This Is Divine Punishment! +7
"Wait a minute..."
Noel covered his eyes.
He had just woken up, and his brain wasn't fully functioning yet.
"You're saying... I'm such a lightweight that I passed out from drinking?"
—...
A brief silence followed.
Only Kkamang-i, completely oblivious, tugged at his pant leg while crying out, "Churu!"
—Well... yes.
Asin replied hesitantly, even avoiding his gaze.
Noel let out a dry chuckle at her silence.
Asking for details felt strangely uncomfortable.
—Noel. You must never drink alcohol again. Understood?
Yeong-hyeon approached and earnestly warned him.
"Wait, did I cause a scene or something?"
Silence fell once more.
Just as Noel's eyes began to narrow, Yeong-hyeon quickly changed the subject.
—Mr. Jang-yul called Uncle, and Uncle brought you back. The jade ornaments are over there in the living room. Oh, and there was one more thing in there.
—Why not check it out while listening to what Kkamang-i has to say?
Asin smiled gently, holding a Churu in her hand.
As soon as Kkamang-i darted toward her, Asin scooped the little creature into her arms.
Noel stared at his rumpled pant leg, then at Kkamang-i wagging its tail happily in Asin's arms, and let out another hollow laugh.
Unbelievable. One minute it's like this, the next it's like that.
Noel clutched his throbbing head and headed toward the bathroom.
Ugh... my stomach feels awful.
Was this what they called a hangover?
It was his first time experiencing it.
This body really was a complete lightweight when it came to alcohol.
"How polite," Noel muttered.
But there was absolutely no mention of what had happened after he got drunk.
...What? Was it really that bad?
Feeling strangely uneasy, Noel tossed his phone onto the sofa. He slid down to sit on the floor, leaning against the couch, and began opening the meticulously wrapped boxes one by one.
—I know what's inside!
Kkamang-i piped up excitedly from Asin's arms.
"Good for you," Noel replied flatly, but Kkamang-i hopped down anyway and sat right next to him. Asin's gaze followed.
—Are you jealous?
The creature seemed to be smirking, which Noel found utterly ridiculous.
"Sure."
The moment Noel opened the box, Kkamang-i instinctively squeezed itself inside.
As the little spirit curled up in the box, Yeong-hyeon burst out laughing, while Noel's eyes narrowed.
"Move."
Noel reached out to nudge it, but Kkamang-i stubbornly held its ground.
—Mmm...
"What is it now?"
—Something's weird.
"What?"
—...I don't know. You tell me, Noel.
"This isn't even a holy relic. Do you think you can just touch the box so easily?"
At those words, Kkamang-i, still sitting inside, stretched out its front paw. It slipped right through the box, and the momentum sent the spirit tumbling backward out of it.
"You can see the box, but it's practically hollow to you. You'd only feel cozy if it actually blocked you, but it doesn't, does it?"
—Then you do it, Noel.
"Move."
Kkamang-i obediently took two steps to the side.
"Sit quietly right there and think about what you saw and heard, and where the guy who cast the curse is."
Only after seeing Kkamang-i settle down did Noel finally examine the jade ornaments.
There were rings, necklaces, earrings, and even purely decorative round jades, along with various carvings of fawns, dragons, and more.
"Uncle must have had a hard time carrying all of this."
—Yeah. He was groaning the whole time.
Yeong-hyeon's reply made Noel chuckle softly as he inspected the ornaments.
Oh. There are some decent pieces here.
To use the local terminology, some of these objects were imbued with "blessings" or "good fortune." Old items that had been deeply cherished during their lifetime often brought good luck to a household when kept inside.
—Is there something good?
Yeong-hyeon asked, leaning closer.
"It's very rare, but objects can indeed hold blessings. There are a few like that here. This is quite a haul."
Blessings, or in other words, good fortune.
Smiling brightly, Noel pulled out the carvings of the fawn, the dragon, and a dolphin, but then he froze.
Huh...?
There was something beneath the jade ornaments.
Wasn't that a talisman?
"...Whoa, this is the real deal."
He had seen fake talismans by searching them up online, and he had spotted them plastered on shopfronts while walking down the street. People usually bought them wishing for good luck, health, or various other blessings.
Unfortunately, because the talismans themselves were fake, they had no actual effect. They were nothing but illusions.
"Is this the 'one more thing' you mentioned earlier, hyung?"
"Mr. Jang-yul called Uncle, and Uncle brought you back. The jade ornaments are over there in the living room. Oh, and there was one more thing in there."
