Surviving Among the Entities

The root of the occult is cursing.
The occult was created from the desire for calamity or misfortune to befall others, giving rise to many theories and rituals.

“There is a saying in the occult.”

Those who curse others must be prepared to be cursed themselves.
The killing curse you unleash will return to you if it fails to kill the target.
If the curse you cast upon another fails, it will return to you.

‘In many books and works, the occult is depicted as carrying a risk of backlash upon the caster if it fails.’

The power of the Lee clan of Dangjin was the occult power they received from Ando.
Similarly, there must be a way to break this seal as well.

‘Is it called unhexing?’

While already dead ghosts may not be able to, I, who entered alive, should be capable of it.

“Since I am completely unaware of any rituals, procedures, or incantations for unhexing, it would normally be impossible……”

However, the master detective’s touchpad provided hints regarding this.

‘Let’s start with the most straightforward hint.’

They use the language of truth, which humans cannot pronounce.
This seemed to refer to the writing on the snowy field of the annihilated Earth seen in the world beyond my right eye.

‘It must be the universal language, or the language used by transcendent beings.’

The being belonging to “them” here is Chef Mr. Ando.
Secondly, “They claim it was influenced by Russia and emerged, but in fact, it is a culture that emerged from them” likely refers to the culture born from Mr. Ando’s power.

‘While Mr. Ando is singular, the fact that he created multiple cooking utensils suggests he either runs a company or has subordinates, hence referring to them in the plural?’

Mr. Ando is a chef.
Therefore, the culture that emerged from their influence is highly likely to be a culinary culture.

‘Third, the hint “This is merely the first” probably means the annihilated Earth was the first dish.’

If we connect this with the second hint?

“Course meal.”

It was said to be a culture that emerged in France influenced by Russia, but it seems it was actually a culture that emerged from Chef Ando’s influence.

Fourthly, “Do not be bound by preconceptions” and “It is sufficient to speak in the languages of the Earth, as they will understand.”
This means the solution involves speaking something.
Therefore, the unhexing method likely only requires reciting an incantation, not performing a ritual.
And the meaning of “Do not be bound by preconceptions” is…….

“The occult has a strong Eastern feel. In reality, the occult of the Lee clan of Dangjin was extremely Eastern-oriented.”

However, the incantation does not necessarily have to be in an Eastern language.
Mr. Ando, the very being who granted them power, is a transcendent existence not bound by race or nationality.
While it said speaking in the languages of the Earth would be sufficient, I did not know which language, but this gave me a clue.

‘Lastly, the state of the annihilated Earth.’

The first course of a course meal.
The cold appetizer that comes out first in a full course meal.
I uttered its name as the incantation.

“Hors-d’oeuvre.”

The darkness split apart.
As easily as an eggshell cracking.
The trapped ghosts also seemed to be freed from the influence of heartpoison, their expressions gradually brightening.

“How dazzling.”

The negative thoughts that had been clustered in the darkness followed the light and escaped into the world.

“I’ve been unsealed.”

It was clear where they would go.

“Go.”

To your master who created you.

“This has become troublesome.”

The Lee clan’s main residence.
An enormous number exceeding hundreds had gathered at the grand estate, making it seem too small to contain them all.

“Resolver Seung-hoon Lee has caught on. We tried to addict him to heartpoison, but the occult failed, and we could only seal him alive.”

However, the estate was quiet despite the multitude of people.
Only the voice of Lee Won-bok, the head of the Lee clan, was heard, and the others listened in complete silence, not even making a sound with their breathing.

“This is the first time a living human has entered the seal. Of course, once sealed in there, the chances of survival are non-existent.”
“Head, are you certain? Hasn’t anyone ever entered and returned from there?”
“None have, but as the one who holds dominion over it, I say the malice sealed within is not something a living being could possibly endure.”

The head of the Lee clan inherits two powers upon succeeding the position.
One is heartpoison, the occult to draw those who consume their cooked dishes into the world of heartpoison.
The other is the authority to manage the seal hidden beneath the grounds of the Lee clan’s main residence.

“Each time I managed it, I faced calamity from afar. The evil spirits that make up calamity will tear apart any living being. Even if one were to somehow survive them……”

The negative thoughts exhaled by the evil spirits.
Growing more bitter the more one regrets, it was no different from a living death.

“They will ultimately die.”
“Then why did you summon us?”
“To prepare for any contingency. The Foundation, Resolver Seung-hoon Lee, or anything related – I summoned you all to be wary of them. So for the time being, remain at the main residence, keep a low profile, and wait for this crisis to pass.”

This fortunate news broke the heavy atmosphere, and the bloodlines who had reunited after a long time began conversing animatedly.

‘Even the Foundation cannot stop us. We are a bloodline that operates in the shadows, and with the Foundation recently weakened, they will be even less able to discern our true purpose.’

Amidst this, Lee Won-bok recalled the day he had first come of age and inherited the memories containing his ancestors’ covenant through the clan’s occult.

‘It is……. not something as trivial as a chef.’

Why the clan had betrayed humanity.

‘Even if the Foundation were to regain all its power, it is an existence they could never defeat.’

Why they intended to offer the Earth as a dish to it.

‘Since it is an unwinnable battle, is siding with the stronger force not a wise choice rather than betrayal?’

Inheriting the memories containing the identity of the being with whom the clan had made its covenant and promise.
This was the occult received by members of the Lee clan of Dangjin on the day they came of age.
Therefore, while the children were unaware, all the adults were actively continuing the clan’s legacy.

