The Black Dog's Command

After slaying the red snake of the five-colored serpent, Lee Jeong-mae, the Force Arts Supporting the Nation Grand Master, stood frozen in place as though his soul had fled his body. The black dog addressed the dazed man.

Lee Jeong-mae offered no reply to the black dog's command. He simply turned his back on the creature that had desecrated the royal palace, preyed upon the people, and manipulated him into slaying the spiritual beast, the red snake, then retraced his steps along the path he had come.

Middle Joseon, the twenty-fifth year of King Jungjong's reign (1530, Gyeongin year)

Seo Jin-hwan, a force master in his early thirties, had seen more than his share of yokai. He had personally eliminated over a hundred of them and could claim to have encountered every known type. Yet he knew nothing of spiritual beasts. Most seasoned force masters shared his ignorance; after all, spiritual beasts were little more than legends, as elusive as goblins.

Records in the Annals and other ancient texts proved they had once existed, but unless one had lived as long as Baek Nam-hoon, it was natural to regard them as relics of the past. Then suddenly one appeared. Lee Han-ul, director of the Jirisan Yokai Hunter Office, was clearly capable, yet his words were hard to believe. Especially when the so-called fox spiritual beast failed to defend herself in the meeting and instead spouted nonsense about yokai appearing in Seoul.

Doubt had begun to take root in Seo Jin-hwan's mind. But the moment he stood before the spiritual beast Miho, he corrected his mistake. An unmistakably sacred aura radiated from her—so pure that even he, ignorant of spiritual beasts, felt certain: this woman is no evil being.

Together with two fellow force masters, he resolved to help the stranger Miho eliminate the black dog before them. Lee Han-ul had spoken the truth. Yet—

Why was the spiritual beast telling them to get out of the way? None of them could understand. Three force masters had gathered—veterans far stronger than a novice like Lee Ha-neul. Even a second-stage yokai would stand no chance against them. Just as they moved to ignore Miho and strike the black dog, it spoke.

That was the trigger. Seo Jin-hwan and the other two force masters simultaneously gathered force into their hands and drove their techniques not into the black dog, but straight into the spiritual beast Miho. The spiritual beast was everyone's enemy, the darkness of the world. She had to die here.

"Khak… khak."

Every cough brought up dark blood from deep in my gut. Broken ribs must have pierced my lungs; breathing had become far more painful. I wanted nothing more than to collapse and rest until my spiritual power recovered, but—

"Die!"

"I'll send you off peacefully!"

Three force masters, eyes blazing with bloodlust, rained attacks down on me. There was no time to rest. When three force masters combined their strength, the result exceeded imagination. Even the blue-furred nine-tailed fox would have been unable ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to withstand their assault if it relied on raw physical power alone.

"Come to your senses! You're being deceived!"

I dodged their strikes by a hair's breadth and pleaded with them in earnest, but either they could not hear me or they refused to listen to anything spoken by the "darkness of the world." They gave me no opening for conversation.

"Force."

Crack! One of them kicked my right leg. The sound of bone shattering rang out as I lost balance and slammed face-first into the ground. Boom! Boom! Two thunderous impacts tore at my eardrums—force arts aimed at my heart and head. I barely avoided them. If either had landed, I would have died instantly.

My spiritual power was exhausted. Could I dodge their next attacks without it? My physical abilities were nothing special, my wounds were critical, and the pain was so intense I was on the verge of blacking out. My right leg was shattered; I could barely stand. If I tucked in another tail and became the six-tailed fox yokai brimming with demonic energy, I could heal and overpower them—but that would be the worst possible move, not merely a mistake. Becoming a yokai would make me susceptible to the goblin's spirit speech, turning me into another puppet dancing to its commands, just like these three force masters.

I glanced at the goblin. Its personal strength and durability did not seem particularly high. Even the goblin itself was not in peak condition; the spiral's rotation had visibly weakened. A little more—just a little more—and I could probably kill it. If I destroyed the goblin, its spirit speech would likely break.

Having reached that conclusion, I kicked off the ground and charged. Just as my claws reached for the spiral, another force art slammed into me, sending me tumbling across the ground.

"Kehk…"

Ah. My vision was blurring. That last strike must have ruptured every organ inside me.

The goblin repeated its command. That was the signal. The three force masters began condensing force into their fists—larger than basketballs—determined to end my life completely.

…No way I could handle that. Tucking in my tails might save my life, but I would rather die than become the goblin's puppet. I blinked. When I opened my eyes, the force masters were charging straight at me. Blink. They were almost upon me. Blink. Their force arts were about to strike my head and heart.

Thud. Tap. Thud-thud.

At that moment, the familiar sound of a goblin club rang out from somewhere.

"…Hoya, Miho!"

My vision was too blurry to see clearly, but from the voice I could tell Lee Ha-neul had arrived. The figure I assumed was her carefully gathered me into her arms and burst into tears.

"You look like hell. You're about to die, aren't you?"

Hojun's voice reached me as well. Still as rude as ever.

"Hey, heal her! Don't you have any healing Taoist arts, Hojun-nim?"

"Do I look like I do?"

"What happened, Miho… Why? Why are these people attacking you?"

"Ha-neul, that fox is the yokai that appeared in Seoul!"

"What nonsense are you saying! She's the spiritual beast Miho!"

"Exactly! The spiritual beast is the darkness of the world. It must be eliminated here and now!"

"Have you lost your minds? You people aren't like this!"

Hojun calmed the agitated Lee Ha-neul.

"They've been brainwashed."

"Brainwashed? What do you—"

"They appear to be under the goblin's spirit speech."

"A goblin… you mean…?"

As expected. Hojun had looked up information on goblins in the Taoist Association's old texts and figured out the black dog's true identity. Rude as he was, his abilities were impressive. Ah, right—if the goblin used its spirit speech again, Hojun and Ha-neul would try to kill me too. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠…Dying at Ha-neul's hands wouldn't feel so bad, but she would probably be devastated afterward. Would she really cry for a yokai? One thing was certain: that bastard Hojun definitely wouldn't shed a tear.

The goblin's command echoed once more. Soon Hojun and Ha-neul's attacks would come crashing down on me, and that would be the end of my life as a fox.

Blink. Yet no matter how long I waited, their attacks never came. Hojun spoke again.

"I cast the spirit-speech protection art left behind by Master Usa. I nearly died learning it, but I'm glad it came in handy."

Wow. That lovable little bastard Hojun. I hadn't believed in him at all. Not even a little.

"Ha-neul-nim, I'll handle the force masters. Keep an eye on this lewd fox and the goblin for me."

"D-don't kill them!"

"Have I gone mad? I won't kill them. I won't."

Crack-crack-crack. I could hear Hojun clenching his fists even from here.

"…I'll just relieve a bit of stress."

His ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠voice carried a chilling, razor-sharp fury I couldn't quite understand.