The Sack-Carrying Grandfather's Tale
The mangtaegi of Mangtae Grandfather. An old-fashioned bag designed to carry and hold all sorts of things. The size of a mangtaegi depends on the maker's heart, but like most relics from the old days, it is far larger than a modern handbag meant only for a phone or cosmetics. How large? Large enough to fit a small child inside with room to spare.
Who in their right mind would walk around with a child stuffed in a bag? Shockingly, such a madman does exist. The ancient monster known as Mangtae Grandfather is precisely that lunatic.
"Children who don't listen will be taken away by Mangtae Grandfather!"
It was a folktale passed down among the people, an urban legend. Unfortunately, Mangtae Grandfather is a very real yokai. What's more, he's one you can actually meet here in the Hidden World of Jirisan.
Every now and then, the old man would personally visit the tree where I'd made my nest and throw flirtatious glances my way. Asking if I wouldn't like to climb into his sack. Naturally, I couldn't possibly welcome a crazy old pervert obsessed with little kids. He might have been friendly toward me, but I was anything but friendly toward him.
Ironically, now that I desperately needed clues about the Taeja Shin-gi, I found myself trudging all over this vast Hidden World on foot, searching for him. Meeting him was obviously unpleasant, but it still felt better than asking Sangun about it.
It didn't take long before I managed to locate Mangtae Grandfather. As expected, living a long time really does have its perks. Who would've thought I'd actually feel glad to see the old sack-carrying pervert?
I approached him and greeted him casually.
"Hey, Grandpa Mangtae."
"Heh heh heh."
"Gramps, I've got something to ask you."
"Heh heh heh. Where is this vulgar little fox whelp barking from, I wonder?"
"...What?"
His completely unexpected tone left me stunned for a moment. He paid no attention to my reaction and continued.
"Heh heh heh. Not beautiful at all... I have no business with you, so begone at once, filthy fox yokai."
"...Gramps, do you seriously not know who I am? Haven't you heard any news about me?"
"Of course I know. The six-tailed fox yokai named Miho, yes? Ugh... Just saying the name makes me nauseous. Begone at once."
He knew exactly who I was, yet he was responding this coldly? I feel a bit awkward saying this myself, but the usual Mangtae Grandfather would've welcomed me with open arms. He was a crazy old man obsessed with children, and I usually looked like a little girl no older than ten at best.
This is ridiculous. Just because my appearance changed, his attitude toward me flipped a complete one-eighty. I kept trying to talk to him, but he eventually lost all interest and started treating me like I didn't even exist.
Left with no choice, I had to pull my tails back in.
Because of the demonic energy raging inside my body, it wasn't easy. I started by pulling in one tail. My height shrank a little and my chest became smaller.
"Heh heh heh..."
But Mangtae Grandfather still didn't react to me. With no other option, I forced another tail back in. My height shrank even more, and my chest became practically flat. I now looked like a young girl who'd just entered middle school, still carrying a bit of baby fat.
"Heh heh heh."
However. This perverted old monster obsessed with children still wouldn't react to me. What a lecherous old geezer.
Cursing him inwardly, I steeled myself for the backlash and pulled in one more tail. The intense demonic energy condensed somewhere inside me made my breathing ragged. It was so hard to even stay on my feet that my legs gave out completely, and I collapsed rather dramatically onto the ground.
"Oh dear!"
Mangtae Grandfather hurried over with what sounded like genuine concern.
"Are you alright, Miho? Are you hurt anywhere? This old man will support you, so give me your hand."
"Haa... haa... Gramps, do you realize how disgusting you are?"
"Heh heh heh. Your mouth is particularly foul today, Miho. But even that is part of your charm. Heh heh heh."
Even while panting, I slapped away the hand he offered. What a crazy old pervert with a lolita complex.
Maintaining this state wasn't easy, so I hurriedly got to the main point with Grandpa Mangtae.
"Gramps, I have something I need to ask you."
"Ask me anything, my pretty little child."
"...Gramps, by any chance."
Thump. Thump-thump.
"Have you ever heard of a book called the Taeja Shin-gi?"
Thump. Thump. Thump-thump-thump.
I was nervous. I was ready to instantly release all six tails and run away from him if things went south. Just like how Janghwa Hyeonyo the singing tree had turned into a screaming tree, I worried that merely mentioning the Taeja Shin-gi might turn this old man into a malevolent spirit as well.
