Chapter 102
Translator: uly
Chapter: 102
Chapter Title: Lycanthrope (5)
“Shut up! The Dokkaebi grandpa said you have to swear loyalty to me!”
Eun Na-rae’s shout made the wolf inside the fan burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Well, no helping it then. Just die right here.”
Eun Na-rae kicked the lunging wolf aside, sending it tumbling, then rushed to rescue Il-han and the motel owner. As she did, she called out to the wolf in the fan.
“What are you gonna do if you come out?”
“Chase those bastards off.”
“And then?”
Eun Na-rae kept asking as she saved Il-han and the motel owner and took up position beside Dong-su.
Fortunately, the four wolves that had burst into the funeral home were all subdued, but there were still over a dozen more blocking the entrance, growling menacingly.
Standing by Dong-su and peering outside, Eun Na-rae spotted the car Mi-seon was in.
The wolves were swarming toward Mi-seon—she was in grave danger.
“And then? Hm… Now that I think about it, even if I do get out of here, I’ve got nowhere to eat or sleep. What a headache. Nah, I’ll just stay in this fan.”
It had been captured near Jirisan Mountain while preying on human livestock, only to be hunted down by dokkaebi and grim reapers. No place to stay or food to hunt out there anymore—it seemed utterly indifferent now.
Eun Na-rae blinked in confusion at the wolf’s response.
“Why?”
“My direwolf clan’s already extinct. Thinking about it, there’s no decent life for me out there. Working my ass off like a human just to eat? That’d bruise my pride…”
“Swear loyalty to me! I’ll give you a place to stay and food!”
The fan shuddered violently at Eun Na-rae’s cry.
“Fine! Contract sealed. I’ll pledge my loyalty to you, so you bust your ass working and bring me a home and meat faithfully!”
It was an odd pact.
“Woman, call my name three times, then open the fan and swing it! I am the great direwolf, Shrecken!”
Shrecken—in German, it meant “to terrify with fright.”
* * * *
Gray eyes, long silver hair, a muscular naked body draped only in a red carpet—that man burst out of the funeral home and into Mi-seon’s view.
This hulking brute charged straight through the pack of dogs, ignoring their attacks, and barreled right toward the car she was in.
Flesh was being torn from his neck and legs by the dogs’ bites.
Thud!
Even as they mauled him, the man slammed both hands onto the roof of the back seat where Mi-seon sat, leaning down to peer through the window.
The man had only wrapped the red carpet around his upper body—his lower half was completely exposed.
Mi-seon found the man just as terrifying as the dog pack.
“Hey, human woman! Put that knife back in its sheath. Now.”
The silver-haired foreigner spoke with perfect pronunciation.
For Mi-seon, who trusted only this tiny knife, it was an absurd demand.
Mi-seon shook her head fiercely and yelled at him.
“No way! Stay back! Get lost! If you don’t, I’ll stab you full of holes with this!”
The man stared at her through the window in disbelief for a moment before bellowing.
“You dare… Human woman! Do you want to die? Sheath that knife and you live. Refuse, and you die. Decide!”
As the man shouted even louder, Mi-seon gripped the knife tight and shook it at him, yelling back.
“Get lost! You get lost!”
* * * *
A massive gray wolf sprang from the fan, stretched out luxuriously, then transformed into a naked man and stood proudly before Eun Na-rae.
“Oh my god!”
Eun Na-rae yelped, and the magpie flapped its wings, squawking.
“Why’d you let that troublemaker out?”
Dong-su glanced at the man amid the magpie’s cries, frowned, snatched up the red carpet from the floor, and tossed it to him.
Wolves attacked Dong-su even then, and Eun Na-rae rushed in to help fend them off.
“Out of the way! I, Shrecken, will clear the path.”
The man, now draped in the red carpet, smashed through the glass and charged out into the midst of the wolves, standing tall.
The wolves crowding the funeral home entrance all lunged at him.
“Weren’t they wolves… Why’s he human?”
The magpie flew to Eun Na-rae’s head and pecked at it as it answered her question.
“That’s a direwolf, extinct for ten thousand years! It can shapeshift like a kumiho, but it’s got low intelligence—total pain in the ass.”
Shrecken had chosen a human form to retain his reason; as a direwolf, only feral instincts remained, and he might even attack Eun Na-rae.
Dong-su ignored the magpie’s chatter and stepped forward now that a path had opened outside the funeral home.
“Don’t come out. I’ll hold the front.”
The magpie flew back to his shoulder at his words.
“Fine! He swore loyalty anyway, so let’s trust him.”
Impatient Shrecken was already dashing into the fray among the wolves.
Seeing how dire the situation was, Dong-su turned to Eun Na-rae, who had followed him, and urged her.
“Reporter Eun, stay here. I don’t know what those things are, but there’s a lot of them. I’ll go get the girl in the car.”
With calm resolve, Dong-su summoned cat spirits and positioned them in front of Eun Na-rae.
Four calf-sized cat spirits looked quite reliable.
These were all the animal spirits he could command nearby.
Il-han, seeing the cat spirits for the first time, freaked out in shock, but Dong-su just gave him a quick glance and strode forward.
“Baek Dong-su’s dead, right? What’s going on?”
Il-han asked from behind Eun Na-rae.
He must’ve been scared of the calf-sized cat spirits.
“Him? Where’s he been hiding? You got a cat allergy or something?”
Eun Na-rae’s response to Il-han’s question was just a scolding instead of an answer.
Five or six wolves turned toward the advancing Dong-su and lunged.
* * * *
Shrecken, who had rushed to Mi-seon first, was drenched in blood, his body torn to shreds by the wolves—he looked more savage than they did.
