“…!!”

Baek Saheon suddenly jerked his head up.

Just now—there had been a tremendous noise behind him. Something even more serious might have happened in the village….

“Fuck, is this really the time to be thinking about that?”

He grit his teeth and started running again.

He had to get as far away as possible. Fast.

“Huff!”

The enormous backpack Baek Saheon carried as he bolted down the mountain path was filled with water, food, and carefully chosen survival supplies.

He had stashed it in a secret location long ago, in case he ever had to flee the village on short notice. It was hard to believe he was finally using it.

But in the leftover empty space inside the pack…

…was a set of bones.

The remnants left behind when the pungmul band collapsed and vanished.

Among them, the bones of the one who had once been his sister.

“……”

He should’ve left them behind, they were heavy.

He knew it was a stupid thing to do, and still—he couldn’t stop himself from bringing them. And now that they were in the bag, he couldn’t just toss them out onto the ground.

That, at least, was the only thing on his mind.

“I wish they’d all just die.”

Good riddance.

The villagers, the outsiders who came, even the agents who’d failed to save him—

He wished they’d all die, and this fucking village would disappear without a trace.

The very idea gave him a heady thrill that tingled all the way up his spine.

But…

“…Still, that agent…”

The bespectacled young agent who had been tricked into drawing the “Special Prize.”

The one who stayed calm, who never once mocked or got angry with him. Who helped him, without ever demanding anything in return.

And in the end—kept his word.

That they would both survive.

That he wouldn’t betray him.

“……”

A strange feeling stirred inside him.

It was the first time in his life he’d felt something like this.

The sensation that came from doing something good for once—on a whim, and accomplishing it.

People called it: “a sense of fulfillment.”

“……”

That must’ve been why. Why he’d left that little folded paper boat behind.

Of course, it would only mean anything if that agent had survived the nightmarish centipede-and-cleaver mess and found it.

“...If he picks it up, I’ll think about it then.”

Given all the shit that happened with the centipede, the cleavers, and everything else—he might already be dead by now….

At that moment—

“……!”

A chilling, electric pressure crept down his nape like a blade—terrifying and cold.

Something was behind him.

Something strange was definitely still happening in the village.

“Fuck.”

In the end, Baek Saheon couldn’t help it—he glanced back.

And then—

“……!!”

His face went pale.

He broke into a full ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) sprint again, down the mountain trail.

He never looked back again.

“Fuck.”

The scene he had just witnessed—

Red blood was raining down from the sky.

***

I was lying face down.

It happened instinctively. My body dropped flat to the ground, both hands planted on the dirt.

As if in a bow.

I see you
I see you
I see you

Drip, drip.

Warm blood poured down onto my head and the backs of my hands.

Filthy beast
Pestilence
Rotten fox spirit

A searing pain ignited in one hand—my left. The one that hadn't been severed.

It felt like I was going to die.

It stinks of rot

I clawed at the ground with my hand.

“Agent Podo!”

I heard Agent Cheongdong and Agent Choi arguing, somewhere nearby.

“That’s Daechongbong’s guardian spirit, isn’t it?! Have you lost your mind?! That’s a supernatural entity not even friendly to humans—!”

“Later! Quiet for now!”

I gritted my teeth and looked sideways.

The Ho Director wearing Deputy Eunhaje’s face was…

Let me see you
Filthy, low creature

Smiling as blood rained down on him.

“This one is my acquaintance. Elder, do excuse us and go about your business.”

Blisters boiled up on the back of my left hand.

I see a tail

“This one is my acquaintance. Elder, why don’t you shout from beyond the threshold?”

The skin burst and pus bloomed forth. A mark of plague.

The tail is severed

“This one is my acquaintance. Elder, why don’t you sit on the porch and enjoy a meal?”

The abscess ruptured, oozing.

Deceitful tongue

The body wearing Deputy Eunhaje’s face began to float into the air.

“……!”

Its limbs twisted grotesquely as it was suspended—but the gentle smile never left its face.

“Don—”

“Shh.”

Agent Choi placed a hand on my shoulder.

Die.

Thunder cracked.

Leave only your hide
Burn to death.

“…No thanks.”

Through the lightning, I saw Ho’s expression.

“To leave only your skin when you die—that’s a tiger, not me. What are you even talking about?”

He was still smiling.

“‘A little knowledge is a dangerous thing,’ they say. How frightening. But I’m no fox spirit. Do you have any proof I’m a fox? Proof I’m a spirit? Should we test it? Begone, evil ghost—Namu Amitabul Kwanseum Bosal, gupgup yeoryeong, Our Father who art in Heaven—throw some salt, scatter some red beans.”

Lightning again.

“But it doesn’t work, does it?”

A tearing sound.

“What a shame. You must have been mistaken… how tragic.”

That serene voice continued, even as the body hovered in midair.

“You can’t burn me.”

From the rain of blood above, a gigantic eye appeared.

Noisy little thing

Ho’s limbs contorted unnaturally.

How long you’ve lingered
How foul you’ve become
Begone, filth.

“Well, now.”

Grab its tail
And run.

“Really quite cruel of you. To forcefully separate me from my companion like this.”

The smiling face turned toward me.

“What a pity… Soleum-nim.”

“…!”

And in the very next instant—

It vanished.

The body of Deputy Eunhaje, bound and grotesquely suspended in midair, was gone—like it had never been there to begin with.

The entity possessing that body—Ho Director—disappeared along with it.

“……”

“……”

Did he run away…?

My mind was already spinning with tangled thoughts. How exactly was Deputy Eunhaje being controlled? What kind of prohibition was he under? Is he okay now?

But at the same time, I found myself looking up at the sky.

The blood rain had stopped.

I looked back down at my hand.

The blisters and pus were completely gone.

