The Owner of the Pond (3)
It was bad.
Even at a single glance, I could tell. Her sanity had already flown out the window. Even assuming she had flown into a rage after sensing unfamiliar spiritual energy, this was clearly a problem. For example….
“Ye-ryeong, snap out of it! It’s me, your friend Jang San!”
Even when Jang San desperately appealed with her own identity, the other woman showed no sign of recognition. On the contrary, Jang San’s shout only drew a sharp hiss and even greater fury.
“Get out of this place——!!!”
The yokai’s yoki churned violently. In an instant, an astonishing surge of power erupted from her body and seeped into the pond water. And then….
KWAAAAAAAH!!!
The pond water coalesced into a colossal water serpent, jaws stretched wide.
“W-what the hell is that?!”
“...Even after degenerating into a yokai, it seems she can still use an Imugi’s techniques.”
Of course it wasn’t literally a snake; it had simply taken on a similar form and movement. The real difference was that the technique, which should have been woven from spiritual energy, was instead clumped together with yoki.
That said… with yoki this powerful, we probably don’t have to worry about evil spirits showing up.
The aura was so overwhelming that malevolent entities likely wouldn’t dare approach. Even Baek Seol-hwa standing right beside me was drenched in cold sweat from the tension.
“I-it’s so creepy…!!”
...Was that the problem?
“Baek Seol-hwa.”
“Y-yes? What?”
“Give Jang San a hand. Jang San, hold out as long as you can.”
“What are you planning?”
“Se-hwan, you have a way?”
“I can’t promise I’ll bring her back completely. However….”
I pulled out the talisman I had carelessly crumpled and shoved into my bag instead of folding it properly.
“I can subdue her.”
“H-how do you subdue a yokai like that?!”
“Die——!!”
“Kyaaak?!”
The yokai wasn’t going to wait politely. The water serpent formed from the pond opened its maw and hurtled toward us. But it was fine.
THUD!!!
We had a spiritual beast on our side who was no pushover.
Jang San unleashed an incredible wave of spiritual energy, proving her earlier claim that she would handle everything since we were near Taebaek Mountain was no empty boast. Her power easily shattered the water serpent. With her full strength revealed, she shouted at the yokai.
“Ha Ye-ryeong! You still don’t recognize me?!”
To think someone with this much power had let her guard down and gotten corrupted by something like an evil spirit. It was almost laughable when I remembered what happened back then.
“My spiritual energy should feel familiar! Come back to your senses!”
“Intruders——I will devour every last one of you———!”
Seeing her friend in such a state, even the normally calm Jang San was growing visibly agitated. I told her not to waste her breath.
“Give it up. She has no reason left. We need to force her to calm down first, then talk.”
“...Can’t she return to normal the way I did?”
“I don’t know about that, but one thing is certain: we have to resolve this situation before we can do anything else. So stop thinking about anything else and keep her occupied. You can at least adjust your power and endure, right?”
“...Understood.”
Jang San let out a low growl at the yokai. It wasn’t figurative; it was literal. True to her title as the King of the Mountains, the sound alone made every hair on my body stand on end. Most beasts would probably freeze solid at that roar alone, unable to move a muscle.
“Baek Seol-hwa, you support Jang San by—”
“U-uh, I can’t move either……”
...Was she actually an idiot?
“Cover your ears.”
“Ah, uh…”
Baek Seol-hwa obediently plugged the ear holes on both sides of her head. The sight was so ridiculous I couldn’t help myself.
“...Are you really an idiot?”
“What?”
“Are those even your ears?”
Obviously the human ears on the sides of that head weren’t hers. Those were fake, transformed parts. Her real ears were the fluffy fox ears on top of her head. Yet when I told her to cover her ears, she had blocked the fake ones instead.
Realizing her mistake from my comment, Baek Seol-hwa hurriedly switched her hands and made an excuse.
“Ah… I, I knew that! I was just distracted for a second…”
“Jang San should hold out fine, but help her if it looks dangerous.”
“O-okay.”
“I’m counting on you. Oh, and one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“Hold onto this guy for me.”
When I placed the crying phoenix chick on her shoulder, Baek Seol-hwa recoiled in panic.
“H-have you lost your mind?! Why are you giving it to me?!”
“Don’t worry, it won’t eat you. If I carry it, my position will be exposed, so you need to hold it.”
