Mua, a grim reaper of the Afterlife, came to the Living World as usual to collect the soul of the deceased.
“No! By whose authority? By whose authority are you killing me!”
Mua looked with an indifferent face at the human sobbing before him—no, at the soul that could no longer be called human. It was quite a dramatic scene, but unfortunately, he felt no particular emotion.
It was only natural. No matter how dramatic a scene might be, if you see it repeated about 340 million times, you can’t help but become numb to it.
Souls making a fuss because they couldn’t accept death were so common they no longer constituted a special happening.
“How could I… how did I make it this far!! No, I don’t want to….”
“There’s no use doing this here. If you want to argue, go argue before Lord Yeomra.”
“No! I won’t go!! Who are you? Fuck, who the hell are you people to take me!!”
Mua let out a deep sigh at the rampage of the human—no, the soul—who had finally started spewing profanity. How could a life that died suddenly in a traffic accident at a young age not feel wronged, but the world was overflowing with deaths even more wrongful and more miserable than this.
“Please, please…. sob, save me. I can’t, I can’t die like this! sob…!”
This time the soul shed tears. Not that it actually shed tears, but it sobbed as if it would. Mua clicked his tongue. No matter how accustomed he’d become, seeing this sight couldn’t feel good.
“I was almost there. Almost there. Just a little, just a little more, please…!”
“It’s all right. Eventually, you’ll forget even this pain.”
He spoke indifferently, but it was sincere in its own way. Even love desperate enough to make a grim reaper weep would end once freed from memories of the Living World. No matter how heartbreaking the story, after sending it down the Sanzu River and being reincarnated, they would live a new life well again.
That’s right. There’s no such thing as unforgettable love in this world. That’s what Mua thought.
“So don’t make any more fuss and just follow me obedient… hm?”
It was at that very moment his nape prickled sharply. Doubt rose in Mua’s eyes. Originally, those belonging to the Afterlife had almost no reason to feel such a keen sensation in the Living World.
Mua turned his head and looked around. The world spread before his eyes was ordinary, nothing strange about it.
What is this, just my imagination?
Feeling uneasy, just as he was about to turn his head back, this time a stronger and sharper energy struck Mua.
“Who’s there!”
Mua shouted fiercely and extended his arm. In his hand was already a pitch-black sword. It was a grim reaper weapon that surprisingly saw a lot of use.
“Why, why are you doing this….”
Thoroughly frightened by the ominous atmosphere, the soul forgot it had been crying and asked. If a grim reaper who had been telling you to go to the Afterlife suddenly drew a razor-sharp sword, you’d naturally be scared.
However, Mua didn’t even answer and tightened his grip on the sword while remaining tense. Though he still couldn’t see anything, he couldn’t relax. An energy that could make a grim reaper this tense was not common.
“This won’t do. Let’s go first.”
Mua spoke while still guarding his surroundings. He didn’t know the cause or purpose of this strange phenomenon occurring now, but whatever it was, it mustn’t interfere with the task of collecting the deceased’s soul.
The identity of this peculiar wave could be figured out later. For now, safely bringing the soul to the Afterlife was what mattered.
“If you refuse any more here, I’ll drag you by force, so don’t be stubborn any… ?!!”
Right then, an enormous wave approached at high speed from far away. It was as if a massive tsunami were rushing in. Before he could even recognize being swept away, the formless energy that arrived right before his nose in an instant struck Mua hard.
How could a power from the Living World deal damage to a grim reaper?
Mua couldn’t finish that thought. His vision blurred and the world spun rapidly round and round. It was a truly ‘human’ sensation he was feeling after a long time. Soon, his vision went pitch black.
It was the first time in his grim reaper life that he’d fainted.
***
“gasp…!”
“F-Father!!”
Museok, the ‘god-son’ who had been assisting with the ritual while performing the rites together from behind, was shocked to see his god-father suddenly vomit blood and collapse forward, and ran to embrace him.
His god-father, called ‘Gwi Bosal,’ twisted his body this way and that, unable to control himself. Dark red blood continued to flow from his mouth.
“H-how is this… how….”
Not knowing what to do, Museok repeatedly wiped away the flowing blood with his sleeve. Though he had performed countless rituals with his father until now, he had never once experienced something like this.
