Mangtae Grandfather's Ancient Tale (1)
In the very distant past, long, long ago. All yokai were nothing more than beasts. They felt pure ecstasy from killing humans. They filled the empty parts of their lives by tearing into and devouring human flesh. They were beasts, plain and simple.
In modern times, there are certainly a few yokai who possess what we call hearts, but back then it was different. Their only purpose was to kill humans.
Rumors spread of a blue fox spirit that went around ripping out and eating the livers of human men. Tales of a house-sized python that spewed deadly poison. Stories about a grotesque creature with a bird's body and a human face that tore off and devoured the facial skin of villagers. And then there were the rumors about some crazy old man who kidnapped crying children.
Rumors everywhere. With yokai running wild, the human world had turned into a living hell—an inhuman demonic realm.
In the midst of this extreme chaos, a benevolent king ascended the throne. He was a true sage who knew how to care for his people, even creating his own unique writing system. Soon, the human world found stability once more.
Coincidence? Or fate? Around the same time, beings known as goblins began appearing all across the land. These goblins were playful and capable of actual conversation. They were obscene yet remarkable, cheerful yet cruel. Unlike the yokai, who were merely brutal, the goblins possessed hearts.
"Miho, as you know, the yokai of today definitely have what we call hearts. I have one. You have one. Depo has one. Every being prospering in this Jirisan Hidden World under Lord Sangun's rule has one."
"But back when you were rampaging around in your prime, there were no hearts, right?"
"Heh heh heh."
"...So you must have killed a ton of humans too, Grandpa."
"..."
Instead of answering my question, Mangtae Grandfather simply stared at the round full moon with eyes that looked somehow sad. Then he spoke again, his voice bitter.
"Like I said, before I encountered the Taizi Divine Record—before I realized the truth—I was a beast. Not just me. Every yokai was a beast. Still, that's nothing but a convenient excuse. This old man committed a grave sin against the souls that fell so long ago."
"It's ancient history anyway."
"Ancient history, and this old man's ugly past. Heh heh heh..."
He was clearly just a crazy old yokai who liked children. So why did he look so particularly pitiful today?
"Karma is like that, Miho. No matter how hard you struggle to erase it, you can't. No matter how desperately you try to forget, you never will. It's that heavy."
"..."
I think I understood a little of what Grandpa was saying. After all, ever since I took that blue fox spirit's life, I'd been having horrible nightmares myself.
"Heh heh heh. The story's gone off track. Let's get back to what I was saying."
Beings without hearts were bound to meet a horrific end. The Four Sages spoke of it with one voice, the Tathagata taught it, and history itself proved it true.
Yokai without hearts and goblins with hearts. It was obvious which side would meet the more miserable fate.
Naturally, the yokai didn't welcome the goblins' existence at all. They interfered with their fun, lived closely with humans, and above all, possessed hearts unlike themselves. So it wasn't strange that the yokai began to treat the goblins as enemies.
However, the conflict between yokai and goblins was ended rather anticlimactically by a single goblin king.
The good side of the Goblin King, the demigod Dueoksini, had written the Taizi Divine Record and distributed it far and wide among the yokai.
The Taizi Divine Record taught the yokai truth. It taught them to accumulate virtue instead of karma. It showed them the path to ascension.
Before long, the yokai who accepted its teachings began to develop hearts.
The yokai who had mindlessly massacred humans out of mere obligation now began to ponder the purpose of life. Aiming for ascension and seeking truth, they started accumulating virtue rather than karma.
Of course, not every yokai embraced the teachings. Quite a few rebelled against its philosophy and became utterly wicked demons.
The important point was that, thanks to Dueoksini's good side, hearts had been born in the yokai.
Why Dueoksini's benevolent aspect had distributed the Taizi Divine Record to the yokai remained unknown. Was it out of pity for the heartless ones? Or was it the careful construction of a tower that would one day let him rule them?
Whatever the reason, the yokai who followed the Taizi Divine Record were no longer beasts.
Those who weren't granted the qualification for ascension stopped slaughtering humans mindlessly for no reason. Instead, they began to act according to causality. After accepting the teachings, a clear reason now existed behind everything they did.
