A Guard Dog for the Shop
Someone might have criticized that hand, but to the man, it was anything but contemptible.
It was salvation.
The salvation he had desperately yearned for.
"You don't have to pay rent for the rest of your life, Master. I mean it... truly. Please, just help me. Save me... please, save me."
Jang Yul pleaded, his voice cracking with tears.
Sincerity bled from his desperate expression and trembling eyes.
"If I could, I would just give you the entire building."
It was beyond exhausting; he felt sick to his stomach every time he looked at it.
The sheer fact that a single building had allowed an invisible entity to torture him to the brink of death—no, to make him wish he were dead a thousand times over—was enough to drive him mad.
Or perhaps he was already mad.
"But I can't even do that. That bastard... he won't let me go. I can feel him, just waiting for me to die. So... please, Master."
Jang Yul's hands trembled violently as he clutched the hem of Noel's clothes.
He wanted to give him everything.
No matter how much money it took, he wanted to hand it all over to this man.
"...Please save me."
Yeong-hyeon's eyes softened with pity at the pitiful sight.
"He looks so miserable. I feel so sorry for him."
'In my old world, trashy ghosts like that were the norm.'
Noel chuckled inwardly, then looked up to meet the eyes of the secretary.
"You, come here too."
The secretary approached without a word.
Faint black claw marks were visible on the nape of his neck.
'Of course. There was no way that thing would leave the people around him alone.'
It seemed the evil spirit was intent on utterly ruining everyone in Jang Yul's orbit.
Noel clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"Your neck has been hurting lately, hasn't it?"
"...Yes," the secretary replied after a brief hesitation.
How did he know? Was it just a lucky guess?
The secretary stared at Noel with wary eyes.
Bandages were plastered all over Noel's face, his head was wrapped in gauze, and his arm was in a cast.
He looked far from fine himself, as if he had just survived a massive accident.
"I know this might sound strange to you. But if I leave that alone, my deity might get angry, so I'm doing you a favor."
Noel glanced at Asin, who had been silently glaring at the building for some time.
The entity inside had already sensed their presence, so words were useless now.
Noel conjured a purple flame in his palm and pressed it against the secretary's neck.
As the corruption melted away, the secretary's eyes widened.
The persistent, throbbing pain vanished in an instant.
"Mr. Jang."
"Yes, Master."
"Once we clean this place up, I'll pay a visit to your family as well. Would that be alright?"
"Thank you. Thank you so much."
Jang Yul squeezed his eyes shut and bowed deeply once more.
Noel pulled his hand back and looked at the secretary.
"Before we begin, could you bring me the contract?"
What if they back out once it's all over? How would I even prove the existence of a ghost then? Better to get everything in writing.
Watching from the side, the real estate agent nodded in silent approval of Noel's prudence.
The terms of the contract were overwhelmingly in his favor.
Perhaps because Jang Yul was completely out of his mind with fear, he had initially insisted on just handing over the entire building.
For a split second, greed flared in Noel's chest, and he almost agreed, but the real estate agent quickly intervened.
"Kid, this isn't actually free. If you buy a building, you have to pay all kinds of taxes. Can you afford that?"
Hearing the actual market value of the building and the astronomical taxes that came with it snapped Noel right back to reality.
In the end, they agreed on a lease for the first and second floors at a rate of ten thousand won a month, indefinitely.
He had briefly considered taking the third floor as well, but decided to leave himself a shred of conscience.
Besides, the building had seven floors in total, so this was more than fair.
'Actually, what am I saying? He's a CEO. He's filthy rich. He'll be completely fine.'
Noel pulled out the keycard to enter the building.
"But Noel."
"What?"
"Why did you rent up to the second floor?"
"Because it's cheap. Twenty thousand won for both floors."
Since they needed a minimum amount on the contract for it to be legally binding, he had thrown out ten thousand won per floor.
"That's not just cheap, it's insane! It's practically free! Couldn't you have rented the third and fourth floors too?"
"A bakery on the first floor, and a shaman shop on the second. That's the plan."
Yeong-hyeon stopped in his tracks at Noel's words.
A bakery.
His eyes trembled with emotion at that single word as he stared at Noel.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"...Thank you. Thank you so much."
He couldn't believe Noel was doing this to fulfill his dream of opening a bakery.
"To be honest, I don't know the first thing about running a bakery. But since the rent is practically nonexistent, I figured we'd give it a shot. I'm confident I can make plenty of money as a shaman anyway. You've seen what I can do, right?"
Noel grinned.
