Chapter 19: Possession Protocol

The car we were in was just entering Cheongun-dong.

I was looking at the unfamiliar night scenery of a neighborhood I had never visited before.

Then, not far from the road, I saw a large gate surrounded by lights.

“There’s a gate here too?”

“It seems you don’t like hiking. This is one of the hiking trails of Bukaksan, and anyone who enjoys hiking knows about it. This is Changui Gate, the only remaining gate of the Four Small Gates of Seoul.”

“Has the figurine here been damaged as well?”

“Yes. If you look at old photos, there used to be eight dragon heads on each of the four eaves.”

“It seems the figurine hasn’t been restored yet.”

“Since it’s not a major facility, it will likely be pushed back in the restoration order.”

I watched Changui Gate until it was out of sight.

{Jaga, is something bothering you?}

Baek Mungi read my mind again and asked.

I didn’t know. Why did I feel uneasy just looking at that gate?

{If you’re uneasy, we can turn back on the way…}

“Changui Gate was once closed and not in use, but it’s known as the gate through which the rebels entered during the Injo Restoration. It was the restoration that ousted Gwanghaegun.”

Baek Mungi stopped speaking. I held the figurine up to my eyes and stared at it intently.

“Why did you stop talking?”

{…}

“Did something important come up? Restoration? Injo? Gwanghaegun?”

I rolled my eyes at the still-silent Baek Mungi and set the figurine down beside me.

That’s not what’s important right now; I’ll have to ask again later.

*    *    *

I heard that my grandmother’s house was still being kept in Gangwon-do, and I was temporarily staying there with the help of the HC Group.

It was located in a residential area that was rare in Seoul, with no pedestrians in sight and streetlights standing at regular intervals.

– Srring

I heard the sound of Kim Woo-jin drawing his sword. 

A soft light was already emanating from Kim Woo-jin’s sword.

The path was a single road. 

About ten meters ahead, there was a streetlight, and everything before it was engulfed in pitch darkness.

“At this rate, you won’t even see a shadow.”

Given that Kim Woo-jin’s sword was glowing, there must be a Demon-possessed person ahead, but I couldn’t see anything.

I was puzzled as to why the streetlight’s illumination was so weak.

Jang Ha-woon and Lee Geon stepped in front of me, standing with their backs turned.

They were wearing black tracksuits and had their long hair tied back and braided, thanks to Baek Mungi’s illusion.

At first, when they changed to short hair, they begged to keep their topknots and beards, saying something about ‘physical appearance…’, so we decided to tie their hair back instead.

Lee Geon had braided his hair very neatly.

By the way, Lee Geon’s talisman should be effective against the Demon.

I hoped that, as Baek Mungi said, the Sacred object had sent these two to help me.

“The light from the Sacred object just touched the Demon.”

As soon as Lee Geon spoke, Jang Ha-woon and Kim Woo-jin dashed forward. 

I switched my ring for the Four Evil Beheading Sword and held it in my hand.

– Clang, clang

Hearing the sound of the blade hitting the ground and wall, I also moved forward, but Lee Geon had already jumped ahead.

“Over here!”

I heard Lee Geon’s voice calling out from the darkness. 

But it was so dark that I couldn’t see where he was.

– Zzzzz

I heard the sound of someone’s shoes scraping.

Kim Woo-jin and Jang Ha-woon were dragging someone towards the streetlight from both sides. 

Only then did I see the talisman fluttering in the shadow.

I ran towards the place where the talisman was. 

I felt a strange texture, and the talisman split in half, causing the long shadow to shorten.

The eyelids of the person being held by Kim Woo-jin and Jang Ha-woon slowly closed.

“This person seems to be at Stage 2.”

The stages of being possessed by a Demon are divided as follows:

If you can subdue them with strength alone, it’s Stage 1; if you can cut the shadow, it’s Stage 2; if you can cut the shadow but the person attacks, it’s Stage 3.

And then there’s Stage 4, where you have enough power to destroy a figurine.