“Ugh, but it’s scary…”
I understood the fear. The phoenix’s true form was a top-tier mythical beast, a magnificent spiritual creature that could treat even a powerful yokai like a nine-tailed fox as nothing more than a snack. It was only natural to fear it… though she herself had lived for a thousand years. Still, I wanted to reassure her. This wasn’t its main body but a clone, and its personality was gentle.
“Just bear with it a little. It won’t bite unless you hit it first.”
“I’m not going to hit it…”
“Exactly. So it’s safe. I’m counting on you.”
“Haa…”
With that, I moved too. While Jang San drew the yokai’s attention, I looked for a way to subdue her.
Even as I moved, the yokai paid me almost no mind. Since she couldn’t sense any spiritual energy from my direction, her focus remained locked on Jang San and the others. Jang San’s overwhelming spiritual energy in particular drowned out every other presence.
Yet even with that much power, Jang San couldn’t easily overpower the yokai.
Is it because an Imugi that fell into yokai status retains more strength?
The yoki was immense. When Jang San had been corrupted by the Jangsanbeom calamity, her power had been severely weakened. This one showed no such signs. If I had to guess, it was probably because her appearance caused her to be treated as a type of Imugi. Being regarded as a similar entity meant she had lost almost none of her power upon becoming a yokai. Unlike Jang San, who had transformed into an entirely different being.
If things continued like this, they would simply exhaust each other with no real progress. To subdue her properly….
I had already slipped one talisman into my pocket. Now I took out another and slapped it onto my leg.
It had been a while since I last did this… I wasn’t sure if it would work. Only one way to find out.
"Strong Gale."
⟨ WIND TALISMAN ⟩
A mystical energy flowed from the paper, and wind suddenly swirled beneath my feet.
SWWWWISH!
The fierce, rapid gust lifted everything nearby: discarded cigarette butts, scraps of tissue, even the nearby portable trash bin. The force was that strong.
“Whoa.”
And then….
“Y-Yoo Se-hwan?!”
I shot into the sky as well.
“Uh……”
The wind turned out stronger than I expected.
…That guy really has no fear at all.
Seol-hwa thought this as she quietly slipped sideways, watching Se-hwan circle around where the yokai couldn’t notice him. To her, a yokai of this caliber was terrifying, yet Se-hwan moved alone without a hint of fear, even leaving his familiar behind. Was he simply fearless, or was helping others truly that important to him?
…Both, probably.
Seol-hwa let out a small sigh and looked at the yokai. She still hadn’t calmed her rage at all and was pouring every ounce of strength against the mountain’s vast spiritual energy.
The power of words… a verbal spirit?
There was a reason Imugis were so renowned among spiritual beasts. They were that powerful, that noble. The power of human language, which could drag even such beings down into yokai, seemed to have no limits. Seol-hwa felt once again how dangerous humans truly were.
That was when it happened.
SWWWWISH!!
A sound like a razor-sharp gale cut through the air, followed by a violent wind. Seol-hwa turned to see what it was and let out a startled scream.
“Y-Yoo Se-hwan?!”
Se-hwan was flying through the air, fluttering like a lone kite. Her cry drew both Jang San’s and the yokai’s attention. Seol-hwa quickly clapped both hands over her mouth.
Ah, did I just get him caught…?
But it was hardly fair to blame her. When someone suddenly flew off into the sky, who wouldn’t be shocked? Besides, the wind itself had been loud enough to draw attention anyway.
Both Jang San and the yokai stared up at Se-hwan with momentarily dazed expressions. Jang San recovered first and shouted in alarm.
“S-Se-hwan?! What are you doing?! Ha Ye-ryeong!!”
Jang San naturally assumed it was the yokai’s doing, but the yokai herself roared back in fury.
“I did nothing——!!”
Of course, while the scene looked incredibly dangerous and somehow a little ridiculous, the person responsible was acting with complete seriousness. Even though his body had floated into the sky and the yokai had noticed him, Se-hwan remained remarkably calm.
“Damn, I messed up the control. Still…”
Se-hwan tilted his head slightly.
“I got up to the perfect height.”
He had risen higher than the yokai’s head.
“You insane human———!!”
The yokai screamed and activated another technique. This time the pond water transformed into sharp spikes and shot upward to impale him. Se-hwan pulled out one of the talismans he had prepared before launching himself. Once the wind died and he began to fall, contact with those spikes would be catastrophic. He had to finish this before that happened.
