Snail Bride Request (1)
Snail Bride Request (1)
"Are you okay from the injury?"
"Yes... My body healed quickly, but... my heart..."
Osaekja placed her hand on her chest and lightly clenched her fist. The black history of that day stabbed her lungs.
She couldn't even face Muk Seo-ah.
"Ugh, please forget it...!"
"It's okay. You got hit by Demonic Aura, after all. Your intelligence dropped to cow level, so it makes sense."
Muk Seo-ah brushed it off like no big deal. Black histories were par for the course in exorcism work.
Osaekja couldn't hold back her embarrassment and covered her flushed face with both hands.
Muk Seo-ah gave an awkward smile, then slammed the axe she'd pulled from her mouth down with a thud.
Kwajik.
The axe blade gouged into the floor.
A lock of black hair got snagged on the gleaming edge and sliced clean off.
"...Keng."
The Three-Tailed Fox let out a pitiful groan.
Just moments ago, that axe had buried itself right next to her head. A single sheet of paper's width away.
In Muk Seo-ah's room, the Three-Tailed Fox was flat on her stomach in prostration, her brain rolling desperately for any path to survival.
No matter how she racked her mind, there was no way out here. Two exorcists had her completely surrounded.
"You sure had the guts to cast magic on me and run."
Muk Seo-ah leaned forward as she spoke.
Killing intent poured from her gaze. The Three-Tailed Fox prostrated so hard it was like she wanted to drill through the floor.
"...M-M-Master. This lowly yokai fox was so, so panicked that I committed a grave sin. P-Please, just spare me this one time-"
"Your head's held too high."
"...Ke, keng."
She rested the axe atop the whining fox's head.
One good swing with some force, and she'd cleave it in two.
The icy axe blade pressed against the warm scalp.
The Three-Tailed Fox gulped hard. Sweat poured from her body like mad.
"M-Master? I-I didn't even eat that person's liver—I lived as decently as I could!"
"Remove the Yin Mark you put on me first."
"Y-Yes, right away!"
The Three-Tailed Fox swiftly retracted the spell.
She reached out toward Muk Seo-ah's lower abdomen.
In that instant, a sharp kang- rang out like a burst, and the Three-Tailed Fox went tumbling backward.
"Ah! Ow, my forehead! Exorcist-nim, you can't just put up a defense like that...!"
"...Me?"
A chill shot up Muk Seo-ah's spine.
Cheonae Yuseon had bounced the yokai away. It had blocked the attempt to remove the Yin Mark.
How could this happen? No, it couldn't.
Cheonae Yuseon was Taoist Magic that rejected whatever she herself refused.
Which meant Muk Seo-ah wanted the Yin Mark.
'No!'
Muk Seo-ah screamed inwardly.
She clutched her hair like she wanted to rip it out, whispering furiously to herself. Muttering like a lunatic. Full-on self-hypnosis mode.
'I hate the Yin Mark. Wipe it out right now. Cheonae Yuseon, you crazy bastard. Get your friend-or-foe detection straight. Wanna die? I said erase the damn Yin Mark. I really, really hate it.'
"...Exorcist-nim?"
"Do it again."
The Three-Tailed Fox broke out in cold sweat.
Her yokai instincts screamed: Fail this, and you're dead meat. That woman's gonna kill me.
Muk Seo-ah's eyes blazed like a demon's. In that split second, she'd turned full psycho.
"...Kki, kking..."
The Three-Tailed Fox tucked her tail and extended her hand.
Her slender fingers trembled violently.
Please work. It's my own Yin Mark—why can't I remove it?
The problem was that woman. A massive energy wall stood in the way.
"...Ex-Exorcist-nim. Please. Couldn't you just sleep? I can't get through at all..."
At those words, Muk Seo-ah seemed to steel herself and hefted the axe.
The back side of the blade. The solid metal part. Thud. She smashed it right into her own forehead.
Muk Seo-ah's forehead turned red. Swollen in the exact shape of the metal.
"Eut."
Muk Seo-ah clutched her forehead. The sudden self-inflicted pain snapped her mind back into focus. She squatted down, rubbing the spot as she said.
"Remove the Yin Mark."
Not exactly the most dignified command.
The Three-Tailed Fox eased her tension a notch and pointed her index finger at the lower abdomen.
Susuk.
The lewd energy drained out from Muk Seo-ah's belly.
Her body felt light, her brain—wild with filthy thoughts—finally clearing up. That sensation.
"It's gone!"
A flower of a smile bloomed on Muk Seo-ah's face.
Her biggest headache, solved. No more random heats screwing things up anytime.
'Yahoo!'
Freedom at last.
A gleeful whoop. Muk Seo-ah let out a cheer of joy.
Watching her, the Three-Tailed Fox shriveled up all pathetic-like. As she spoke, her fox ears drooped limply on both sides.
"C-Can I go now?"
"..."
"...Hic."
The Three-Tailed Fox started hiccuping.
Muk Seo-ah wiped the axe clean with her sleeve and tucked it back into her mouth.
"Don't hurt people. No reckless magic. Live quietly. No next time."
"A-Ah! Thank you! Please accept my deepest bow!"
"You think I'm doing this 'cause I like you? The debt at the Pleasure House..."
Hong Hae-a tagging along was her fault.
The Pleasure House getting charred was partly on Muk Seo-ah too.
The Pleasure House was mid-exterior repairs. They'd cleared out the burned wood and slapped on fresh paint.
Ruju hadn't called her out on it, but Muk Seo-ah felt the sting of conscience.
Or more like capitalist anxiety.
What if Ruju suddenly went, "Sorry, customer, but you brought a yokai. Please leave our house"?