His god-father, ‘Gwi Bosal,’ was called a shaman among shamans, someone who rarely failed even the most difficult rituals. For such a person to even vomit blood—it meant the ritual had gone wrong, terribly wrong.
“Wh-what on earth is happening!”
The client who had been watching the ritual from the side was equally shocked and stamped his feet. However, Museok didn’t have time to care about the client right now.
“Museok…!”
At that moment, ‘Gwi,’ who had been convulsing with rolled-back eyes in his arms, called Museok in a heavily suppressed voice.
“Yes! Yes, Father. Your disciple is here!”
“Failure, it’s a failure, cough…. The barrier… erase the traces, urk…!”
Even as his body kept twisting and his breathing failed to form properly, Gwi Bosal struggled to continue speaking somehow. Though his words were broken and halting, Museok, who had been by his side for quite some time, could understand them without difficulty.
It must mean to set up a barrier and erase traces so that what they had done wouldn’t be discovered.
Knowing that this ritual broke a taboo, Museok hurriedly nodded.
“Understood. But are you all right?”
“Silently wait…”
“Father…? Father!!”
With those words, Gwi Bosal fainted just like that. After calling for his father repeatedly in shock, Museok soon closed his eyes and steadied his breathing.
Gut performances held by shamans always carry the risk of failure. Especially when a ritual of this scale, one that even broke taboos, failed, it was only natural that the ritual’s main practitioner would suffer a major blow.
The fortunate thing was that his god-father was still breathing. Museok carefully laid his unconscious god-father on the floor and went before the altar, drawing blood from his fingertip to write a talisman.
The client, who had been watching that sight with a thoroughly frightened face, asked urgently.
“Tell me what’s going on!”
Museok answered with a cold face while burning the talisman.
“The ritual has failed.”
“Failed…! What went wrong?”
“We won’t know for certain until Father awakens. However, judging by how the energy was disrupted during the ritual, it seems something interfered with it.”
“Interfered with the ritual….”
The client muttered in a somewhat frightened voice. Had someone known what he was trying to do and stopped it? A chill ran down his spine.
“Then what, what happens to us?”
The client added hurriedly. It had been a date they had carefully, so carefully chosen after much effort. They had said that if they missed the timing, they wouldn’t be able to attempt it at all, but now that today had failed, the future felt pitch dark before his eyes.
“We won’t know for certain until Father awakens. For now, please return home.”
Even now, thinking about how time was decreasing day by day made him anxious and frustrated to death, yet at Museok’s calm attitude telling him to go back as if it weren’t his concern, the client’s face contorted.
“How can you tell me to go back like this?! You need to give me some kind of definite answer so I can leave with peace of mind! Do you know how much money I poured into this…!”
But his raised voice was brief—the client, overwhelmed by the fierce aura of Museok glaring at him with reddened eyes, unconsciously closed his mouth. Museok spoke in a low voice.
“Father performed this dangerous ritual that could bring divine punishment solely for your sake, sir.”
“I, I know, I know. Do you think I don’t know that? So what I’m saying is….”
“I’ll inform you immediately when Father awakens. Since we cannot know why it failed right now, please return home for now and be careful. Please refrain from contacting us until we contact you first.”
In the end, the client sighed and nodded. It was true that there was no other way now that Gwi Bosal had lost consciousness, and the client also needed to be cautious to avoid being discovered.
If the fact that he had attempted such a thing were revealed, needless to say he wouldn’t obtain what he wanted—he could lose everything he had.
“All right. I understand…. When Teacher Gwi awakens, please, please contact me right away.”
“Take care on your way.”
Watching the thoroughly intimidated client’s retreating figure, Museok soon made his god-father lying on the floor drink the water in which he’d soaked the burned talisman.
If someone had intentionally sabotaged the ritual, they would surely try to track down his father. Preventing that came first.
Worry filled Museok’s eyes as he watched his father barely swallow the water. This ritual had been prepared even more thoroughly because of its danger. They had put their heart and soul into it, being careful and careful again because they couldn’t tolerate even minor mistakes. In other words, the probability that it had failed ‘accidentally’ was close to none.
Had someone really interfered? Had they sabotaged it to prevent the forbidden ritual?
Museok forcibly ignored the chill running down his spine and headed back to the altar. Protecting his father was most important for now.
