The Thirty-Seventh Job — An Axe Handle in the Immortal's Game ④

All manner of amusements rose as candidates and fell away again. The tasks and riddles he had hurled at grim reapers for hundreds of years surfaced in his mind, then sank. Too hard was no fun. Too easy was no fun either.

His clients, Gangnim and Suchan. His target, that mortal brat. And Gonghyo himself. He wanted a blazing match where everyone put their stakes on the table, fair and square.

"I've been rather bored of late, you know. I do wonder how thoroughly you'll entertain me, brat."

A smile pooled in the creases of his face. The past several decades had been spent living far too quietly. He'd even begun to worry he might rust — and now, of all times, a chance this delicious had fallen into his lap. Had it not been for Gangnim and Suchan's business, he would have been even more delighted.

Gonghyo waited for Yeon-ui with a heart already racing.

"The view's really something."

Stepping off the bus, Yeon-ui took in the wide-open landscape and couldn't help but marvel.

Gimpo.

A region famous since ancient times for its plains. The old reputation had faded now that city streets and buildings had moved in, but the rice paddies and fields still stretching wide to one side made that fame easy to understand. Just looking at it felt like his chest was opening up.

Food first, then work.

It was already lunchtime by the time he arrived. He'd done nothing but sit on a bus the whole way, and he was still completely drained. He should have brought Changmo along — insisting on coming alone felt like a stupid bit of stubbornness now. Grumbling, he started scouting nearby restaurants.

"An hour for lunch, two or three hours to find the place and make the delivery, and I'll get home around dinnertime. Aigoo! This is a long way out."

Today looked like another packed one.

Yeon-ui had arrived. And Gonghyo had found him.

"So he's finally here."

An immortal's gaze was not something one could hide from. Even from across the strait, Yeon-ui was as clear as if he stood right in front of him — from that round, soft face down to those clear light-brown eyes. Gonghyo looked him over with a curious eye.

So this is the one the Bodhisattva took in. Quite a sight, I'll give him that.

Even to Gonghyo's eye, the clarity Yeon-ui carried was unusual. He saw far fewer mortals than grim reapers these days, but hundreds of years had not been wasted. He had seen all kinds of people, and even among them, Yeon-ui stood out.

But that was all. What Gonghyo felt was curiosity, not awe. This was not enough to truly surprise him. Perhaps that was why his plan to put Yeon-ui through a trial never so much as wavered.

"A little short, though. Just a little further..."

Yeon-ui's current position sat just barely outside the domain. To pull him in, he needed to come a little closer. He had to set foot inside the territory before anything could be done with him — and yet Yeon-ui kept approaching and receding, as if he were doing it on purpose to get a rise out of him. In truth, he was simply busy hunting for the delivery address.

Insolent little brat. Making an elder wait like this.

He grumbled to himself, but waited calmly. Once Yeon-ui entered the domain, the rest would be easy. That was when the real show would begin. Simyeong and Yuhwa had said all he needed to do was avoid conversation — but that was the talk of people who didn't truly understand immortals.

If he set his mind to luring someone, anything was possible. Illusions, vessels, whatever he scattered around — the moment the target responded, they were caught.

I wonder what we'll talk about first. It's been a long time since I last spoke with a mortal.

His heart was pounding, somehow. Ever since he had become an immortal, it had beaten with clockwork regularity. Now it was racing. Swelling anticipation was the fuel. Gonghyo's mouth slowly curved.

"Good. This should be about right."

Yeon-ui had drawn almost close enough. Time to start fishing. A shallow sigh slipped from Gonghyo's lips, and with it, a dusting of gold.

The game was about to begin.

"Huh."

He was on his way back from dropping the letter in the recipient's mailbox when a strangely shaped butterfly caught Yeon-ui's eye. Golden wings marked with blue patterns, so beautiful they seemed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠advertise: This is what splendor looks like! Before he knew it, he was following it.

There's a park right here. Might as well look around before I go.

A beautiful butterfly and a lush green park. It was a combination made for a stroll. Yeon-ui followed the butterfly with a light step, drawn to its beauty the way a moth is drawn to a flame.

The butterfly kept just enough distance — almost catchable, never quite. Yeon-ui kept following, pretending to take in the scenery. Before he knew it, the coast facing Ganghwa Island was drawing near. The dirt under his feet became gravel, then fine sand.

"Whoa..."

A narrow stretch of sea, and beyond it a broad island, filled his vision. If not for the salt prickling his nose, he could have mistaken it for a river. Yeon-ui kept following the butterfly, figuring he might as well take in the ocean while he was at it.

He had completely forgotten that butterflies don't care for sea wind.

Is it asking me to catch it?

He was almost at the water when the butterfly, which had been flying so haughtily, suddenly slowed. Then it came toward him. Yeon-ui thought he'd lucked out and reached out a hand. Up close, the golden wings were even more vivid.

"Got it!"

Close enough that if he tripped, his nose would hit it. Yeon-ui boldly brought his fingers forward. The butterfly approached as tamely as if it were used to human hands. Then its slender legs touched his fingertip. A faint tickle.

It's really beautiful. I've never seen a butterfly like this.

Yeon-ui endured the tickle and studied it. The gold, of course — but that clear, luminous blue held his gaze. He stared, lost, at the geometric patterns.

And then.

"Wh— wait?!"

The snare had closed.

"Have you got a location?"

"Nothing, sir. The tracking spell and the defensive charms we put on Yeon-ui aren't responding at all. It looks like he's trapped inside some kind of barrier."

"Damn it all. How thoroughly did they hide this?!"

The Post Office was thrown into chaos in an instant.

