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As “it” revealed its true colors, a death-like silence swept over the sea.

All living humans, frozen from limbs to head, could only stare at “it,” oblivious to the sound of the sea’s crashing waves and the clinking of chains, trapped in a moment of eerie stillness.

“Damn it!”

And from that silent space, the first to move was Lieutenant Wang Wei, who was atop a submarine.

Wang Wei clenched his teeth so hard that it seemed they might crack, uttering a curse with difficulty due to his stiff tongue, before plunging straight into the sea.

Splash!

As the water splashed up, blending into the darkness, his curse ripped through the silence. Lieutenant Zhang Wei, finally regaining his senses, looked at “it” with a mix of fear, before diving into the sea as well.

Splash!

“It” shouted at the two who were barely moving as they tried to swim.

“Zhang Wei! Wang Wei! Where are you going?”

“You need to follow the rules! Come back quickly!”

“If you keep going like that, you’ll be shot for suspicious behavior!”

“Why swim when the sea is dangerous? Don’t be reckless! You don’t even have a suit to regulate your body temperature!”

The voice of “it” overflowed with familiarity.

It was like a comrade known for ten years or a friend from the same hometown, and the way “it” spoke was exceedingly gentle, devoid of any evil. Playful yet imbued with affection, it felt like a teasing concern was hidden within its words.

“Wang Wei!”

A tongue that darted out from a mouth-like hole called out one person’s name.

“Zhang Wei—Wang—Wei—”

With trembling lips, “it” called out both their names from a gaping, abyss-like hole.

However, seeing the two ignore its calls and swim with all their might toward a fishing boat made “it” raise a hand to grab its own jawbone, shaking it until it rattled. Then, with its jawbone detached, it stuffed its hand inside, going all the way to its elbow.

The fairy lady watching this act squirmed in disgust.

[ This is something an evil spirit often does. ]

“Evil spirit…”

Zhong Mingzhao, who stood next to the fairy lady, floated in the air, extending her beautifully colored feathers to envelop her body. Her many eyes rolled about as if seeing through the true nature of “it,” understanding what “it” was made of.

[ But that is not an evil spirit. Nor is it an evil entity, and it has definitely not taken on a form. ]

“Is this as prophesied?”

[ Yes. ]

As Zhong Mingzhao spoke, she watched “it,” which was still jamming half of its body into its mouth.

[ Defilement is imitating the evil spirit. ]

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhong Mingzhao wiggled her feathers to tickle the fairy lady’s cheek. Recognizing the signal, the fairy lady summoned her powers, and the light surrounding her began to glow softly, drawing a line across the sea and towards everyone present.

As soon as the shining line touched the people, it melted and enveloped their bodies, weaving tightly as if crafting a net. It then transformed into the shape of a cloak, settling on everyone.

Zhong Mingzhao’s power.

The force to repel the wicked and eliminate evil.

“Ah—Ahhhh! Aah!”

As the force that was antithetical to its very existence settled on the people, “it” twisted its eyes and let out a cry.

Neither alive nor dead, holding neither spirit, soul, nor body, just a mass of defilement.

A clumsy form stacked from the hun and baek who had devoured the shaman and smashed the village.

Unable to hold any will, merely a calamity driven by conditions.

Defilement.

It grinned, creating a massive vertical mouth on its face as it shouted.

“Ah—The bitter defilement of the spirit of the four pillars! The directing defilement of the pure, noble defilement that wanders! Carry it and bring it for the ten kings of the underworld!”

How tragic it is—!

Looking like someone who had turned people into mud and mixed them around, it produced a friendly sound from its mouth.

However, behind the amiable timbre lay ominous words.

Just as the shaman’s evil spirit had attempted to possess Jinseong, this defilement was similarly mimicking the shaman’s spirit, using hun and baek to imitate it.

Defilement moved mouths all over its body, screaming as if it were in a frenzy.

“Those who suffocate on the sea are the nine souls of the Yemingzi!”

“I am the defilement that dealt with the remains of the wet corpses!”