Noel recalled Yeong-hyeon's words from before he went to wash up.
—That's it! It looks incredibly suspicious, doesn't it?
"Did you touch it by any chance?"
—No. Asin told me not to touch it.
Yeong-hyeon shook his head, and Noel looked up at Asin.
—Do you know what that is?
"Isn't it a seal?"
—Indeed. It is a talisman meant to seal away a certain entity. However, I am far more concerned about what lies within than the talisman itself.
"To be honest, I don't mind either way. What do you think?"
—The seal appears ancient. I believe it could be quite dangerous.
"Do you think it's related to that ghost who was a centuries-old evil spirit?"
"I bought this abandoned land... legally. I bought it! But they wanted the land, so they killed my wife. They killed her!"
He had bought what he thought was abandoned land, only for someone else to demand it.
—Perhaps... is it not highly likely that this is related to those who slaughtered his family? They were in the same location, after all.
"That makes sense. Maybe they were just terribly unlucky and got swept up in it and died."
Or perhaps whoever came demanding the land had actually come for this very object.
"But that evil spirit is dead now. Why couldn't they take it... Ah. Did he turn into an evil spirit the moment he died?"
—Most likely. His wife and child were murdered. It is only natural that he would lose his mind to rage.
"Still, turning into an evil spirit immediately upon death is no easy feat."
Pushing aside his lingering unease, Noel looked back and forth between Yeong-hyeon and Kkamang-i.
"Hyung. Kkamang-i. Step back."
—Is it dangerous?
"Who knows? A seal is something you have to open to find out."
—Be careful.
"Don't worry about me. Just take Kkamang-i."
At those words, Yeong-hyeon quickly scooped Kkamang-i into his arms, smiling happily as he stepped back. The spirit's belly was incredibly soft to the touch.
—Do not worry. Noel will not be harmed.
Asin said firmly, her eyes fixed on Noel.
I wonder what's inside.
Unlike her, Noel was already filled with excitement. A seal usually meant a ghost of some sort.
An evil spirit? Or just a terribly unlucky god-class ghost?
There were so many entities in this world that called themselves gods. Most of them were merely god-class or mid-tier spirits, not true gods.
Noel boldly peeled off the talisman.
Twitch.
He felt the object squirm in his palm.
"Oh."
He could already see power leaking out.
Thud!
Asin plunged her sword into the floor in front of him, blocking the escaping energy from drawing any closer.
Noel conjured purple flames at his fingertips, letting them hover like a small campfire as he observed the dark power. It was a deep, dark red, resembling dried, dripping blood.
"There's a massive amount of resentment piled up here."
—So it seems. Judging by its intensity, I suspect it may have once been a deity.
"An abandoned god? Or a betrayed god? Something like that?"
—My thoughts exactly.
After a moment of thought, Noel simply undid the rest of the seal and immediately forged a sword out of black smoke, driving it straight down.
Stab!
The object inside thrashed wildly, but there was nothing it could do.
The dark, reddish energy writhed before sinking back inside.
"What? It's a fan? And here I was thinking of buying one."
An elegant, luxurious fan revealed itself. It was the kind of fan that almost every shaman owned.
Let's see.
Noel stared intently at the fan. Seeing how the dark red energy had just retreated into it, it seemed this fan was acting as a leash.
Noel looked at the discarded talisman.
This was basically just acting as a lid.
The true medium of the seal was the fan itself.
No wonder it looked so high-end.
A fan capable of trapping a god-class ghost. This was a massive reward.
Indeed. It's a reward. You could say it's worth a life.
Who knew? A god-class ghost could easily turn into an evil spirit and go on a rampage, just like the previous one.
Noel let a drop of purple flame fall onto the fan.
Whoosh!
The fan began to burn steadily.
—What are you doing?
"I'm going to leave it like this until it regains its senses."
—Is your power akin to a flame of purification?
"Yeah, something like that."
Since it was a flame that burned away corruption, calling it a flame of purification was accurate enough.
—Noel. Are you really going to leave it like that?
Yeong-hyeon asked worriedly.
"I have no choice. It's completely out of its mind right now, so it can't even speak. If it was a deity, purifying it instantly is impossible anyway. It has to stay like this for a few days."
—Because the resentment is too deep?
"Exactly. Trying to touch such deep resentment right away is just foolish. Imagine how agonizing it must be to be cursed by a god."
Yeong-hyeon couldn't hide his amazement at Noel's explanation. How did he know all of this so well?