Fortunately, my worries proved groundless.
"Heh heh. The Taeja Shin-gi, what a nostalgic name... It's been five hundred years since I last heard it."
At Mangtae Grandfather's reaction, my face lit up as I asked,
"Oh, so you do know about it?"
"Of course. Not only do I know of it, I once even possessed a copy myself. Not just me—every yokai alive in that era knew about the Taeja Shin-gi and owned one."
As I thought. Asking Mangtae Grandfather instead of Sangun about the Taeja Shin-gi had been the right choice.
I immediately asked him what kind of book the Taeja Shin-gi actually was. Since he was unusually friendly toward me, he explained everything without hesitation.
The Taeja Shin-gi was a mystical tome written by Dueoksini, the demigod and King of Goblins. Dueoksini was a goblin with two faces—one good and one evil. The book known as the Taeja Shin-gi had been written by his benevolent side.
For reasons unknown, Dueoksini's good side had used his subordinate goblins to widely distribute the Taeja Shin-gi to every yokai living in that era.
According to Mangtae Grandfather, the yokai of that time were utterly barbaric. They endlessly craved food, killed humans for pleasure, and constantly turned on their own kind in an age of pure savagery.
"But everything changed with the appearance of the Taeja Shin-gi. Heh heh heh... The Taeja Shin-gi that Dueoksini's good side left for us contained the truths of life, and also..."
"...and the knowledge of ascension, right?"
"Exactly. As expected, Miho really is a clever child. The methods of ascension varied, but what the Taeja Shin-gi presented to us yokai was truly both truth and hope. Heh heh heh..."
"..."
"What is it, Miho?"
"Something feels off. You said the Taeja Shin-gi was written by the good side of that goblin king called Dueoksini."
"That is correct."
But. The method of ascension that the Taeja Shin-gi had presented to that blue fox spirit.
Devour the livers of one thousand human males.
No matter how you looked at it, that wasn't a good deed. It was an utterly heinous atrocity.
"What method of ascension did the Taeja Shin-gi give you, Gramps? Don't tell me it was something like kidnapping a thousand human children..."
"No. Regrettably, this old man was not chosen by the Taeja Shin-gi. Only an extremely small number of yokai were selected. The role the Taeja Shin-gi gave this old man was simply to be a loyal subject."
"Then the yokai who succeeded in ascending..."
"Not a single one. Even I don't know why they failed to ascend, Miho."
"..."
I asked Mangtae Grandfather more about the Taeja Shin-gi, but what he'd already told me was the full extent of his knowledge. I fell into thought for a moment.
I had a rough idea why those yokai had failed their ascension.
The blue fox spirit had said that right as she was on the verge of ascending, she encountered the King of Yuldo and had all her demonic energy stolen. Coincidence? I didn't think so. The timing was far too perfect to be mere chance.
It wouldn't be a stretch to assume that the King of Yuldo had deliberately prevented the blue fox spirit's ascension.
The problem was why.
Why would he stop their ascension? The word "ascension" clearly carried a sacred, benevolent, and positive image. So why had the King of Yuldo intentionally blocked the yokai from ascending? And why was a book written by the "good side" of the goblin king Dueoksini filled with methods of ascension that were nothing but heinous evil deeds?
I had no idea.
If even a single goblin were still alive in this Hidden World, I would've threatened or persuaded them somehow to get answers. Unfortunately, the King of Yuldo had completely wiped out the entire goblin race.
Damn it. Nothing gets cleanly resolved, does it?
It looked like I'd have to see this Taeja Shin-gi book with my own eyes if I wanted to find any clues.
"So, where is it?"
"What are you talking about, Miho? Heh heh heh."
"The Taeja Shin-gi. You said you used to have it. Where is it now? And why are you speaking in the past tense?"
"It's gone. By now, there is probably not a single yokai in the modern world who possesses the Taeja Shin-gi, Miho. Heh heh heh."
"Why? It's not like the book grew legs and walked away. How badly did you all manage it that an entire book could just vanish overnight?"
"Exactly."
"...What?"
"The Taeja Shin-gi disappeared overnight, Miho. Heh heh heh."
Mangtae Grandfather's old story continued.
"One day. The evil side of Dueoksini—Eoduksini—awakened."
"It was an existence that heralded the end. A being that announced the conclusion of an era."