As if they’d been washed away by that very blood.

Filth removed.
As promised.

“……”

“Wait, General! Didn’t you say you’d make that fellow grovel and offer a full apology? He ran off just fine though?”

Silence, insolent one.

Agent Choi was yanked upward, suspended midair by the neck.

“Agent-nim!”

“Ugh—hahaha…”

I quickly looked up and shouted.

“I’m sorry! And… thank you!”

……

A child who knows respect.

Something from above… looked down on me.

Good.

It observed me.

And declared:

Escort him.

…Wait.

Offer your bow.
Permission granted.

Something—something strange began to press on my shoulders and back.

A force… gently compelling me to bow.

“No, thank you.”

“……”

Agent Choi raised his hand.

“We already serve one guardian here. Can you see? The Goblin Elder.”

From the tip of his hand, the goblin lantern flickered.

“Now that the procession is over, you should go enjoy that feast we prepared. Before it gets cold, please—return, Tiger General.”

Cheeky brat.

A low rumble sounded—like a big cat snorting.

Then serve me the feast
As promised.

And with that…

All was still.

“……”

The blood rain from the sky, the lightning crashing down—it all vanished, like a lie.

“Whew…”

With a collective exhale, all three agents dropped to the ground.

I finally managed to speak.

“That presence just now—”

“Oh, right. That was the Seoraksan Daechongbong Guardian Tiger-General Bodhisattva. Bit of a mouthful, but you can think of him that way. Seems he prefers being called that.”

Ah.

That moment, I understood what kind of folklore this was.

Daechongbong Tiger General
A tiger ghost tale derived from Baekhodae Sal, a calamitous spirit in traditional Korean horoscopes said to bring bloodshed and punishment.

But according to the Paranormal Disaster Response Agency, if such a presence is served and appeased correctly, it becomes a guardian that devours misfortune instead.

(For detailed mission records, see: Archive 11.93C - Daechongbong Pilgrimage.)

And that meant…

You must climb Daechongbong of Seoraksan, alone and unaided, bearing an offering on your back.

That’s what Agent Choi had done.

“……”

I fought to keep myself from asking about it, forcefully changing the subject.

“According to Agent Cheongdong, it wasn’t a particularly human-friendly supernatural entity…”

“Oh, that.”

Agent Choi shrugged.

“Well… more like, it just doesn’t care. But if you serve the feast properly, he’ll usually hear you out—if he’s in a good mood.”

“Even if the feast includes humans?”

Agent Cheongdong’s voice burned with outrage. Agent Choi chuckled.

“Ehh, headquarters is doing a good job sweet-talking him. He’s doing the whole vegan thing these days.”

And then—

His eyes flicked instantly to me.

Or more precisely, to the back of my hand—now clean from the blood rain.

There was a faint tension in his gaze, barely hidden.

“It’s gone… right?”

“……”

Agent Cheongdong’s eyes were also fixed on my hand.

After what they’d seen earlier—how that thing had possessed the deputy’s body—it wouldn’t be surprising if they suspected something had latched onto me too.

“Agent Podo, what the hell…”

“We’ll talk when we get back. First, we need to confirm it. …Podo. Say anything. Just speak.”

I hesitated, then opened my mouth.

“…I’m a deer.”

“……!”

It worked.

No resistance at all.

It was done.

“It’s done!”

The curse was broken.

Holy shit.

I stared dumbfounded at my own hand.

And just then—from beyond the village—a bicycle bell began to ring.

“Ju-jak Squad’s here.”

The signal that it was over.

“This village of Jisan… still reeks of strange things. They’ll begin a proper sweep now. Start looking for people. Investigate that well too.”

Agent Choi casually knocked on the well’s edge.

“There might still be more weird shit buried deep down, but… not today. Let’s go home.”

“…Yes.”

A strange relief spread through my chest.

Yeah. The curse was gone.

No more countdown to death in thirty days.

I was free—

……

Wait.

What a pity, Soleum-nim.

“…Agent Podo?”

I was wrong.

I’d been swept up in emotion. Let myself relax over something ridiculous. This was no time for relief.

I needed to calm down.

“Fuck.”

I couldn’t afford to fall out with Ho Director here.

Sure, dying in thirty days if I failed the mission was a big deal—but what was bigger was succeeding in that mission and getting the Wish Token.

If things went this way, it would be too obvious a betrayal. If I wanted to keep going…

No. This wouldn’t do.

I turned to look at Agent Choi.

Did he… plan for this? For me to fall out with Ho Director completely?

“……”

“Podo.”

He didn’t meet my eyes.

Still smiling, Agent Choi unsheathed his cleaver and began inspecting the blade.

As he said,

“By the way, before we go back—there’s a place Podo needs to stop by. Standard Agency procedure.”

“…Huh?”

The cleaver spun once in his hand.

“You were cursed by a prohibition even the Agency didn’t know about.”

“…!”

“So we have to investigate. Figure out what happened. It’s protocol. For your safety… in containment.”

Along with the blade, something else came into view.

A small glass orb.

“Let’s go.”

The same thing I’d seen days ago.

The portable glass prison.

No.

“Wa—”

Thud.

“……!!”

Before I could even finish my sentence, hands burst forth from the void around the orb and grabbed me.

“Agent—!”

“Shh.”

Caught completely off guard—I had no chance to resist. I was restrained in seconds.

“If you cooperate with the inquiry, you’ll be out in no time. Don’t worry.”

I grit my teeth and stared at him.

Agent Choi blocked Agent Cheongdong’s dash forward with his blade.

“He’s mostly back to normal. It’ll be fine.”

“Agent Choi, what are you—”

“Just wait.”

He turned back to me, voice soft.

“Rest a bit… Podo.”

And I was pulled into the void.

Transported—into the glass prison.