Chapter 64
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 64
Chapter Title: Obstructing Official Duties
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While scanning for any stragglers by sensing presences, I spotted Elder Ok-won spinning in circles and Elder Dam-heon crawling on the ground.
"What are you two doing here! And why are you crawling on the ground!"
"W-well, gravity has inverted..."
"What kind of nonsense is that!"
"What happened was... Aaaah! It's a Jangsan Tiger!"
"What the hell are you even riding around on!"
Dam-heon fell backward in shock, while Ok-won immediately assumed an attack stance. But upon seeing me mounted on the Jangsan Tiger's back, he looked at me with utter disbelief.
There was no time for explanations, so I yelled at the two of them to hurry and climb onto the Jangsan Tiger's back.
"So, what exactly were you doing?"
"We were looking for Elder Han Ju-seong. He vanished."
"Pardon?"
"He disappeared suddenly, and we were searching for a while. Somehow, we ended up crossing into the fifth fog without him."
"And when we tried to go back, our sense of direction got all messed up, so we've been like this."
"If your sense of direction is messed up, does that mean you have to crawl on the ground?"
"N-no, it's not that..."
"Dam-heon was crawling around because he thought gravity had inverted, not just his sense of direction."
Ok-won and Dam-heon had been searching for Elder Han Ju-seong within the fifth fog.
They said that having Elder Han Ju-seong present would make conducting the ritual easier, so Grand Elder Ok-won had led the search for him.
But they ended up completely lost. From then on, Ok-won had lost his sense of direction and spent ages spinning in circles.
Meanwhile, Dam-heon had apparently half-lost his mind, screaming that gravity was acting strange.
'This is insane.'
In the fifth fog, specific senses become distorted in unpredictable ways. Fortunately, I found these two quickly before their conditions worsened.
"But if you two were stuck here like this... what happened to the Division that was following you?"
"The Division already passed us by."
"Passed you by?"
"Yes, we felt them go by from afar. They must not have been in a position to help us."
That made sense. The Grand Elder kept spinning in the same spot, and beside him, Dam-heon was face-planting into the dirt, ranting about inverted gravity.
From the Division's perspective, it was smarter to cut their losses and move on quickly.
Their mission was to ensure the Shrine Maiden faced no issues. Abandoning what they had to was the right call.
It was the correct judgment. Better to stick faithfully to their roles than force a rescue without the means and botch everything.
"They'll make it to the seventh fog on their own. I don't know the path beyond the fifth fog well anyway, so guiding them would be pointless."
"Still, Elder No G yu-myeong gave them the route. The Division won't get lost."
We had already shared the method to pierce the sixth fog, based on Elder No G yu-myeong's discovery of the manuscript 'The Pilgrim's Path through the Seven Fogs'.
If the Division had proceeded without their leaders and entered the sixth fog, they were likely already near its end.
No need to worry. The Division handles things competently without my help.
'The Division lives up to its name.'
Lunar Blossom Sect's strongest unit indeed.
With the Division safe, all that remained was rescuing the elders and getting out.
Riding the Jangsan Tiger kept the fog's anomalies at bay—they couldn't approach easily. Even if we got lost, the tigers forged ahead, making travel smooth.
Taoist Mun Seon-woo and Do-gyeom were riding Baek-hwa and Baek-seol respectively, so they'd round up the remaining elders soon.
"Let's hurry. We need to find the others."
"Got it. But is this beast okay? Its senses should be distorted too."
"Baek-un is an anomaly, so distortion just pulls it deeper in."
"Ah, right."
Mujin Mountain draws anomalies deeper, trapping and devouring them in the sixth fog.
Conversely, riding a Jangsan Tiger meant we could reach the sixth fog without issue.
"Ugh... To think I'd touch a Jangsan Tiger bare-handed..."
"Elder Dam-heon, we barely got their cooperation—watch your words. They have ears too."
"Ah, right. Sorry. Oh, there you go. Good beast... Is it good?"
"It's helping us, so yes."
"Makes sense..."
At my warning, Dam-heon quickly stroked Baek-un's fur.
Of course, one might find it repulsive. I knew it only looked cute to me.
But we'd just secured their cooperation—no need to risk souring it with careless words.
Even beast-type anomalies, low on intelligence, understood human speech.
-Whooosh.
"Huh? That sound...!"
"It's Elder Han Ju-seong! He's calling us!"
As we pushed through the fog searching for more to rescue, Elder Han Ju-seong's whistle echoed.
It spread across nearly the entire Mujin Mountain—impressive range.
"Can you turn!?"
"Baek-un, right! Full speed, don't mind us!"
We urged Baek-un toward the source.
Baek-un charged up the mountain at tremendous speed, smashing through obstructing trees.
The elders behind shouted they'd die of exhaustion, but no helping it. We had to hurry.
"Over here!"
"Fixer!"
As we neared the whistle, we saw not just Taoist Mun Seon-woo and Elder Han Ju-seong, but also Elders No G yu-myeong and Hye-gang, drawn by the sound like us.