But the speed of the surging water spikes was faster than he anticipated. In the brief moment Se-hwan faltered—
BANG!!
A powerful burst of spiritual energy shattered the water stream. Jang San had protected him.
“Se-hwan! Are you all right?”
“Thanks, Jang San!”
With her help, Se-hwan gripped the talisman between his index and middle fingers and hurled it hard at the yokai. The moment it stuck perfectly to her forehead, he clapped his hands together sharply while still falling.
"Restrain."
⟨ RESTRAINT TALISMAN ⟩
The talisman released a surge of mystical energy. It whipped out like ropes, binding the yokai’s entire body. Confirming it had worked, Se-hwan shouted to Seol-hwa.
“Come here!”
“What? You want me to catch you?!”
Seol-hwa thought he was asking her to receive him and panicked, but that wasn’t it. The chick-sized phoenix clone heard his call, flapped its tiny wings a few times—
“Ah?!”
—and transformed into a large, beautiful bird wrapped in red feathers. It stirred a gentle breeze and swiftly flew to Se-hwan. Only a single red feather remained on Seol-hwa’s shoulder.
Seol-hwa jerked her head up to check if he was safe.
“…Phew.”
The phoenix had caught him in an instant. She had forgotten because of its small size, but a phoenix was originally a massive bird more than capable of carrying a full-grown person. Se-hwan let out a groan and sat upright on its back.
“Thanks.”
When he stroked its crest in gratitude, the phoenix cried out happily. Once it landed, Se-hwan slid off and immediately checked on the yokai.
“…It worked perfectly.”
She lay collapsed on the pond surface, her entire body bound. She hadn’t fainted; she simply couldn’t exert any strength or move. What Se-hwan had used was a restraint talisman. It shared the same core effect as a binding talisman but possessed far stronger restraining power. While a normal binding talisman only restricted physical movement of spiritual entities, this one sealed away every form of spiritual power—including yoki and spiritual energy.
As Se-hwan smiled in satisfaction, Jang San ran over and looked him up and down.
“Se-hwan, are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?!”
“I’m fine. It got a little dangerous, but thanks for the help.”
“Why would you do something so reckless?! You nearly got yourself killed!”
“It usually works fine… It’s been a while, so I made a small mistake.”
Se-hwan scratched his head.
“Still, the result was good, so it’s fine.”
“Haa… you really…”
“Hey, Yoo Se-hwan! You okay?”
Seol-hwa arrived a moment later and immediately asked the same thing. Se-hwan raised a hand to show he was unharmed.
“Yeah, perfectly fine.”
“You always pick the most reckless things to do… You’re going to get yourself killed one day!”
“I won’t die. I used to do this all the time. I just messed up because it’s been so long.”
“…What?”
He used to do this all the time?
“What do you mean by—”
“Let’s handle the urgent matter first.”
Seol-hwa’s eyes widened in confusion, but Se-hwan walked past her and Jang San without answering. He gazed down at the yokai collapsed on the pond. With the rampaging yoki now sealed by the restraint talisman and quiet, he could finally examine her true condition.
“Hmm… the state she’s in…”
“Se-hwan… how does it look?”
When Jang San asked cautiously, Se-hwan answered simply.
“We can cleanse it.”
“……Huh?”
“I said we can cleanse the calamity.”
“R-really?!”
“However, her body has deteriorated badly. If she stays here, she’ll fall back into yokai status again. We’ll have to move her habitat after all.”
“Ah…”
Jang San’s expression turned slightly gloomy. Becoming a dragon was the very purpose of an Imugi’s life. It was questionable whether she would accept abandoning that dream just to survive. If she refused and chose to remain here….
“…What if she says she won’t change her habitat?”
At Jang San’s question, Se-hwan looked into her eyes for a moment. Then, though it might sound cold, he spoke with firm conviction.
“Then destruction is the only answer. You saw her condition earlier. She couldn’t even recognize her own friend. If she stays here, she’ll become a yokai again someday, and at that point there will be no turning back. The amount of yin energy suggests she hasn’t eaten any living humans yet, but once she fully turns, I can’t guarantee anything.”
“…I see.”
Jang San seemed to understand, but her face was filled with sorrow. Seeing that, Se-hwan let out a small sigh.