“Defilement where sounds of sorrow echoed among the Milky Way! With white butterflies on its head, the defilement becomes the essence of those butterflies!”

“The defilement seen at the time of destiny and the defilement seen at all times!”

“The defilement seen at the time of life’s end, at the time of covering the corpse!”

“The defilement seen at sealing the coffin—!”

Its voice adeptly melded into the darkness, gliding towards them like a butterfly.

And as if honey was drizzled, it sweetly settled near their ears, attempting to enchant those who were swaying in the tumultuous waves.

The defilement seen at the time of the funeral and the defilement seen at the time of the final ceremony,

The defilement seen at the time of burial and the defilement that visited the streets today,

The defilement of the thread connecting the ten defilements above,

Just like the evil spirit of the shaman had once tried to, this defilement began imitating the shaman, seeking to enchant the people, provoking an illusion of sound echoing from within its own body.

Today, the defilement’s voice heard in the ear was not the defilement’s own.

Long-standing defilements and aged spirits associated with the moon,

In the mortuary that interfaced and gauged,

The defilement seen at the time of half-dreaming had roamed aimlessly,

“The defilement swept to the ground, the defilement above traversed tenfold!”

“The aquatic defilement, the fiery defilement, cast them all aside!”

“Ha—hahaha!”

It incessantly spat out sounds with many mouths.

But the fairy lady merely frowned, watching “it” as it struggled.

[ Worry not. Neither the evil spirit nor the great evil is anything to me; your powers cannot be pierced by mere defilement. ]

Zhong Mingzhao, treating her as if she were a child, gently stroked the fairy lady’s head with her wing, all while keeping one eye on the defilement.

[ However, if I weren’t here, it would have been horrifying. Based on what I’ve read, it was supposed to be merely a strange presence and an evil entity… But that’s not just evil; it is an abominable mass that could easily devour a small nation. ]

Zhong Mingzhao’s beak slightly parted in disbelief as she exhaled.

[ Why does the prophecy simply label it as an evil force or misfortune? I cannot understand it. ]

Casting a sidelong glance at Zhong Mingzhao’s sigh, the fairy lady comforted her with a light remark.

“Perhaps it’s because it couldn’t harm the continent?”

[ Do you think so? ]

“There’s a prophecy, the unified strength of the Middle Kingdom, and there’s me. No matter how strong that defilement might be, it’s only natural that it couldn’t inflict damage. And defeat always turns into something insignificant, which means it can only be labeled evil in the prophecy.”

With that, the fairy lady raised her powers as if to demonstrate her abilities, gathering light in her hands.

As a result, everyone’s slightly dazed eyes regained sharpness, and their faces filled with courage, replacing the fear.

“Oh! The fairy lady has bestowed her power upon us!”

“The fairy lady has blessed us with her might! Everyone, stay alert!”

And seeing this, the defilement realized its imitation of the shaman was ineffective and swiftly closed its mouth. Twisting its now half-collapsed face this way and that, it feigned a smile.

“Risha says,”

“Rot and vanish.”

“Defilement, rot and vanish.”

And thus, it began to collapse on its own.

“Oh, rot and vanish.”

“What safety can defilement claim?”

“Defilement floating on the water sways with the waves.”

“The defilement trapped on a small island made of iron is tossed around in saltwater.”

“Washed in moldy saltwater.”

“The insect eggs swept along by the current.”

“Without the chance to reproduce, the salt adheres and turns white.”

“Under the disrupted waves, the black disintegrates.”

“Oh, sea! When the sunlight shines, oh how beautiful your colors are.”

“The sunlight, the sunlight, drives the defilement away, holding the defilement by the hair and rubbing it down against the ground, sunlight!”

“Vanish, defilement!”

“Leave only remnants and let defilement rot away!”

It turned into a black powder, as if scraped from mold, landing atop the submarine, then, like a snake, it slithered straight inside.

Almost immediately, it seemed to corrode the submarine’s exterior, creating gaps in its welded structure.

Seeing that, the fairy lady shouted out loud for everyone to hear.

“Act as I’ve told you before! Smash it to pieces without leaving so much as a fragment!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

“Yes!”

