclaiming God's will and humanity's salvation.
Yet he is not human,
And those who follow him are not human either.
"The catastrophe was twofold."
"But the third reveals itself."
"When the moon waxes and wanes six times."
"The boundary forgets its initial restraint."
"Above and below merge with this and that,"
"Sharing blood and calling to each other."
"Those without precepts"
"Forget their names and walk into the reverse side."
"The unified land"
"Becomes unified ash."
"The one who opens the door walks the human path"
"Proclaiming God's will and humanity's salvation."
"Yet he is not human,"
"And those who follow him are not human either."
This wasn't a warning at all.
It was the answer.
The answer to save everyone.
'The only way to rebuild the crumbling Lunar Blossom Sect.'
Mujin City was built on the Oracle's shed blood and suffering.
Now was the time to change its very nature.
The winds of change are blowing.
This is a city of fog, veiled even from the eyes of heaven.
A place God cannot see.
There was a clear reason fate's flow sent me here.
And a clear reason the elders desperately tried to seal my power.
They must have realized it too. The approaching future. And what they had to bear.
"It's not about stopping it. I need to bring it to birth..."
"Pardon? Birth what?"
"Oh, nothing... Just that my eyes are finally opening a bit, Master."
"You seem to have gained some enlightenment through your conversation with the Ghost King?"
"Yeah, you could say that. The doubts and delusions inside me have faded a little. I need to do what only I can... That was the answer."
The delusions were gone.
I finally grasped why heaven sent me to this place.
The Silent Sea Ghost King's words had been a huge help.
I couldn't drift along with the massive flow called fate.
That would mean the Lunar Blossom Sect's destruction.
So, I had to pierce the torrent and advance.
A new direction. To a place no one goes, in my own way.
Was it my realization that triggered it?
A quest appeared before my eyes.
[Protect the Lunar Blossom Sect from Collapse]
Protect the Lunar Blossom Sect on the verge of collapse.
It was an insanely difficult quest, but since it was given, I had to complete it.
I couldn't do this alone.
I knew the destination but lacked the skills to get there.
In the end, I needed the elders' help. Even if it meant grabbing the disobedient ones and beating them into submission.
Fortunately, I already had the justification to do so.
As soon as dawn broke, I'd head back to the Lunar Blossom Shrine.
I had to enact the revelation before it was too late.