A mole for the rebels, planted inside the Post Office. A conspiracy that tangled that mole, the rebels, and even an immortal. The combination of the two packed staggering force. The Director, the Ten Kings, even Ksitigarbha herself failed to respond in time and were left scrambling. All they could do was arrest the mole.

"Those lunatics. They dragged an immortal into their own mess? Did they not even consider a conflict with the Western Paradise?!"

"That immortal's gone properly mad too. We were only worried about him playing pranks — who would've thought he'd actually take a request from the rebels."

In a word: chaos. Simyeong and Yuhwa could only seethe, while Heukchi clutched his head, at a complete loss. The King of the Five Paths of Rebirth, who had arrived in haste, tore into him. A voice as cold as frost poured down over his head.

"Standing there like a statue won't change a thing! Get this situation under control and start solving it!"

"I—I'm sorry. I was so shocked I..."

"What about lodging a protest with the Western Paradise?"

Simyeong was the first to collect himself. The King of the Five Paths of Rebirth twitched his caterpillar-thick brows, then simply shook his head. It seemed they were in their own kind of disarray over there.

"So it's impossible after all."

"Immortals are, at their core, independent beings. They belong to the Western Paradise in name only. A dispute between the Underworld and the Western Paradise would be a headache in itself — but even on their side, taking action against Immortal Gonghyo is difficult."

Beings who had attained the Way or achieved liberation stood on a considerably high plane. Control itself was impossible. It had been a problem since ancient times, but never before had it ballooned into an incident of this magnitude. That was how enormous Gonghyo's stunt had been.

"Can't we just force our way through? This is a clear territorial violation."

Yuhwa, who could listen no longer, proposed the hard line. Reckless words that could easily spark friction with the Western Paradise. The King of the Five Paths of Rebirth glared at her. He did not scold her, though. He understood how she felt well enough.

"I hope you aren't saying that without knowing what it means. If we did, the Western Paradise would claim we overstepped our authority. Recklessly deploying force would only hand them a pretext."

"The rebels had no problem dragging an immortal into this! So why can't we?!"

"The rebels doing it does not mean we may. Restrain yourself."

The wall of reality was high. Yuhwa, who had been about to keep arguing, wilted under the King's unyielding words. She ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sank into her seat, drained. Simyeong soothed her with a look of sympathy.

"If there's truly no other way, then so be it. For now, endure."

"Simyeong..."

"We're all worried about the kid. We'll find a way somehow. Trust us, and trust yourself. You need to stay calm."

He wasn't simply telling her to stay calm and leave it at that. There was still a taboo even immortals did not dare break: one must not harm a mortal life. Gonghyo could not be mad enough to violate that. Simyeong pinned his hopes there. Heukchi was of the same mind.

"We're still detecting a life sign. If he meant to kill him, it would already be over. Immortal Gonghyo hasn't gone that far. Whatever he's planning, we have no reason to rush in."

Even the King of the Five Paths of Rebirth was holding her back. Yuhwa finally accepted it and let her anger settle. With her seniors and her superiors saying this much, throwing a tantrum would only ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be embarrassing.

"I'm sorry. I got too worked up..."

"You held it in. That's enough. Heukchi, go console the Bodhisattva. She will have been shaken by now as well. You two, get back to work."

Heukchi bowed and withdrew. Simyeong and Yuhwa left to prepare a response. Once everyone was gone, the King of the Five Paths of Rebirth let out the sigh he had been holding. His rugged face looked as weary and lonely as an old withered tree.

"Would you look at this. Live too long, and you end up seeing every wretched spectacle there is."

Even the complaint he let out sounded like a balloon with the air gone out of it.

"Is anyone there?! There's someone here!"

Yeon-ui shouted for help at the top of his lungs. But all that came back was an echo. His reflected voice rang hollow through the surroundings. Naturally, no other sound answered. He sat down, deflated.

This is insane. What is it this time?

It wasn't only his five senses that were in chaos. Even after roaming the Underworld and growing used to spiritual energy, this place was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠so saturated with it that everything had gone dead. He had no choice but to admit it. Getting out of here on his own was impossible.

"Do I just wait? I hate sitting still, though."

Being trapped with nowhere to go was maddening. If he could just know what was going on, that would be something! The mist and clouds hanging right in front of his face had nothing to say. No — from the ground to the sky, everything was silent.

So it had been that butterfly after all. Yeon-ui regretted it, too late. It had been strangely beautiful, hadn't it. He was coming to understand the saying about every rose having its thorn — just from a rather unexpected angle. He wanted to be more careful going forward. But first, he would have to get out of here.

"Seo Yeon-ui, is it?"

A— a person!

How much time had passed? A voice came from beyond the mist. The person he had been waiting and waiting for. He even overlooked the fact that the speaker knew his name, waving both hands in greeting.

"Over here, over here! Please help me!"

As if answering the call, the mist before his eyes began to thin. Fresh greenery revealed itself as if painted into existence. And someone pushing through it. Yeon-ui saw him and stopped waving. Belatedly, he realized something was off.

"Uh... who are you?"

"Looks like you are startled, at that. Only thought it strange once you'd seen me with your own eyes."

The old man in white robes — Gonghyo — spoke with a sneer in his voice. An unconcealed grin sat among his long beard. Yeon-ui's wariness rose of its own accord. His round, rabbit-like eyes trembled wide with tension.

"You asked who this one is, did you?"

"I... have a pretty good idea, actually."

Yeon-ui said it in a sour tone. Now that he'd collected himself, he thought he knew. The look was so textbook it would have been hard not to. Finding that amusing, Gonghyo let his smile deepen.

"Heh heh heh! So the grim reapers warned you. I doubt those fellows expected it to go quite like this, though."

He held out a wrinkled hand. And at the same time, kindly introduced himself.

It was a declaration of war, extended to Yeon-ui.

It meant the immortal's game had begun.