“The talisman is effective.”

“That’s a relief.”

I was happy that finding the Demon had become easier thanks to the talisman when Baek Mungi, who was inside the sword, informed me telepathically.

{A bigger one is coming.}

“What’s going on over there?”

As soon as Baek Mungi warned me, someone spoke from the darkness. 

A small light was moving around, as if they were holding a flashlight. Lee Geon stepped back into the darkness, hiding his body.

“Oh, it’s Song Yiyoung!”

Suddenly, a person stepped into the light of the streetlamp, dressed in a suit with a National Intelligence Service ID around their neck. “I’m the one you contacted.”

“A security team sent by the National Intelligence Service, I see.”

As Kim Woo-jin spoke with that person, he simultaneously showed me his sword. 

Light was still flowing from Kim Woo-jin’s sword. 

Suddenly, the security guard standing in front reached out toward Kim Woo-jin’s sword.

“What is this sword? It’s fascinating.”

The security guard grabbed the blade.

“Let go!”

As Kim Woo-jin shouted, Jang Ha-woon’s sword aimed at the security guard’s hand. 

But Jang Ha-woon’s sword passed right through the security guard’s hand.

“Huh?”

The security guard’s eyes turned toward Jang Ha-woon.

“There’s something strange here?”

Even while looking at Jang Ha-woon, the security guard did not let go of the sword he was holding.

He was gripping it so tightly that even though it was a dull blade, blood was flowing from the security guard’s hand.

The blood dripped down Kim Woo-jin’s sword.

“You’re not human, are you?”

While the security guard was marveling at Jang Ha-woon, Lee Geon suddenly jumped out from behind me and threw a talisman.

The talisman shot out as if it had a will of its own and stuck to the ground.

As I leaped to cut the talisman, other people gathered around it.

Unable to change the trajectory of my already airborne body, I was about to collide with those people when Baek Mungi revealed his true form right in front of me.

Standing over two meters tall with flowing white hair, Baek Mungi was clearly visible even in the darkness. With a single swing of his arm, the people were sent tumbling to the ground.

Seeing Lee Geon running toward them with the talisman, I swung my sword toward the talisman on the ground.

– Clang!

With the sound of the sword hitting the ground, the security guard’s shadow shortened.

Confirming the shortened shadow, I immediately aimed for another shadow when I heard the sound of swords clashing behind me.

– Clang!

Kim Woo-jin and the security guard were locked in a sword duel.

‘Stage 3!’

The security guard was wielding a jungle knife. It was different from the kitchen knives or daggers I had seen before, and I worried whether the decorative Four Evil Beheading Sword could withstand it.

“Those people are cutting the shadows.”

I sent Jang Ha-woon toward where Lee Geon had gone and swung my sword toward the security guard’s jungle knife.

The two Four Evil Beheading Swords clashed with the jungle knife, but the balance of power did not waver. 

A chilling smile spread across the security guard’s face.

In that moment, Kim Woo-jin kicked the security guard in the stomach.

“It won’t be easy to subdue him without injury.”

Kim Woo-jin’s leg flew toward the crouching security guard’s head. But the security guard caught Kim Woo-jin’s leg.

Immediately after, the security guard swung his jungle knife toward Kim Woo-jin’s leg.

“Watch out!”

As I hastily swung my sword, it met the jungle knife just as Kim Woo-jin pulled his leg away and rolled on the ground.

“Baek Mungi!”

As soon as I called out, Baek Mungi entered the sword, and a brighter light burst forth from it.

With the addition of Baek Mungi to the Sacred object, my strength was definitely different.

The jungle knife that clashed with the Four Evil Beheading Sword flew into the air.

As the jungle knife soared, two talismans flew toward the security guard’s eyes. 

Only then did the security guard’s movements stop as the talismans stuck to his eyelids.

“Is he not moving anymore?”

I turned to Lee Geon and asked.

“Yes! He won’t be able to move for half an hour.”

