The Shadow of the Hidden World: Dark Lord Geusundae (Part 1)
"Any guesses?"
"Nope. Not a single one."
"So it's a clear anomaly, then?"
"...Looks that way."
"I'll report it to the director."
While Lee Ha-neul radioed the director, I took a closer look at the two entrances. Upon closer inspection, I could clearly tell the 'real' from the 'fake.' One was the entrance to the Hidden World I was familiar with. The other one was... dark, for starters.
The 'real' Hidden World entrance displayed a murky blend of every color in existence. But this fake entrance was nothing but darkness.
"Yes, Director. No demonic energy detected, and everything looks normal? Understood. I'll... get back to you."
After finishing her radio call with the director, Lee Ha-neul turned to me.
"What do you want to do, Miho? Should we handle this ourselves?"
"Obviously."
Just like Ha-neul said, this was clearly an anomaly. We couldn't risk the Jirisan Yokai Extermination Office staff coming out to help us and getting hurt. It was best to resolve this on our own.
Had some unidentified yokai created a fake Hidden World? Or had Sangun, the ruler of the Hidden World, made it for some purpose? The latter I could understand. The former made no sense at all.
No matter how lazy Sangun was about moving his body, there was no way he would have just ignored the creation of a 'fake Hidden World.' What yokai would have the massive balls to create a fake Hidden World right under Sangun's nose?
There were only two possibilities. First, Sangun had created the fake Hidden World. Second, some yokai acting on Sangun's request had created it.
I thought about whether any yokai I knew possessed the immense power needed to create a 'fake Hidden World.' One yokai living in the Hidden World immediately came to mind.
If that yokai had made this, it would definitely be weak to light.
First, I used my spiritual power to hurl fox fire at the 'fake' Hidden World entrance.
Boom!
The explosion knocked over several innocent trees. I hadn't meant to topple any trees... but the fox fire was that powerful.
However, the 'fake' Hidden World entrance remained completely intact.
"It's still there?"
"..."
"You didn't hold back, did you?"
"...Just wait a second."
It had resisted the light. So maybe it wasn't made by that yokai after all?
Now I was fired up. I began pouring out my spiritual power in an explosive burst. Still not satisfied, I even channeled power from one of my tails and mixed in demonic energy as I struck the fake entrance again.
But the fake Hidden World entrance remained perfectly fine.
The fact that it could withstand all that meant there was some hidden gimmick at play.
Still, I couldn't just recklessly dive into the fake Hidden World.
While I stood there flustered, Lee Ha-neul moved.
"I'll give it a try."
She drove her fist into the fake Hidden World, packed with full force.
"Whaaaaaat?"
Ha-neul's arm got halfway swallowed by the entrance in a horrific instant.
"Kyaaaaaaa! My arm! My arm is..."
"Ha-neul!"
"...Huh. It doesn't even hurt?"
She scared the hell out of me. She screamed so suddenly that I thought her arm was actually getting severed.
"The feeling is weird. It's like sticking my arm in water, but not quite..."
"Just stay still. I'll pull you out..."
"Okay, I underst— whoa."
Whoosh.
It happened in an instant. Before I could even react, Ha-neul's entire body was sucked straight into the fake Hidden World entrance.
"..."
Ah, damn it. Now I had no choice but to go in after her.
I picked up the radio that had fallen to the ground and spoke into it.
"We're going in, so don't do anything weird and just wait."
"This time it wasn't me! Ha-neul unni jumped in first! For real!"
[...]
He didn't believe me. The boy who cried wolf... or rather, the girl who cried wolf. That's how I felt.
After the radio call, I immediately stepped into the fake Hidden World to rescue Ha-neul.
"Kyaaaaaaa! Uhhhhhh!"
"..."
"I'm gonna die, I'm dying! Aigo! I've been swallowed into a yokai's stomach!"
"...Ha-neul. What exactly are you doing?"
"Miho! You came to save me!"
"No."
"You got caught too?"
"No. I was forced to come in because of you."
"I-I see! Ehehe..."
Sighing at the sight of Lee Ha-neul, I looked around. This place...
"So this is the Hidden World I've only heard about. Is it always this dark?"
"...No. It's different. It's not usually this dark."
It was remarkably similar to the Hidden World I knew, but there were clear differences. First, the Hidden World wasn't this dark of a space. The bright blue moonlight always shone down, so while it could feel a bit gloomy, it was never truly dark.