Muk Seo-ah would be homeless.
Back to wandering vagrant life. Way too depressing.
Free meals, free lodging—she'd been domesticated like a dog chowing on kibble.
Even a super exorcist was just a cog in the capitalist machine. Muk Seo-ah wiped away fake tears.
"That bitch Hong Hae-a..."
Got swept up in the mood and let a dangerous yokai crash at the Pleasure House.
She was probably still holed up in Lee Gak's room right now. One floor up.
On the surface, Lee Gak looked like he'd tamed the yokai perfectly.
But a yokai was a yokai. Especially Hong Hae-a—a total newbie to the human world.
No amount of ass-whooping training could erase the wild beast danger lurking.
Keeping watch was Muk Seo-ah's job.
She was prepped to chop her to bits if shit hit the fan.
Flinch.
Suddenly, Muk Seo-ah froze mid-motion.
Her eyes went wide.
"...What's wrong?"
The Three-Tailed Fox and Osaekja stared at her in unison.
Muk Seo-ah bit her lip, turned her head, and let out a breath.
"...Ha, uh."
The Yin Mark was gone.
She could feel it.
So what was this sensation?
No explaining it.
Muk Seo-ah's lower abdomen quivered faintly.
Remembering what went down in Lee Gak's room a few days back—her body was heating up.
"No. Must be some Demonic Aura lingering."
"Ah. Aah. Really? I sucked out every last drop?"
The Three-Tailed Fox cocked her head.
Muk Seo-ah's eyes lit up as she shot her a glare.
"Some must've been left."
"No way. With my neck on the line, I cleaned it spotless."
"..."
"Ah, aah! Wait—come to think of it, maybe a tiny bit. Not totally gone!"
The Three-Tailed Fox's survival instincts kicked into high gear.
Muk Seo-ah ignored her and headed out. She didn't forget to thank Osaekja before leaving the room.
"Thanks for tracking me down. I was in deep shit."
"No problem. Gotta repay favors. Heck, you've saved my skin more times than I can count."
A perfectly normal chat between rational folks.
The peace of normalcy after so long. Everyday life felt serene.
But Muk Seo-ah crossed her legs and squirmed.
'What the hell.'
Nothing explained it except the Yin Mark not being fully gone.
Muk Seo-ah kept questioning her own condition.
Why was her body suddenly burning up? Why the sticky feeling between her legs?
All 'cause she'd gotten lazy.
Forget it. Drown it in work.
Muk Seo-ah reset her goal.
'Kill evil yokai. As many as possible.'
And at the end of that path sat the Demon King.
The day they'd meet again was coming. No doubt.
Muk Seo-ah dragged her axe out of the Pleasure House.
She wandered the village hunting for requests or incidents.
=================================
A peddler was prowling the streets.
Shabby getup, but an eerie aura wafted from the bundle on his back.
He kept checking the writing on his forearm.
Scribbled hastily inside his left arm with a brush: - Never forget. Pleasure House. That son of a
The Peddler still hadn't cracked the mystery.
Why he'd woken up in an alley looking like a bum, head throbbing, knees scraped, jaw numb. His whole body just ached with misery.
That son of a
The writing cut off there.
Tough to make sense of.
"Damn, I know I wrote it myself. But zero memory..."
He was the type who could pop over to the Underworld.
Minor supernatural gifts, but no exorcist-level muscle. Half-assed talent. Scraped by digging up oddball items.
Most folks had no clue about this magical item's worth.
Today's wares: a cursed snail. A holy vibe emanated from the snail in the water jar.
"Get your snail here! Today-only deal! Boil 'er up, raise her, make her your pal! Understands human talk! Buy now!"
"Understands human speech? What kinda bullshit is that?"
A young guy wandered over, hooked.
The bundle-slinger amped up his pitch.
"Literal truth. Looks like a regular snail, but she'll chat you up. Long as no one's watching..."
"Goddamn, funniest hawker ever. Cut the crap and take my money. Was thinking of getting a chill pet anyway."
The young guy got a plain old snail. Sloshing in a bamboo tube of water. Looked like it'd thrive on trimmed moss.
A satisfied grin spread on the young man's face.
"Nice. How much?"
The price hit, and his first thought? This hawker's screwing me over?
The young man lost his shit. The bundle guy cranked his voice too.
"Hey, what the hell! Bull price for a snail?!"
"Told ya, not your average snail! Does the housework too!"
"You fuckin' con artist!"
They grabbed each other's collars and brawled.
In the scuffle, the bamboo tube tipped. Water and snail spilled out.
The bundle guy stared at it in a daze. Sudden chill down his spine.
"Huhk."
His half-baked talent pinged danger.
How'd he miss it till now? Half-baked, alright.
'Wait, no. Hold up. If I just foist this jinx off on that sucker...'
The Peddler got a nasty idea.
Heh heh, lips curled slyly. Time to teach a lesson.
He backed off, hands up. Done fighting.
"Fine! Take it free, do whatever!"
"About time! Rippin' me off for one snail! Jeez!"
The guy snatched the bamboo tube irritably and stormed off.
Scooped the dirt-covered snail back into the water.
Muk Seo-ah, passing by, caught sight of the two and tilted her head.
"Minor Demon?"
But she decided against killing it. Not a particularly strong yokai.
More importantly, zero vibe of harming humans.
That snail straight-up loved the guy.
Loved its master so damn much, it'd do anything for him.
By the time she glanced back, the snail-buying guy had vanished into the crowd.
The snail's frantic courtship cry rang in Muk Seo-ah's ears.
"DarlingdarlingdarlingyouchosemeI'msothankfulIwon'tforgetthisgraceI'llrepayitlet'slivehappilytogetherforever."