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Everything has been resolved.

The village, turned into a mess, was categorized as destroyed due to the ‘magnetic anomaly phenomenon’ and the briefly chaotic Safe Zone returned to normalcy. Jinseong, who had undergone his coming-of-age ceremony, returned home as if nothing happened, and the personnel from the military human rights center managed to wrap things up and head back.

Yeah.

Everything was sorted, and everything returned to its rightful place.

Except for one thing.

Rustle, rustle.

Defilement.

A terrible defilement, not purified by mere flames, that had originated from the Divine Object that borrowed the form of a wild boar carcass.

The defilement was rotting away in the heart of the village, leaving behind only remnants unseen by anyone. It avoided the surveillance equipment of TOD, evaded the lenses of satellites, and concealed itself from the gaze of those peering through telescopes from afar.

Defilement is something that goes unnoticed.

Defilement is something that makes people shun it.

It grows from unnoticed places like mold, only revealing its color when it has gathered enough strength to signify its presence.

Like moss, growing in damp and humid places.

Like mushrooms, nurtured by the wet soil and shadows at the base of a tree.

Like larvae, boring through and thriving on decayed wood.

Defilement itself is in a blind spot (dead angle), difficult to detect if one isn’t aware, and when discovered, it is realized to be spreading like a wildfire.

The defilement that originated from the Divine Object used by Jinseong was taking root in the land, recognized like mold, moss, insects, or the particles of corpses that spread through the gloomy darkness, sickening people.

Rustle, rustle.

Defilement has taken root in the land.

From the black mass that barely maintained the shape of a wild boar, liquid ash dripped and seeped into the ground, dyeing it black and descending deeper toward the groundwater beneath. Even during this process, it stained its surroundings like ink mixed in water and lodged terrible defilements where it spread.

This defilement doesn’t pollute the land but brings misfortune.

It doesn’t directly harm the growing things but makes them miserable.

It removes pollen from blooming flowers.

It makes insects intended for growth get eaten by their predators.

It causes eggs to crack prematurely and stunts the growth of the young, leading to illness.

The sprouting shoots will turn yellow and wither away, while the growing trees won’t withstand pests and diseases, showcasing their lifeless, desiccated forms.

And the harm brought by the defilement doesn’t end there.

The ash clinging to the wild boar’s surface was slowly dispersed by the wind, seeping into the very fabric of space itself as if melting away. And this defilement would immediately spring into action if a creature capable of bringing defilement existed.

It would make the hunted meat teem with pathogens.

Wounds would become infected without fail.

And if it attempted to raise young in this space, it would surely break the bloodline.

Defilement is exactly that.

A defilement that has gathered and strengthened itself to harm people.

But I reiterate, defilement is invisible.

You can only grasp its reality once you recognize it; if you don’t keep it in mind, it resides in a blind spot, making it hard to notice.

“Is this the place?”

Thus, the unwelcome guests from above, finding it ‘not dangerous’ and ‘not feeling threatened,’ boldly stepped into this ominous space.

“According to the coordinates, this seems to be the place the Fairy Lady mentioned.”

“There’s nothing here though. Check again.”

“The scenery is a bit different from what was described, but the coordinates are correct.”

“Let me see the machine for a moment.”

There were two unwelcome guests.

The two East Asians, dressed in glossy dark blue suits, had toned bodies as if trained, with black pistols strapped to their waists.

“Yeah, this is it.”

“Hm. Did we arrive too late?”

“No way. We boarded a submarine and infiltrated right after hearing from the Fairy Lady.”

The two of them tilted their heads suspiciously as they began wandering through the remnants of the village with their equipment.

Not noticing the defilement that engulfed the air, they held their breath, nervously anticipating the appearance of evil spirits or malevolent ghosts. They cautiously lifted the collapsed roofs and examined the crumbled walls.

“Nothing here. The Fairy Lady couldn’t have been mistaken….”

“It’s all ruined. Did those damn Raobinzi brats shoot shells or something?”

“No, there’s no smell of gunpowder, and the residual magical energy readings are normal according to the machine.”

“Then what the heck….”

They chatted quietly while roaming the village. However, mocking their tension, there were no signs anywhere, and even when rummaging through the shadows, there were no evil spirits or malevolent ghosts to be found.

Instead, only dust that seemed eager to poison them and fine grains of sand that clung to their nostrils greeted them.

They looked around, puzzled.

“Strange. Really strange. The Fairy Lady said something unusual appeared….”

“But there’s nothing unusual here, just the remains of those grungy bastards’ houses….”

“By the way, what exactly did the Fairy Lady say?”

“She said it seemed a strange being appeared in the former North Korean territory and that a creature aware of its presence would start moving.”