He did say he was born with this kind of power, didn't he?
Then what kind of life must he have lived?
Yeong-hyeon fell into deep thought.
"Kkamang-i."
Noel called out as the little spirit crouched down, wiggling its butt as if it were about to pounce.
Kkamang-i turned its head.
—Huh?
"Don't touch it."
—Why?
"If you touch it, no Churu for you."
Even with the warning, it would probably try to touch it anyway. Cats—or whatever Kkamang-i was—always did the most incomprehensible things. Even though it could phase through doors, it insisted on wedging its head through the cracks.
I'd better block it so it can't get close.
Noel gestured to Kkamang-i. The spirit hopped down. It cast a sneaky glance toward the burning fan, but when Noel cleared his throat with a stern "Ahem," it pretended not to notice and looked back at him.
"Kkamang-i. Now, tell me who cast the curse."
At those words, Kkamang-i gave a confident flick of its tail, looking incredibly proud of itself.
Bump.
"Ugh, watch it."
The moment someone bumped into her shoulder, the words slipped out reflexively as she glared at the offender.
But the woman quickly averted her eyes.
The look in the other person's eyes didn't seem human. The moment their eyes met, goosebumps broke out over her skin. Her breath hitched, and she felt a sudden urge to scream.
"...You, watch yourself."
At the chilling warning, the woman instinctively clutched her shoulder. What would have happened if she had talked back?
Prick.
Strangely, her shoulder felt a bit prickly.
"You did well not to talk back."
Hearing a low voice nearby, the woman turned her head.
There stood a boy who looked like a high school student. With a bandage on his forehead, a cast on his arm, and band-aids plastered across his face, he looked like he was in a lot of pain.
"Nothing good comes from raising your voice with people like that."
Noel offered a bright smile, and the woman stared at him blankly.
That bastard was passing his curse onto others.
Did he really think it would transfer that easily? Idiot.
Since the victim wasn't someone who shared the curse, transferring it like this would only temporarily lessen his own pain.
But what did the innocent bystander do to deserve this? They would have to endure the pain for at least ten minutes. If it was severe, it might even leave a bruise.
Noel quietly burned away the traces of the curse as he walked past.
—Look! He's transferring the curse again. Again!
Yeong-hyeon pointed a finger.
How many people was that now?
—He's a bad human!
Kkamang-i declared, draped over Asin's shoulder. It seemed to have decided that her shoulder was the safest place to be.
—Noel, punish him like you did the other bad human!
Kkamang-i unsheathed its tiny claws. Noel had thoroughly punished the bad human who had tried to force it to steal the holy relic.
"Our Kkamang-i is going to keep coming back here to play. If you ever try to fill its head with nonsense or feed it lies again, I'll personally chop your hands off. You think I won't do it?"
It had been incredibly cool. It even made Kkamang-i instinctively hide its own paws.
"I will," Noel replied simply, keeping his eyes on the target.
The place Kkamang-i had led him to was a shopping mall. It wasn't one he had visited before, but it was massive.
The moment he heard about it, "curse transferring" immediately came to mind. It was a technique that existed in his original world as well. Before a curse could completely consume someone, they would slowly distribute it to others to prolong their own life.
That was undoubtedly why the man had chosen such a crowded place.
But it's a wasted effort.
Noel stared at the man. A beast-like curse was perched squarely on his shoulders.
Just looking at it was deeply unpleasant.
Noel smiled faintly and quickened his pace.
As he drew closer, the curse sensed his presence.
So what if you're looking at me?
As the curse let out a beastly howl and lunged, Asin pointed her finger downward.
—Kneel.
Boom!
With a heavy crash, the curse was slammed into the floor, causing the lights in the immediate area to flicker momentarily.
The man collapsed backward along with the curse, as if an invisible chain around his neck had suddenly tightened. The surrounding crowd began to murmur in confusion.
Noel stepped forward and plunged a smoke-forged sword straight into the curse's neck.
Stab!
He spread his other hand, and black smoke began to swirl around the curse.
"Hello there."
Noel pretended to reach out to help the man up, but as he directed his power toward the curse, a bloodcurdling shriek rent the air.
"Aaaaargh!"
The man had been bitten so deeply that he was practically one with the curse.
The thick black lines visible on his neck were the shackles of the curse, and they were visibly tightening.
He probably had about two days left.
"Now then, where shall we start the bidding?"
Noel offered a polite, gentle smile as he extended his hand to the man.