There had never been a moment where his abilities felt so rewarding.
He got to hear words of gratitude, and he got to make money.
"I did. You're amazing. You looked just like a savior."
Yeong-hyeon beamed in response.
How many people had Noel helped already?
It wasn't an easy task, and it certainly wasn't something just anyone could do.
Asin watched their exchange with a warm, maternal gaze.
The way the children bickered and chatted reminded her of a pair of chirping chicks.
"What about you? What is it that you want to do?"
Noel, about to swipe the keycard, paused at Yeong-hyeon's question.
Something he wanted to do.
That was something he had never been allowed to contemplate, let alone wish for.
Born as a necromancer, his only option in life had been to run.
"Every single moment right now is what I've always wanted."
Noel swiped the card.
Beep.
"Living like this—no longer chased, no longer hiding, eating well, and sleeping soundly."
"...Oh."
"It's dangerous in here, so go wait over there with the CEO and the others."
"Wait, Noel."
"I told you I'd tell you everything before you ascend. Don't rush me. I always keep my promises."
Yeong-hyeon nodded slowly at those words.
There was only one thing he could say right now.
"...Come back safely."
"Of course. Don't worry."
Noel watched Yeong-hyeon retreat, then pointed toward the entrance.
"Can you cut through this?"
"A simple task."
Asin drew her sword and delivered a long, vertical slash.
The moment the barrier erected by the spirit shattered, Noel pushed the door open.
Haa.
A plume of white breath escaped his lips.
The air was so biting that his skin stung, feeling as if it were being sliced by tiny blades.
It was the sheer density of the corruption filling the building.
"Are you well?"
"My skin is stinging a bit, but that's unavoidable. My insides are perfectly fine."
As long as he possessed a physical body, the pain of corruption was inevitable.
However, there was zero chance of the corruption penetrating his soul.
Thanks to his own innate resistance and Asin's divine protection.
Noel reached into his pocket and pulled something out.
"Is that... money?"
"Yeah. It's a bit of a waste, but it makes the perfect kindling to burn away this corruption."
It was a form of payment.
Shamans took consultation fees as a price for revealing the secrets of heaven.
It was a concept akin to equivalent exchange.
This was no different.
While his purple flame could burn corruption on its own, it flared far more violently with proper kindling.
And for that kindling, nothing beat "money"—the very thing humans desired most and held dearest.
"This is a ghost's domain, after all. We have to make sure the job is done right."
The corruption writhed as if it were a living entity.
Before the corruption could surge forward, Noel conjured the purple flame in his hand.
Like an invisible barrier, the corruption melted away just inches from him, unable to bridge the gap.
"Indeed."
As Asin leveled her sword, the corruption retreated even further.
"It's fine, I'll handle this. You only recently recovered from being an evil spirit yourself."
"I have already fully recovered. Surely you know that these petty things can no longer harm me."
"I know, but this will still be faster."
Noel pulled out two fifty-thousand-won bills and flicked them.
'Alright, you'd better perform as well as you cost.'
Hamburgers, fried chicken, bossam...
He visualized the mouth-watering dishes that made his saliva pool just by thinking of them, exhaled a long breath, and dropped the bills into the purple flame.
As if swallowed whole, the money instantly disintegrated into ash.
The flame roared to life, and Noel threw it forward with a smirk.
Whoosh!
The purple fire caught onto the corruption, blazing fiercely.
Upward.
It climbed higher and higher, dragging in and incinerating every trace of corruption dwelling within the building.
"...Is this the power of money?"
Asin murmured in sheer amazement.
Fueled by wealth, the flame burned with a wild yet majestic intensity.
It was like watching a magnificent purple phoenix take flight.
"That's the power of money for you."
"Though I have been a guardian deity for ages, I have never witnessed such a sight."
"See? Isn't it much better to be free than bound to one place?"
Asin smiled in amusement at Noel's question.
"You speak the truth. The world has changed greatly while I remained stagnant."
Still smiling, Asin raised her gaze toward the ceiling.
"Come hither."
At her command, a crushing weight descended from above, dragging something down at breakneck speed.
Thud!
As Asin approached, the entity was forced to its knees.
It was a wretched mess, so heavily corrupted that it had lost its human form, looking as though it were draped in the mangled hide of a wild beast.
'When they get like this, they usually forget who they even were.'
Growl...
"What's this? It's literally growling like a beast."
"It seems the impurity has consumed its sense of self."
Asin gently tapped the evil spirit's head with the tip of her sword.
Hummm...