‘But why am I feeling so uneasy?’

Lee Won-bok soon realized the source of his unease.

‘Having heard too many rumors about Resolver Seung-hoon Lee, I keep thinking he might actually survive even within the seal.’

That is impossible.
Even the power of entities cannot be properly manifested within.
Even if he were a superhuman, a superhuman’s powers would also be mostly sealed, rendering him no different from an ordinary person stripped of everything.

“!?”

Just as he had barely regained his composure after repeatedly reminding himself of this fact, the ground suddenly began to shake violently.

“What is happening!”
“Head! The ground! The ground is splitting apart……”

One of the bloodlines was swallowed by a black miasma that suddenly burst forth.

“Gyaaaah!”

The flesh instantly rotted and decayed.
Within a few seconds, like meat left outdoors for hundreds of days, it decomposed and vanished, and soon after, the soul was revealed to the world.

[“Gyaaah! Gyaaaaaaah!”]

The soul was not much different from the flesh.
The only difference was that while the flesh had rotted and decayed, returning to nature, the soul, despite being torn to shreds, had nowhere to return to.

Unable to move on to the afterlife or return to nature, it remained in its shredded state, endlessly suffering as it drifted through the heavens.

“Ah, aaah!”

Countless bloodlines screamed and fled.
The black miasma gushing forth from the split ground strangely pursued only the adults, excluding minors, relentlessly chasing them.

As if targeting only those who had come of age.
As if aware of what they had done.

“Go! Begone! How dare you, I am……. Aaahh!”
“Surī surī sabhā́hā, surī surī sabhā́hā……. Aaah!”

Even occult spells were useless.
Lee Won-bok, who had been blankly watching this scene, let out a hollow laugh.

“The seal has been broken.”

The malice they had aged for a thousand years.
Released from its seal, it had returned to its casters.

‘The targets are those who inherited the memories.’

Realizing the children were unharmed, Lee Won-bok spread his arms.
As the manager of the seal, he knew the true nature of the black miasma, so he was the quickest to give up.

“It’s all over.”

Resolver Seung-hoon Lee.
This must be his doing.
The rumors were not exaggerated at all.

“Rather, he was underestimated.”

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have summoned him.
Watching the black miasma encroaching upon him, Lee Won-bok closed his eyes.

The darkness broke apart, and the world became bright.
I instinctively felt that if I went out there, I could return to reality.

“How amazing that the truth can be felt by the soul through the occult.”
[“Are you alright, Mr. Seung-hoon?”]
“Ah, Sarang-a, you’ve also returned to normal?”

Seeing Sarang-a able to speak again made me feel this ordeal had truly ended.

[“Thank you.”]
[“Ah, thank you.”]
[“Finally, finally at peace…….”]
[“I’ve finally escaped the suffering.”]

Numerous ghosts disappeared with serene expressions, following the light.
Where would they go? The Eastern hell? The Western hell? Or some other hell unknown to me?

‘Perhaps they will end up in the clutches of the entities I know.’

Among them was Shin Se-hoon.
When he was an evil spirit, he had feared me, but having returned to a normal ghost, that fear seemed to have vanished as he approached me.

[“Thank you, you must be Mr. Seung-hoon Lee? Thanks to you, I was able to escape my suffering.”]
“What are you saying, if not for the information you left behind, Mr. Shin Se-hoon, I wouldn’t have been able to easily resolve this either. More importantly, would you like to smoke? One can only truly be called smoking when in their right mind, don’t you think?”
[“Haha, thank you!”]

We shared cigarettes with each other.
How a ghost could smoke, or interfere with physical objects in reality, was unimportant.
After all, this occult space itself was an anomaly, so such things were entirely possible.

“Looking at you gives me a strange feeling.”
[“What kind of feeling? Don’t tell me your sexual preferences lean that way? I understand, but I’m straight myself, and with this dead body, I can’t quite accommodate you.”]
“That’s not what I meant. It’s more like a feeling of a soul moving, I suppose?”

The power engraved upon the soul dwelling within me stirred.

“If a fish that had never encountered water fell into it, would it be able to swim or not?”
[“An interesting question. While it would feel unfamiliar at first, wouldn’t it eventually realize how?”]
“It’s the same for me. Mr. Shin Se-hoon, do you believe in the afterlife?”
[“I didn’t particularly believe in it. I was non-religious. But now that I’ve become a ghost, should I start believing?”]
“Believe.”

As the Lord of Karma-to-be, I used one of my powers on him.

“Believe in the Eastern hell.”

An invisible seal was engraved upon his soul.

“Whether you want to or not, that’s where you’ll be going.”
[“Huh? What is this……. Huh? Whoa? My body?”]

His body vanished beyond a pit of flames.
The vanishing scene was just like falling into hell, and in reality, he did fall into hell.

“This is the only recompense I can offer you.”

Once all the ghosts had disappeared, my body also moved outwards, following the light.
The place I emerged was Shin Se-hoon’s office, and I immediately contacted the Foundation.

-Yes? Seung-hoon, what do you mean?
“Without any complicated explanations, we must resolve global warming immediately. An entity is trying to use it to cook the Earth.”
-Really!?

I added one more request to the surprised Kim Dong-wook.

“And I’d like to purchase a sunny plot of land, could you help me with the connection? I need to build a grave mound.”
-Pardon? Who died?
“Yes.”

On the office desk.
The now non-functioning terminal lay forlornly.

“The world’s greatest master detective I knew has died.”