Mun Seon-woo's mount, Baek-hwa—the smallest Jangsan Tiger I'd tamed—couldn't carry three, so they'd waited here for one of ours.
"Elder Hye-gang, hop on this one. Taoist, take Elders Han Ju-seong and No G yu-myeong."
"Understood, Fixer."
"Wait...! What about Jeong Mi-dam and Do-gyeom?"
At Hye-gang's shout seeking the still-missing Jeong Mi-dam and Lee Do-gyeom, Grand Elder Ok-won replied.
"The Fixer said he checked every presence on the way here. Jeong Mi-dam and Do-gyeom probably already crossed into the sixth fog."
"They went ahead alone? That's dangerous..."
"That's why we need to catch up fast. Leaving just those two in the sixth fog is risky."
As Ok-won said, I'd scoured the rear on the way.
I might have missed Jeong Mi-dam, but more likely, Do-gyeom found her first and overtook us.
From the start, I'd sent Mun Seon-woo and Do-gyeom toward presences on Jangsan Tigers, so I trusted Do-gyeom had rescued her.
For now, that was all we could do.
The blackened forest.
In the sixth fog—practically the last—where fog blended with darkness to obscure everything, Lee Do-gyeom screamed while clutching Baek-seol's mane.
"Th-this... this is insane..."
The sixth fog carried the attribute of eternal night.
Thus, it was perpetually shrouded in darkness, spawning illusions, hallucinations, sensory loss, and distorted voices.
All prior fogs' traits combined. With visibility near zero, it was the worst hellscape imaginable.
"Do-gyeom...! Pull yourself together!"
"El-Elder..."
Since entering the sixth fog, Lee Do-gyeom's mental strength had plummeted.
Anomalies even Jangsan Tigers avoided began crawling out, and merely glimpsing them filled Do-gyeom with anxiety and terror, gradually paralyzing his reason.
Only elder-level could maintain sanity here. Do-gyeom, not yet there, was slowly going mad as time passed.
'At this rate, this kid will die...'
Jeong Mi-dam sensed Do-gyeom's dire state.
Excessive anomaly exposure drives people insane.
Especially here—the anomalies were all disaster-class, and even their Jangsan Tiger mount eroded Do-gyeom's mind similarly.
"Hey! Do-gyeom! Snap out of it!"
"N-no more... I can't... no further..."
Sensing his mind would shatter any minute, Do-gyeom abruptly halted Baek-seol and tumbled off onto the ground.
"Do-gyeom! Damn it...!"
Anomalies swarmed.
In mental agony, Do-gyeom tremblingly drew an item from his bosom.
'If I'm dying anyway...'
Jeong Mi-dam, dismounting after him, deployed a purification array to hold Do-gyeom's crumbling mind. Aided by her, he hurled the item to the ground.
The Fixer's words echoed: Use it in a life-or-death moment.
This was it. Right now, Lee Do-gyeom rolled the die.
His mind would collapse soon anyway. Better to entrust it all to luck first.
[3]
Golden!
The Golden Rule Die rolled across the ground.
It landed on 3.
And the color was...
"Golden..."
In that instant, Do-gyeom felt his near-collapsing mind clear completely.
Even the terrifying Jangsan Tiger's face now resembled a cat's.
"Huh...?"
His vision shifted.
As if seeing the world through the Fixer's eyes, Do-gyeom began perceiving his surroundings that way.
Jeong Mi-dam watched the sudden change in Do-gyeom, imagining a mystical light in his eyes.
"Over there... We need to go that way."
"Do-gyeom, what are you saying! Anomalies are swarming there...!"
"That's the path. The anomalies are illusions. That's the only exit."
Fortune Supreme.
Do-gyeom had rolled a great fortune on the Golden Rule Die. His plummeted mental strength surged back, even revealing the true path.
Known for his luck in draws, Do-gyeom proved truly fortunate.
His eyes pierced the night's deceptions, uncovering the real way.
The rampaging anomalies were phantoms. Head there to reach the seventh fog—the final goal.
"Strength is surging through me... Elder, hop on quick. We might arrive first."
"Wh-what... Do-gyeom, what's gotten into you..."
His strength enhanced too, Do-gyeom hoisted Jeong Mi-dam onto Baek-seol and charged beyond the illusions.
Lee Do-gyeom and the Golden Rule Die were the perfect pair, piercing the sixth fog faster than the Division.
After another three hours of travel, we finally entered the last fog.
Nothing could bar riders on Jangsan Tigers, not even the fog's deceptions.
"Finally...!"
Ok-won, dismounting Baek-un, exclaimed at the shrine atop Mujin Mountain's peak.
As expected, the Division, Do-gyeom, and Elder Jeong Mi-dam had arrived ahead.
"Everyone okay?"
"Y-yes... we're fine..."
"No issues here."
The Division looked battered from forcing through solo, but Jeong Mi-dam's healing had handled first aid.