“You’re the king of the mountain too, so you know what happens when you leave a harmful yokai alone, right?”
“…I know. That’s why I once hunted many yokai myself.”
“Exactly. We can’t just overlook something that might hurt people.”
Jang San’s expression grew even darker. Seol-hwa, who had been watching quietly, suddenly tapped Se-hwan’s shoulder.
“Hey. Try saying it a little more gently.”
“What?”
“I saw last time that you know how to speak more kindly. You’re being way too cold right now.”
Se-hwan’s eyes widened. He looked slightly flustered, as if he hadn’t realized how he sounded.
“To you she might be nothing more than a beast, but to Jang San she’s a friend. If I use you as an example, she’s like Se-a to you.”
“……”
“She seems to understand the situation rationally, so it would be nice if you showed a little consideration for her feelings.”
At Seol-hwa’s gentle rebuke, Se-hwan had nothing to say. Thinking back on his own words, they had been rather cold. Speaking purely from an exorcist’s perspective, he had been too blunt.
“…Sorry.”
When he apologized honestly, Jang San shook her head slightly.
“No, it’s fine. You worked hard to help me, Se-hwan. There’s no need to apologize.”
Seol-hwa added one more thing to him.
“Besides, since she’s a spiritual beast herself, she probably doesn’t want to fall into that kind of yokai state either. Just like how Jang San hated it and asked you for help. So maybe we can resolve this nicely.”
“…That might be true.”
Se-hwan acknowledged the point and looked at the collapsed yokai—no, at the owner of Hwangji Pond.
“Then let’s start by cleansing the calamity.”
“Ah… ugh……”
“Oh.”
“Looks like she’s waking up.”
She was beginning to open her eyes. All that effort hadn’t been wasted. My whole body was drenched in sweat from the ritual. While I performed it, Baek Seol-hwa and Jang San had taken care of every evil spirit that tried to approach. There had been no need to summon any familiars.
“Ha Ye-ryeong!”
The one who greeted her awakening most warmly was, naturally, Jang San. Perhaps startled by the voice, the Imugi called Ha Ye-ryeong widened her eyes.
“Jang… San…?”
“Yes, it’s me. Are you okay now? How does your body feel?”
The Imugi blinked and looked around. Given her noble nature and high intelligence, she seemed to grasp the general situation from her surroundings and showed no wariness toward us.
“…Ah, I lost consciousness again.”
“Ye-ryeong, do you remember what the situation was?”
“Yes…”
The Imugi’s eyes grew slightly sad. Then she looked at me.
“Exorcist, I will not harm any of you, so please release these restraints. I swear it on my yeouiju.”
“All right.”
I had kept her bound in case she lost her reason again even after the cleansing. I reached up and personally removed the talisman from her forehead. The mystical power that had been restraining Imugi Ha Ye-ryeong vanished.
“Thank you. You were the one who helped me, correct? Only an exorcist can cleanse the calamity that had been used on me.”
“That’s right.”
I didn’t deny it. Ha Ye-ryeong lowered her massive head.
“I am truly grateful.”
“It’s nothing. If you want to thank someone, thank Jang San. She’s the one who asked me to come.”
Ha Ye-ryeong turned toward Jang San.
“San… thank you so much. I never imagined you would come find me like this…”
“If I had known you were suffering this badly, I would have come much sooner. You kept appearing in the gallery, so I thought you were fine.”
Come to think of it, even after the incident on March 17th, she had continued to be active as “Vivy” in the Ghost Gallery. Yet the version of her we saw today had completely lost her sanity.
Hmm?
The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed. No matter how much she had become a yokai, her condition shouldn’t have deteriorated so abruptly. If she had been that bad from the start, she couldn’t have managed the gallery properly.
Jang San seemed to find it strange as well and asked directly.
“What happened? The you we saw today was very strange… Have you been like this the whole time?”
“……No. If that were the case, Jujak would never have entrusted me with moderator duties, and I wouldn’t have been able to manage the gallery at all.”
“Then…”
“San, since you’ve been watching the gallery, did you see who I met with?”
“…I don’t know exactly who, but I saw that you met with some high-rank nickname.”
“Yes. Then this will be easy to explain.”
Ha Ye-ryeong’s vertically slit pupils narrowed. Then she revealed an unexpected truth.
“Meeting that person I encountered in the gallery was the problem.”