Chapter 88
Chapter 88
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 88
Chapter Title: Monkey's Paw
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Monkey's Paw.
The short story "Monkey's Paw" was written by the British author William Wymark Jacobs, and it had gained considerable fame worldwide due to its eerie content. The story's craftsmanship was also quite high. It wasn't selected as a modern literary masterpiece for nothing.
However, because the story's genre was horror, and society during William's lifetime was still influenced by anomalies, his fiction transcended into reality. It was a classic case of a tale gaining power.
[The Monkey's Paw resembles the description in the original story, but it's a bit more grotesque. That's because various versions of the tale have blended together.]
Kim I-seo said.
[First off, it has six fingers. There are teeth on the back of the hand, it mimics a monkey's cry at night, and it's covered in black fur.]
"……."
[Up to this point, it feels like something you absolutely shouldn't touch. Yes, that's exactly right. But things that look inherently hideous often induce mental delusions.]
"Are you saying it casts something like mind control or hypnosis?"
[Precisely. The Monkey's Paw inflicts a 'hypnosis that makes the witness desperately want to make a wish' on those who see it. If your mental barriers are strong, you can ignore it, but that's not the case for the villagers in some remote mountain valley.]
Mental barriers—a grand term—play a fairly important role in battles against anomalies. No matter how strong your physical power is or how capable you are of slicing through grotesqueries single-handedly, if your mind is weak, you won't last long and will die.
It was only natural. Anomalies yearn to thrust a knife into humanity's throat anytime, anywhere. That method could involve twisting the mind to destroy the self, or driving someone into madness so they sever their own head.
Most Management Bureau agents and those involved with anomalies despised dying from mental collapse in this way the most.
That was why the Management Bureau actively operated mental counseling centers and trauma clinics. The Cartel would perform a bizarre procedure called trauma cleansing if you paid them enough.
Even those immersed in the world of anomalies maintained such mental defenses continuously, so what about the residents of a small village who had never encountered an anomaly in their lives?
[Of course, they fell under its spell.]
It was a predictable story.
[The child who made the wish is a nine-year-old elementary school student. However, since this isn't an ordinary village, the child wasn't attending school.]
"……? Not going to elementary school? Isn't that compulsory education?"
Ian furrowed his brow as he asked. There was a rustling sound like flipping through documents, and Kim I-seo replied.
[You're right. It is compulsory education. But this child—no, none of the minors in this village are registered at birth. They haven't even received basic education, let alone attended school.]
"……That's a ghost story in itself. Is that even possible in this day and age?"
[It's possible if religion is involved.]
Kim I-seo let out a deep sigh before continuing.
[This village is a cult.]
"……What?"
[They worship an entity called the Laughing Buddha. We only found out after sending in scouts and personnel.]
Laughing Buddha. The name alone made it clear it was far from ordinary Buddhism. Ian fell silent for a moment, then grabbed a cigarette and spoke as he stepped out.
"You didn't know about it until now? Isn't that too incompetent?"
[……There are plenty of excuses, but we didn't notice, so you're not wrong, Wizard.]
"So? You went to deal with the Monkey's Paw, but it got tangled up with this Laughing Buddha thing, so you need my help?"
[Yes. Currently, five scouts are missing, three are confirmed dead. The Response Team 1 we forcibly deployed is entirely missing.]
"Hmm……."
Ian let out a groan as he headed to the officetel's rooftop.
At first glance, it seemed incompetent, but he could understand to some extent. With the exact nature of the involved anomalies unclear and information lacking, they had no choice but to keep feeding personnel into it.
If they kept headbutting like that, they might resolve the incident with luck. But if it were that easy, they wouldn't be requesting cooperation like this. They would have handled it themselves.
The Management Bureau didn't know how to make homunculi either, so their human resources were limited. Even if they were people who didn't fear death much, if they all died, nothing would be left. Replenishing quickly was difficult too.
[We request your cooperation, Wizard.]
So, he could understand why they were acting so humbly so soon after deciding to collaborate.
But that was that, and Ian had no reason to blindly accept their proposal.
"Do you remember the contract we made?"
He said with the cigarette in his mouth.
"I said I decide which Management Bureau requests to take on."
[……I remember.]
"Then you know I can refuse this one too."
[…….]
Kim I-seo fell silent. Rather than pressing her for a reply, Ian lit the end of his cigarette.