Second, this fake Hidden World had no scent whatsoever.
Sniff. Sniff sniff.
I tried to catch the unique thick ink-like aroma of the Hidden World, but this fake version was completely odorless.
It was dark. And there was no smell.
Thanks to those two clues, I became certain that the yokai who created this fake Hidden World was the one I knew.
Separate from that realization, the complete lack of any scent made me anxious, so I stuck right beside Ha-neul like a frightened puppy.
"What's wrong?"
"...I'm scared."
"Huh? Scared? There's actually something that scares you, Miho?"
"...There's no smell."
Anyone else might have asked what the big deal was about there being no smell. But my deadly serious expression, combined with Ha-neul's knowledge of my traits as a yokai, made her expression grow serious too.
"...No smell at all?"
"Yeah."
"That's strange."
"It is strange. But you don't need to worry."
"Why not?"
"...I think the yokai I know is the one who made this fake Hidden World."
Knowing which yokai had created this place was one thing, but the total absence of any scent filled me with an indescribable sense of unease.
My sense of smell in seven-tailed form was extremely sensitive. I could pick up the scent of a person's sweat from over five hundred meters away. Yet here, in this fake Hidden World, the smell of grass was nonexistent. The smell of dirt was nonexistent. The scent of insects, yokai, or trees—nothing. Not a single thing.
The fact that I couldn't smell the tree right in front of me made everything I was seeing feel fake. The unease was overwhelming.
Shiver.
I found myself trembling uncontrollably, like a leaf in the wind.
Yes. I felt fear.
The lack of smell was shocking enough to make me feel genuine fear. If I had to compare it to a human experience, it was like opening your eyes but seeing absolutely nothing.
When Ha-neul saw me shaking, she pulled me into a hug.
"You okay?"
"...Yeah. Sorry."
"No need to apologize. I feel worse about it. It's too dark anyway—can you light things up a bit?"
"Yeah... got it."
When I illuminated our surroundings with fox fire, just as I expected, the vegetation around us began to literally vanish under the light's influence.
Like shadows.
As the area brightened, the spaces touched by the light turned pure white. Seeing that beautiful yet bizarre sight, Ha-neul muttered.
"...It disappears like a shadow."
"It is a shadow. Shadows created by Geusundae."
"Sundae?"
"Not sundae. Geusundae. He's a yokai who lives in the Hidden World and manipulates shadows."
Unlike formless shadows, which were basically 'doppelgangers,' Geusundae literally controlled shadows—that is, 'darkness.' No, not just controlled it. He dominated it.
I wasn't sure how he differed from Eoduksini, the dark side of Dueoksini that Mangtae Grandfather had told me about. I'd never actually seen that Eoduksini goblin myself.
Anyway, I had no idea why he had created this fake Hidden World, but I quickly withdrew my fox fire. I didn't think Sangun would have left this fake Hidden World alone without good reason. There was also one more reason... but I didn't really want to say it out loud.
Watching me, Ha-neul spoke up.
"Doesn't seem like a bad yokai, at least."
"Yeah, well... I personally can't stand him, but he's not a bad yokai."
"What? Then we came in here for nothing."
"...It wasn't me. You were the one who got sucked in."
"Huh?"
"What? What is it now?"
"You just called me unni, didn't you?"
"No I didn't. You heard wrong."
"No, I didn't! I heard it clearly! You definitely called me unni!"
"I did not."
When did I ever call her unni? Ha-neul was just making things up to tease me again. I ignored her as she kept insisting and started thinking about how we were supposed to get out of this fake Hidden World.
It looked like I'd have to ask Geusundae directly. The problem was, without fox fire it was pitch black and we couldn't move forward. And since there were no scents at all, I had no way of figuring out where Geusundae might be.
"Can't we just keep the fox fire on and look for a path?"
"No."
When I refused firmly, Ha-neul asked in a teasing voice.
"Why? Are you scared you'll get beaten to death by that Geusundae guy? You chickening out? Is that it?"
"Yes. That's exactly it."
"...Huh?"
"I'm chickening out, okay?"
Ah. I really didn't want to admit it.
"...I told you I was scared earlier."
"Y-you don't need to be scared just because there's no smell. You should be able to handle this yourself..."
"Geusundae is several times stronger than me."
"..."
Geusundae. The one who could at least stand against Sangun. The Dark Lord of the Hidden World. The King of Shadows.