The fairy lady enhanced everyone’s abilities with her powers.

Even those who were not warriors could now pierce the darkness with enhanced sight, lifted heavy shells with ease as if they were feathers, and were protected from the invasion of defilement with armor. Furthermore, she infused all they held with the strength of breaking evil and exorcism.

Not only that, but she even blessed the drones flying above.

The mines falling from beneath the fishing boat.

The shells and bullets igniting upon touching the submarine’s surface.

Even the shells that created towering columns of water.

The power emanating from the fairy lady adorned the night sky with a form of goodness, encompassing both people and items.

The tempered power of the night sky moved like weaving fabric of shining lines, preventing the defilement from escaping even a single inch beyond the circle created by its mass, shredding and burning the rusty, mold-infested items wherever “it” lingered.

“Let not a single one touch the continent!”

Boom!

Boom!

All soldiers strained to follow the fairy lady’s command to the best of their abilities. Bullets containing barium ignited inside the submarine, obliterating whatever clothing and items it had once contained, while soaring shells and lasers shattered rusted metal into pieces, sinking them to the depths below.

“Defilement, defilement, defilement.”

“It’s defilement. Defilement.”

“Unable to reach the land.”

“It’s the defilement that sinks into the sea…”

In this way, it vanished without ever stepping foot on the continent.

Using the rusted portions of metal, it shaped its lips and let out its final struggle.

As it manipulated the untouched pile of clothing, it voiced its last words.

And so it was that it disappeared, at the hands of the fairy lady.

As the defilement vanished, the fairy lady let out a sigh of relief before beginning to clean up.

“Unshackle the chains, everyone should return to the unit!”

Dispersing their arranged formation quickly, the soldiers made a beeline back to their base, recalling the powers they had bestowed upon items and reallocating them to the people to prepare for any unexpected situations. Then, she sent Zhang Wei and Wang Wei, who had fled atop the submarine, for a medical scan to inspect their bodies.

“Lieutenant Wang Wei, Lieutenant Zhang Wei. Both have been found with brain tumors!”

“They were absent before the mission, right?”

“That’s correct!”

“You’re saying they developed brain tumors in such a short span of time?”

“That’s right!”

“That’s awful.”

Risha sighed upon hearing the medical officer’s statement.

Given their behavior as if possessed by a ghost, she expected something was off, but she could never have imagined it would be a brain tumor.

[ Don’t worry. They’re small, so surgery will suffice. ]

“Phew.”

Hearing Zhong Mingzhao’s reassurance, Risha exhaled and moved inside the fishing boat.

Then she entered the small personal space designated for her, gazing at Zhong Mingzhao with a mixture of relief and anxiety.

In a crowded area, she displayed a fragile aspect that felt almost overwhelming to her, as she spoke to Zhong Mingzhao.

“What on earth happened on the lands of old North Korea? Why are there things like that, and why are they following us… and… and…”

[ Calm down, Xiaoxiao. ]

“Had the defilement set foot on the continent without a prophecy, what calamity would have ensued…!”

Zhong Mingzhao, who was being embraced by the trembling Risha, looked different from how she had seemed on the boat.

She wasn’t the cold and charismatic woman, but rather a remarkably fragile girl who matched her beautiful looks.

Struggling under the weight of the burden upon her shoulders, feeling overwhelmed by her masked actions, she appeared as a frail young girl.

Buried beneath the soft feathers that tickled her cheeks, Risha sought to suppress the mounting emotions before finally pulling away from Zhong Mingzhao’s embrace.

“I must try harder. Though I don’t know what is happening on that island…”

There was a determination reflective in her eyes.

“No matter what schemes they devise, they cannot trespass upon the greatness of the Middle Kingdom.”

* * *

Jinseong, who had been staring at the stars from the mansion’s roof, tilted his head in curiosity.

“What foolish folks brought a lump of defilement here?”

He looked at the stars obscured for a moment before reappearing, smiling faintly as he adjusted his gaze to the small star.

“Judging by the direction of the stars, it seems to be in the northwest; whoever they are, thank you for that.”

 

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