{Half an hour means one hour.}

“Hah…”

As I took a breath and looked toward Jang Ha-woon, I saw that all the talismans scattered on the ground had been cut in half, and the people around them were lying down.

All those people were at Stage 2. Thinking it was over, I felt my legs give way and sat down.

“Your Highness, are you okay?”

Ignoring Lee Geon and Jang Ha-woon, who were running toward me calling me Your Highness, I looked at Kim Woo-jin.

“Are you hurt?”

“No, thank you for saving me.”

As I watched Kim Woo-jin dusting himself off, I glanced at the security guard, who was frozen with the talismans stuck to him.

“What should we do with this person now?”

Since the Demon’s energy was concentrated in his eyes, I couldn’t cut him with the Four Evil Beheading Sword. 

I couldn’t let him go blind.

“It seems difficult to remove a Stage 3 without harming them. It’s hard to notice unless they reveal their energy.”

Baek Mungi spoke as he revealed himself in figurine form.

“This is different from the usual random attacks, so I will report it to the National Intelligence Service and see if we can coordinate with the Special Investigation Unit. 

There’s also a possibility that the National Intelligence Service will handle it alone. Since we have secured evidence with this, it should be easy to explain.”

Kim Woo-jin pointed to his action cam, saying he would show it to those who couldn’t believe that the random knife attack incidents were the work of Demons. 

He had put on the action cam before getting out of the car.

“I will also ensure we can receive support in case there are multiple people possessed by Demons like today.”

“First, we need to call an ambulance before these people wake up.”

“Jaga, it’s fine now that the weather has warmed up.”

Baek Mungi picked up the figurine and stood up.

“I’ll go see my grandmother.”

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t visited my grandmother’s house since I met her. 

Feeling a bit guilty, I hurried my steps.

*    *    *

“Are you not going back to the house where your parents lived?”

Kim Woo-jin, who was following me while keeping an eye on our surroundings without putting away his sword, asked.

The house where my parents lived.

I didn’t remember everything from my childhood, so it felt unfamiliar, but it was the place where I had seen a fragment of memory in the silk thread.

I had thought about going into that house. 

After all, I was living alone in the accommodation.

But CAKE had not disbanded yet.

Due to circumstances, I was focusing more on individual activities than group activities, so I thought I should still be guarding the accommodation for now.

“Idols all live in accommodations.”

“Oh… I see.”

“It’s not that I haven’t thought about it, but this accommodation is better for my schedule right now.”

Well, it’s not like I have that many schedules anyway.

“But if your grandfather bought that place, it would become a ruin if left alone, right?”

“No, my grandfather is preparing to transfer the ownership as soon as Song Yiyoung’s resident registration is sorted out.”

“Then I’ll live there. I can manage it with the settlement I received and a loan.”

“…I’ll let my grandfather know.”

Since my grandmother was also relying on the HC Group, it seemed like a good idea to live in that house with her.

With that thought, I felt a bit excited and rang the doorbell at my grandmother’s house.

– “Who is it?”

I heard my grandmother’s voice, sounding tense.

“It’s me, Lee Young.”

Kim Woo-jin waited until I confirmed my meeting with my grandmother before stepping back.

Jang Ha-woon and Lee Geon were also curious about the descendants of the royal family, but they said it wouldn’t be polite and decided to stay with Kim Woo-jin.

So after entering my grandmother’s house, it felt nice to have the surroundings quiet for the first time in a while.

{So, getting rid of those spirits…}

I pulled Baek Mungi’s long hair on both sides.

“Why the figurine?”

I felt a bit embarrassed, as it seemed like I was playing with dolls at this age.

“I thought you might have eaten dinner.”

My grandmother brought out fruits and tea.

“Thank you for the meal.”

As I lifted the teacup and looked around the house, my eyes met my grandmother’s. 

I lowered the teacup and gave a slight smile.

Indeed, I still hadn’t developed a sense of intimacy. 

So I felt a bit apologetic.

“What happened outside?”