A clear, resonant chime echoed through the room. The corruption shuddered, melting away under the spreading light.
Gradually, the spirit's form coalesced back into a human shape.
A man with shaggy, unkempt hair stared blankly up at Asin.
His pitch-black eyes blinked a few times before he suddenly shrieked.
"This is my land! Even you have no right to trespass here!"
Asin drove her sword into the floor. Instantly, several spectral blades rained down around the man, shaking the ground.
Boom!
"Insolent fool."
Under Asin's cold, piercing gaze, the man began to tremble violently.
Such was the absolute majesty of a guardian deity.
"Do you even remember what you've done?"
At Noel's question, the man's eyes flared with sudden malice, but he quickly bit his lip under Asin's crushing pressure.
"So you do remember. Good."
Noel smiled faintly and pointed a finger at the man's neck.
The moment black smoke began to swirl around his throat, the man gasped in agony.
"Argh... cough!"
"I'm trying to decide what to do with you. I've cleared away the surface corruption, but your sins are so deep that you're still an evil spirit."
"Y-You can't... argh!"
"It hurts, doesn't it? You probably never imagined you could still feel pain after death. Of course you didn't. That's why you used your petty power to torment the living."
The moment Noel loosened his grip on the energy, the man shrieked.
"This is my land! No matter what anyone says, it's mine! No one... no one can take it from me!"
"Ah, so that's your excuse? Tormenting people because you're trapped in some delusion that you have to protect this place even after death?"
"I told them not to come! I warned them! But they came anyway! It's their fault!"
"How is a living person supposed to understand the words of the dead? You babble to yourself, issue warnings to yourself, and expect them to know? Even if you apologized to the people who died because of you, do you think they could hear you?"
"If they got hurt, they should have stopped coming! If strange things happened, they should have left! I'm not the one who's crazy! They are!"
"You absolute parasite. You don't even understand the basic difference between the living and the dead."
Noel stopped listening.
No matter what the spirit said, it was nothing but pathetic excuses.
"Wait a moment, my contractor."
"Why? He has no intention of ascending. If we leave him like this, he'll just turn back into an evil spirit."
This was going to be his shop now.
"From this day forth, he shall serve as the guard dog of this house."
"What...? All of a sudden?"
"Do we not require a guardian for this place? Given his intense obsession with this land, I believe he is perfectly suited for the role."
Asin spoke with cool pragmatism.
From what she had observed, ghosts naturally gravitated toward Noel.
That was not healthy for a living human.
She understood that spirits craved the attention of someone who could see and hear them, but such excessive attention was dangerous.
Since he would be working here, they needed a sentry to ward off unwanted spirits.
Though his power would be diminished, he would still be far more effective than any ordinary ghost.
"I shall hold his leash. He will never dare threaten you again."
"Is that... a guardian deity's authority or something?"
"Something of the sort. He shall never be able to harm you. Therefore..."
Asin glided forward gracefully. She made a motion as if grasping the man's throat, then pressed her palm against his forehead.
Sizzle!
"Aaaaargh!"
"This is my power, bestowed by the heavens. It is a brand you shall never escape until you repent of your sins and accumulate sufficient merit."
When Asin withdrew her hand, a scar-like brand was left etched into the man's forehead.
The man clutched his head, writhing in agony.
In addition to the brand, a thick, dark ring materialized around his neck like a collar.
'Is that a literal collar?'
As Noel watched in curiosity, the man gasped, stumbling as he looked up at Asin.
"...Guardian Deity."
His voice was a mixture of resentment and desperate pleading.
"I... I must protect this land, no matter what it takes."
"Then guard it to your heart's content. That is the purpose of this brand. However, this land is no longer yours. You must let go of that obsession."
"I can never let it go! This is my land! It is the first plot of land I ever bought with my wife... where my wife and child are buried..."
"I don't care how desperate you are. It doesn't matter."
Noel sneered openly at the man and walked toward the window.
When Noel looked back, despair was already written all over the man's face.
"Don't... please, don't do this."
"You're dead. It's about time you hammer it into that useless skull of yours that this land belongs to the living, not you."
The evil spirit had blocked all paths to the outside world to isolate this space.
After all, isolation was the only way a ghost could establish its own domain in the world of the living.
There was a reason spirits always holed themselves up in abandoned, sealed spaces.
"And you lost."
Noel threw the window open.
He broke the barrier, opening a path from the inside to the outside world.
"Now, do you see your world crumbling?"
Noel smiled pleasantly at the trembling spirit.