“No, this human woman… That’s your decision…? Sheath the damn knife already!”
“I said no! Get lost!”
As the two bickered, the magpie flew to Shrecken’s shoulder and yelled at Mi-seon.
“Hey! Did you summon these mutts too? Sheath the knife now! Why do you keep calling weird shit?”
Mi-seon hadn’t summoned this dog pack, but she still felt unfairly scolded and upset by the magpie—yet its words were weirdly hard to defy.
“Okay, got it.”
Mi-seon replied in a deflated voice and sheathed the knife just as the wolves—dogs in her eyes—piled onto Shrecken.
“Argh! That hurts like hell!”
The clever magpie flew off Shrecken’s shoulder and back to Dong-su.
“Rookie! Too many wolves. That walking disaster woman must’ve called them!”
Dong-su didn’t even look at the incoming magpie as he asked.
“Wolves went extinct on the peninsula, though. What are these things?”
Even as he spoke, Dong-su dodged the wolves’ fangs attacking him, holding the line in front of the funeral home.
Around him, the four cat spirits tangled with the wolves in a chaotic melee.
“You saw the lycan in the holding cell! Monster gorilla! Humans turning into beasts.”
“Ah! So these are humans turned into wolves. And that one’s a wolf turned human. Confusing. Real confusing.”
He pointed at Shrecken in human form.
“Yeah… Kinda confusing, huh.”
Even the magpie found the situation pretty unfamiliar.
“Anyway, wild stuff. But doesn’t getting bit by a werewolf turn you into one?”
Spirit energy kept rising from Dong-su’s body where the wolves had bitten him.
The magpie nodded at Dong-su’s question.
“Yep. Either get eaten dead, or turn werewolf.”
“Then what about him? Isn’t that dangerous? He charged in like an idiot and got bit a ton.”
Dong-su extended his index finger toward Shrecken, buried under the wolves.
He wanted to rush over and save him, but Dong-su’s own situation left no room.
Some of the wolves piling on Shrecken turned, blocking Dong-su’s path and growling.
“He’s a wolf shapeshifted into human, so no turning werewolf—he’ll just die.”
“Damn, isn’t he supposed to be pretty tough? You hyping him up for nothing?”
Only then did the magpie grasp the situation and start chattering.
“No. He’s dumb as rocks, but really strong. Doesn’t listen to anyone.”
* * * *
The funeral home in front of the Gangnam hospital was swarming with dozens of wolves.
The midnight commotion had people pouring out of the building, but they only peeked from the lobby, cowed by the aura of Dong-su’s summoned cat spirits.
Five wolves bared their teeth, threatening Dong-su as he advanced to rescue Shrecken and Mi-seon.
“Got bit by a dog as a kid, so I hate dogs. Really hate ‘em. Hate the owners too, who swear their dog never bites. Anyway, hate ‘em!”
Dong-su muttered irritably as he lashed out with a kick at the wolf blocking him.
Real emotion laced his tone.
“Listen, rookie! They didn’t come ‘cause they like you. Their barking’s annoying as hell—let’s wrap this up quick.”
The magpie on his shoulder smacked Dong-su’s head with its wing, urging him on.
He hated dogs, but the magpie was no picnic either.
“Touch my head one more time, and I’ll feed you to the dogs.”
The magpie ignored Dong-su’s threat.
“Gonna fight with your mouth? Grab some wolves already! Move the corpses in the funeral home. Hurry!”
“No corpses! I’ll handle it.”
Dong-su stepped forward at the magpie’s prodding.
As he moved, the wolves lowered into attack stance, growling.
They’d charge any second.
Dong-su’s mind raced—he had to find Seol-mi.
Dong-su charged first.
Rooaaar.
The wolves’ howls echoed through the parking lot as over a dozen near Mi-seon’s sedan shot into the air like a fountain.
Dong-su charging at the wolves—and the wolves blocking him—both froze, eyes locked on the airborne wolves.
“Ow! Hurts! They really tore into me.”
Shrecken, mauled into a wretched state by the wolves, hauled himself up, muttering.
The encircling wolves saw his disheveled silver hair and pounced again.
This time, Shrecken didn’t back down—he charged them, kicking the lead wolf flying.
“You insolent mutts.”
Even his cheek was gouged, oozing blood where a wolf had bitten.
With Shrecken’s comeback shifting the tide oddly, the dozen wolves blocking Dong-su turned and rushed him instead.
Dong-su, poised to strike those same wolves, just deflated.
“What? He… got bit by lycans and he’s fine?”
“See? Told you he’s awesome!”
The magpie spread its wings to block Dong-su as he tried to pursue the wolves.
Somehow, the magpie’s words didn’t match up.
Shockingly, Shrecken’s torn body had already healed spotless, without a scratch.
“Did he become a werewolf?”
Dong-su figured Shrecken’s regen came from the bites.
The magpie eyed Shrecken closely, then murmured.
“He’s a pure direwolf to begin with…”
Even the magpie didn’t seem sure.
“He’s a wolf originally, but he’s not turning wolf and fighting.”
“That’s up to him. I don’t know why.”
Shrecken had stayed human to avoid going berserk and possibly attacking Eun Na-rae—they couldn’t guess that.
“Regeneration too, huh?”
Dong-su pressed as the magpie’s explanation fell short.
“Something like that, probably. Heard of direwolves but first time seeing one. Anyway, way above lycans. Amazing!”
“Yeah? Perfect. Alright! Magpie, guide me to hell.”
If Shrecken was as great as the magpie said, Dong-su could leave this to him and go search for Seol-mi.