“Right, she told us to check for a strange presence and an evil visitor.”

“Speaking of that strange being, what did she say? Something about twisting the heavens and being born from the shadows, right?”

“Born from the darkness between the stars and twisting the heavens, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, yeah. That sounds right. She said it seemed to be a presence born from the darkness between the stars.”

“Wow. What a magnificent expression. Someone might think it’s a shaman.”

“A shaman? No, it’s not some insignificant being, but a Contractor!”

“And this Contractor isn’t just any Contractor; it’s the Contractor of Zhong Mingzhao!”

“Okay, I just said it casually; no need to be sensitive about it. Let’s just get back to work.”

Having rummaged through the village and finding nothing unique, they walked towards the spot where the ancient tree was located.

As they approached the place where the ancient tree stood, they saw the deep sunken ground and the shattered bits of the tree.

Once, the tall branches had probably stretched wide, but now they were shattered and scattered all around, and the thick trunk had bizarrely split into three pieces, lying sprawled across the ground.

“Is there something with the ancient tree?”

“Let’s each take a look.”

“Got it.”

One by one, they approached the shattered trunk.

Then, utilizing the equipment they carried, they carefully inspected it.

A Divine Object capable of observing magical traces.

An inspection device that could detect energy traces such as magical power and Qi.

An artifact in the form of a small scanner that highlights the traces of living beings in fluorescence.

“Hm. I don’t sense magical power or Qi.”

“Seeing that there are no traces of living beings, it doesn’t seem like witchcraft or summoning.”

“If there’s no magical power, Qi, or living being, but something unusual was born… then could it be alchemy?”

“I see. In that case, it’s understandable why the Fairy Lady referred to it as ‘existence’. If it’s not a living being but something that can move, it would have to be an inanimate object.”

They each examined one and gathered in front of the pit to share their opinions.

“Since we can’t detect any traces of living beings, it doesn’t seem to be a homunculus.”

“A golem or puppet?”

“Exactly.”

They looked around with a hint of disappointment.

“If only we had brought photos or videos, we could confirm it properly.”

“Can’t be helped. This place where those brats lived is filled with noise daily.”

“But we searched thoroughly; surely there can’t be any issues?”

“Well, there wouldn’t be any problems… But did we search everywhere?”

“We’ve searched through the village and the ancient tree. What else is there to find?”

“Yeah, we’ve looked everywhere, and it doesn’t seem like there’s anything else to investigate.”

“Then let’s not linger for no reason and get out of here. It could get troublesome if we’re spotted.”

They did not forget that they were intruders.

Once they decided they had completed their task, they put away the equipment they had used for the investigation. They moved to a shaded area to hide and, after checking their infiltration equipment once more, went outside to erase any signs they might have left behind in the village.

They erased faint footprints, smoothed the marks on the ground, and double-checked whether they left fingerprints while investigating the remains of the houses or the ancient tree. After thoroughly ensuring everything was clear, they returned to where they had come from.

“Let’s go.”

The three of them moved stealthily from shadow to shadow, making their way to a secluded spot along the coast. They maintained their tension until they reached the two-person mini-submarine for infiltration, and it was only after stepping inside the submarine that they finally relaxed.

“Phew.”

“This mission is over.”

Inside the cramped submarine, where they could feel each other’s breaths, they exhaled in relief.

The two of them made use of the small space by tossing aside the gear they had been wearing. They shed their dark blue infiltration suits and threw aside the cumbersome equipment weighing several kilograms that had been straining their waists and shoulders, and they also released the guns that kept bumping against each other in the tight space.

Finally feeling lighter, they let out relieved sighs mixed with happiness.

Yet despite this, they couldn’t shake off a sense of incongruity, tilting their heads.

“Is it just me, or was the submarine always this cramped?”

“Well, it’s a two-person one, so it’s naturally going to be small.”

“That’s not it… I don’t remember it being this tight before…”

“Maybe we’re just haunted by a ghost or something.”

“Right? Sounds like something a ghost-struck person would say.”

“Is that so…? Am I really just imagining things?”

“Yeah, it’s just your imagination, right?”

“Relaxing is making me babble nonsense.”

In the cramped submarine,

the two of them tilted their heads while steering towards China.

“Let’s wrap things up quickly and rest.”

The atmosphere in the submarine was light-hearted.

“A Sichuan restaurant near the base was delicious.”

They started to feel camaraderie.

“Will we get to see the Fairy Lady?”

They respected each other.

“What good would that do?”

“Right. Just seeing her and having a little rest is what we need.”

They didn’t ignore each other’s words.

“I hope we can see her.”

The three of them laughed.

Sweating,

showing desires for alcohol,

moving the exposed white jaws.

They laughed.

 

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