The Red Flame Demon, who used to beat every passing human to death, now only killed those committing the heinous crime of digging up graves.
The Extremely Gluttonous Seven, once a vicious demon with an overwhelming craving for human flesh, became a mediocre yokai who simply went from house to house stealing people's rice and side dishes.
And the Mangtae Grandfather, who used to kidnap and devour crying children, no longer ate them. He would snatch the crying children, give them a proper scolding, then return them to their loving parents. The children, their bad habits corrected, would live happily ever after, showing filial piety to their parents for the rest of their lives.
That was how it went for yokai who weren't granted the qualification for ascension.
In the opposite case—for the few yokai who did obtain that qualification—something ironic happened. After encountering the Taizi Divine Record, they began harming humans even more than before.
The prime example was the blue fox spirit.
Originally, she had eaten human livers purely for her own pleasure. But the moment she gained the goal of ascension, her liver hunts became far more vicious than ever.
What truth had the Taizi Divine Record shown them that caused them to accumulate such horrific karma? The yokai who never received the qualification for ascension—including Mangtae Grandfather—had no way of knowing.
One thing, however, was certain. They must never, under any circumstances, encounter those yokai who had been granted the qualification. If they took a single step, the earth would shake. With one gesture, they could split mountains...
"Even this old man, who is a yokai himself, couldn't bear to watch their evil deeds with open eyes, Miho. Heh heh heh..."
"Were the yokai granted the qualification for ascension really that powerful?"
"Why even ask? They were living disasters. To humans and to their fellow yokai alike."
"...Then you already knew the true identity of that blue fox spirit who showed up recently, didn't you?"
"Of course I knew. I've never seen her myself, but the rumors were well known to me."
"..."
No wonder the difficulty had felt so high. Would've been nice if you'd given me a heads-up, you damn old man.
But still. For such a grandiose title as being granted the qualification for ascension, she seemed weaker than expected. Or maybe I was just stronger than I realized?
Whether he'd seen through my idle thoughts or spotted the arrogance creeping onto my face, Mangtae Grandfather suddenly gave me a terrifying look and continued.
"Miho, the blue fox spirit you encountered... was in an incredibly weakened state compared to her former self. Don't get cocky."
"I mean... I'm not getting cocky..."
"Think about it. After that blue fox spirit awakened again, how many livers did she consume?"
"Um... There were about thirty humans hanging from the tree, so probably around thirty..."
Huh? ...Oh.
"You seem to have realized."
Just thirty livers. With only thirty livers, she had become such an overwhelmingly powerful being. If this was the same creature who had once devoured a full nine hundred...
I couldn't even begin to imagine how terrifying she must have been.
"Heh heh heh. There were many beings like that, so now you understand how chaotic that era truly was, Miho."
Mangtae Grandfather stroked the sack slung over his back and continued in a bitter tone.
"Stay on guard, Miho. From now on... the era will shift dramatically. Just as it did in the past."
"D-don't threaten me. I'm not scared at all. Anyway, you said all those yokai aiming for ascension failed and died, right? Then there's no real reason to worry."
"This old man said they failed at ascension. I never said they died."
"..."
"Look at that blue fox spirit. She resurrected herself quite boldly, didn't she? Who's to say the other qualified yokai won't do the same?"
"They... might."
"They are beings that bring chaos to the world and signal rapid changes in the era. Heh heh heh..."
Great. Thanks so much for the wonderful information. I'll definitely sleep like a baby tonight.
"So what happened next? You still haven't mentioned anything about Eoduksini or whatever his name is."
"..."
"Grandpa?"
"..."
"Why'd you stop talking in the middle? I was totally focused on listening."
"GET!!!!!! OUT!!!!!"
"Huh...?"
"Begone, you vulgar fox yokai wench! How dare you run that filthy mouth in a place like this!"
Ah. Fuck.
At Grandpa's outburst, I looked down at myself. At some point, unable to hold back the intense yokai energy, all my tails had popped out.
"Shit... W-wait a second! Just let me catch my breath and I'll pull them back in!"
"Heh heh heh. Whether a fox yokai like you pulls her tails back in or dies from sexual exhaustion while craving human vitality, this old man couldn't care less."
Talking with an old man who likes children is seriously no easy task.