He wasn't doing this on purpose. If asked whether he disliked the Management Bureau, that wasn't it either. There was no reason for him to hate or despise them unilaterally when they hadn't bared their fangs first.
He just had a prior schedule.
"I'm planning to hunt a high-ranking vampire. I know you're in a hurry, but I have my own things to do."
[High-ranking vampire hunt……? When do you plan to go?]
"Why do you ask?"
[Because we might be able to help.]
Kim I-seo's voice brightened a bit. Ian narrowed his eyes and exhaled smoke.
"Help?"
[Yes. If you cooperate on this mission, we'll naturally pay the base fee and provide personnel support from the Management Bureau for the vampire request as well.]
It was quite a generous offer. Ian asked with a slightly surprised expression.
"Personnel support? Is that allowed?"
[It won't be a problem. We can't send a huge number, but we can provide enough to satisfy you at minimum.]
"And the compensation?"
[We won't take any.]
"Ha."
Ian burst into laughter.
"The conditions are so good it's hard to believe."
[If it's trust you want, we can provide it. We can even draw up a contract that kills us the moment we break it. If you wish, I can prepare and send it right now.]
"No, that's not necessary."
Her sincerity had come through clearly. It seemed the Management Bureau viewed the Monkey's Paw incident as a highly important matter. That must be why they were going this far.
Ian didn't know why they were so fixated on the Monkey's Paw. Maybe they wanted to destroy it, capture and isolate it, or study and utilize it.
Whatever it was, it wasn't important to him.
What mattered was that they would join the vampire hunt for free and provide compensation from Management Bureau resources.
More personnel was always better. Yuna would have to sit out with Management Bureau agents joining, but if veterans came along, it wouldn't be a big loss. He could even request only mages and bring Yuna too.
Either way, no loss for him.
"……."
If the chance arose, snatching the Monkey's Paw midway wasn't a bad idea. He wouldn't use it due to the risk, but it could serve for research. Or as material.
There were surprisingly many alchemical items requiring primate hands or arms. Checking if a grotesquery derived from a tale fit that category would help his future endeavors.
Having finished his thoughts, Ian stubbed out his cigarette in the portable ashtray. He looked down at the cityscape and replied.
"I'll join at the site. Just text me the address and departure time."
[Ah, thank you. See you then. Enjoy the rest of your holiday.]
The call ended with those words. Moments later, a message arrived on his phone.
[Kim I-seo: Site address and rendezvous time.]
He checked it.
The address was at the entrance to some mountain in Gyeongsang Province. The time was tomorrow morning.
Work right after the holiday ended. From the story, it sounded like they'd been feeding personnel in during the holiday too. The Management Bureau's welfare seemed worse than most companies. Ian gave a wry smile as he descended from the rooftop.
With work starting tomorrow morning, there was no time to dawdle. He went home, packed in advance, slept until evening, then rode his bike down to the countryside.
Even stopping midway for food, he wasn't late for the appointment.
The mountain entrance where dawn's damp air settled heavily. Cold mist scattered chills through the trees blooming with frost flowers, blocking visibility. The faint cries of birds added to the eerie atmosphere.
"……."
Ian leaned against his bike, smoking a cigarette as he stared at the evil spirit leaping through the trees.
A Ballerina Ghost nimbly bounding about with a carving knife in hand. Below the ribbon on her ankle hung human heads like fruit.
Not from other ghosts, but living humans.
Ghosts in mountains were generally strong, but massacring people like that was rare. This mountain must have exceptionally strong yin energy.
[Hee hee hee.]
As he thought, the Ballerina Ghost met Ian's gaze. She grinned with a chilling expression, lightly ran along the branches, and planted her foot on his head.
As she tried to do something, he promptly opened his Grimoire and turned her into excellent material. She fell to the ground as a blue orb without resistance.
Thud.
With the exorcism, the heads dangling from her ankle also dropped to the ground.
One man standing intact and dozens of bloody heads.
In any view, a bizarre scene. Ian sighed deeply and kicked the heads aside roughly.
"Wizard."
Then, a voice came from behind. Ian rolled a head like a ball, pinned it underfoot at the tree base, and turned around.
"You arrived early. Sorry, the road was blocked, so I walked the rest alone…… Huh."
Kim I-seo, her pink hair swaying as she approached, spotted Ian, the heads scattered around him, and the one under his foot, and her mouth gaped open.
"……Yeah."
Ian scratched his head at the situation anyone would misunderstand.