Why was Do-gyeom collapsed, though?
"Looks like a backlash from excessive divine power."
"Excessive divine power?"
"Yes. Do-gyeom used the die you gave him and found the path."
Apparently, it landed on a golden 3.
No wonder I couldn't find them scouring the sixth fog—they'd beaten us here.
'The Golden Rule Die found its true owner.'
Do-gyeom lacked skill, but with that luck, he could serve as a luck totem.
Overuse brought illness like a curse, but that was acceptable.
"Glad everyone's here safe. How's the Shrine Maiden?"
"She's alive..."
"Then let's begin immediately."
No point delaying.
Mujin Mountain was already furious enough to unleash anomalies here.
"Taoist Kang Se-yeon. Here, take this."
"...This is..."
"Nameless Talisman. The ritual will bring death's door to the Shrine Maiden. Use it at the right moment."
"Can you really give me something this precious...?"
"I'll bill Lunar Blossom Sect later, don't worry. Have you seen a Fixer work for free? I'm even thinking of dismantling your pillars, so take it without burden."
"...Understood. I'll repay this favor."
Taoist Kang Se-yeon received the Nameless Talisman.
I hoped she wouldn't need it, but she would.
What we did would enrage heaven, horrify Mujin Mountain, and terrify underworld envoys—slightly twisting the world's order.
We'd face massive interference.
We had to prevent it from claiming the Shrine Maiden's life.
She—the ritual's pivot—had to survive until a new calamity, Mujin Mountain's spirit, was born post-ritual.
"Let's start. Wake Do-gyeom, and Mun Seon-woo, help set the altar."
The elders moved efficiently.
Grand Elder Ok-won's Group 1 set the altar with the pork head Do-gyeom brought. Jeong Mi-dam's Group 2 filled vessels with water and placed three blood types in cups atop it.
Two altars prepared. Rituals would proceed simultaneously from both sides.
One, the Purification Rite to cleanse foul turbidity and right Mujin Mountain. The other, the forbidden Descent Rite named 'Shrine Inauguration Purity' to enshrine a new spirit.
Heaven might tolerate Purification, but starting Shrine Inauguration would drive it berserk.
We were crafting a god with human hands. Celestial spirits wouldn't stand idle.
Shrine Inauguration declared: We'll choose your replacement spirit ourselves. A blatant insult and provocation to the heavens.
Even if celestial spirits pitied humans and hesitated, cosmic law forced their intervention.
Without law, the world falls to chaos.
From a grand view, we were sinners defying law outright.
The elders knew—participating meant no paradise for them—yet joined anyway. I could only be grateful.
"Altars ready."
"I'll handle main shaman with Jeong Mi-dam. Han Ju-seong, you lead central musicians. Hye-gang and Dam-heon, assist. G yu-myeong, recite the shrine laws."
"Got it."
"Elders, Shrine Maiden's in the shrine. We're ready for guardian roles."
"All set... Hope we meet alive again..."
We'd reached the final act of the Mujin Mountain Normalization Project.
No deaths so far—perfect. Avoid errors in the ritual now.
Best condition. Avoided the worst of only two elders left.
I fervently wished for success.
"Then, let the ritual begin."
Grand Elder Ok-won and Jeong Mi-dam burst into spirit tongues, jumping wildly while shaking bells and blades.
Musicians drummed janggu and gongs to build fervor.
I sat at my post.
Today's role was simple.
'Gatekeeper and lightning rod.'
Heaven would rage, the land fury.
Celestial punishment would fall.
I'd bear it.
The elders' ritual couldn't falter.
Nor could the Shrine Maiden withstand punishment now.
Thus, I'd become the lightning rod.
The Division would guard alongside, sharing the burden.
Someone had to tank to minimize shock to elders and Maiden.
Endure, then unseal the Ghost Kings at the right moment. In Shrine Inauguration's climax, release them to suppress Mujin Mountain. Hold till then.
'The underworld messengers should crawl out soon.'
The Division was stretched facing heaven and mountain simultaneously—no capacity for reapers too.
So I'd block the reapers. And I had the perfect method.
From time immemorial, household gods repelled underworld messengers.
"Sowol. Let's claim the site."
Sowol emerged from the ring, kneeling beside me in prayer.
Her domain now encompassed the ritual and shrine. I drew lines on the ground, inscribed the seal's pattern, and erected the barrier.
This line was now my home. None could enter uninvited. They couldn't call names from the ledgers without passing me.
With premier household god Sowol claiming turf, they wouldn't cross the threshold easily...
I prayed so.
Difficulty: Unknown.
Foundation and exorcism: Unknown.
No strategy or affinity shown.
Backed by worldly law, guiding the due to the underworld... netherworld bureaucrats.
"I'm truly sorry, but I'll have to obstruct your official duties for a bit."
I hadn't sensed them.
Three envoys now stood before me. I bowed in apology.
Honestly, far scarier than any anomaly I'd faced.
But I had to block them.
Only I could stop three underworld messengers.