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The dream has come to an end.

William’s ordeal of entering the dream and experiencing it firsthand is over, as is Jinseong’s observation of stealing dreams through parasites.

“Hmm.”

William has survived.

He evaded the evil spirit’s hand that sought to kill him by invading his dream through magic, successfully waking himself up using a ‘chip’ and escaping the crisis. This is also linked to a prophecy.

“In the picture that was said to be a prophecy, it mentioned a second encounter, so surely it won’t reach out with murderous intent in the meantime.”

There was a scene in the prophecy where Anastasia appears to save William from the four evil spirits, and it indicates that he would be safe until that prophecy is fulfilled.

It was truly a good thing.

At least for William.

“I was curious about what method would be used, but using such a method…”

However, for Jinseong, who was observing the dream with expectations, this was quite a disappointing result.

The reason was simple.

Jinseong already knew the identity of that black magic.

‘Illhveli’s Tail Punishment.’

Also known as the ‘Curse of the Evil Whale,’ it was a curse tied to the legends of Iceland, where evil whales known as Illhveli lurked. These creatures, though called whales, were more like sea monsters that enjoyed attacking gentle whales and ships, killing and devouring humans.

Moreover, their nature was tremendously wicked; they would devour people for pleasure or attack gentle whales, and if someone spoke their name, they would come for revenge.

Because of this, the sailors of Iceland regarded speaking the name of Illhveli as a taboo, and anyone who broke this taboo would be severely beaten, locked in their cabin, or in severe cases, sacrificed to the sea.

Being sacrificed was quite brutal too. They would coat their bodies in oil from cod liver, set them ablaze, and throw them into the sea, or forcefully feed them sulfur, cow and sheep dung, and rotten bait before dropping them into the ocean.

The goal was to prevent the Illhveli from pursuing the ‘offerings’ that looked delicious to them.

Even so, this wouldn’t actually chase away the Illhveli; it was more of a ritual to fend off bad luck.

Some scholars interpret these acts of the sailors as having roots in the magical practices entwined within custom and culture.

Igniting the offering is linked to the ancient practice of dedicating offerings to transcendental beings, as fire itself was believed to possess the power of ‘purification’, capable of driving away the unclean.

Hiding what ‘evil’ despises in the offering and forcing it to swallow it originated from the idea that humans devised strategies to ward off feral beasts—it’s imbued with the meaning of ‘exorcism magic.’

In short, it was no more than a subterfuge cloaked in the guise of human sacrifice.

However, the legend of these ‘evil whales’ grew stronger over generations, leading to the creation of curses that could repel Illhveli and spells that borrowed from their power.

The curse that Jinseong witnessed was one called ‘Illhveli’s Tail Punishment,’ specifically using the power of the Red Crested Evil Whale.

‘Raudkembingur’s Endless Evil’ was the name of the curse.

Among Illhveli’s tail punishment black magic, it was one that didn’t demand a high cost, and depending on usage, could be even more effective than other curses.

The target of the curse would gradually lose their appetite, disrupt their luck so that everything they did would go wrong, and weaken their spiritual defenses, making them an easy target for evil spirits and evil ghosts.

While it is indeed classified as a curse, it creates an environment conducive to harm rather than inflicting direct damage.

Objectively, the effects were not bad…

“Tsk.”

Yet, from Jinseong’s standpoint, ‘Raudkembingur’s Endless Evil’ was an inefficient black magic.

The reason?

Simple.

It was too widely spread.

Anyone delving into black magic was likely to hear of ‘Illhveli’s Tail Punishment’ at least once.

Moreover, within ‘Illhveli’s Tail Punishment,’ ‘Raudkembingur’s Endless Evil’ was relatively easy to gather materials for, and compared to directly harmful black magics, its cost was comparably low. It wasn’t bad for necromancers or voodoo practitioners to use either.

And, the more magicians that utilize the mechanism of magic, the greater the risk becomes as more people learn about it.

If one wishes to use this black magic, they’d need to be prepared for great consequences.

They might pay a price that surpasses that of black magic that directly takes a human life.

“Moreover, after such an ineffective curse comes the invasion of an evil spirit.”

Weaken the body, mind, and soul, then introduce the evil spirit to be possessed.

Not a bad method.

“At least, it wasn’t 30 years ago.”

That method was something old necromancers used.

It likely belonged to a bygone era when ‘Illhveli’s Tail Punishment’ was not widely known, a relic that might appear in the dusty corner of a textbook.

“Having twisted luck so badly that the divinations couldn’t even be read made me expect something, yet it was merely the enhancement of Raudkembingur’s Endless Evil. What a disappointment, what a disappointment.”

It was indeed cast powerfully.

So much so that Jinseong thought it was a spell he wasn’t familiar with, truly strong.

But what good does casting it strongly do?

If one could gather enough power to conduct a ritual for an ineffective black magic, they could simply cast another black magic or empower the evil spirit to inflict direct harm instead.

Furthermore, the method of dealing with the evil spirit was also problematic.

While the approach of deceiving with reality wasn’t bad, it was executed sloppily enough that one would quickly realize it was a dream.

It seemed like they hadn’t thought through a proper way to prevent a reality check, and the methods to instill fear were nothing more than clichés one would find in horror movies.

It felt as if they neglected to think about what would happen after breaking the boundary of the dream and letting the evil spirit seep in.

‘The evil spirit will handle the rest; that foolish guy won’t react properly and will easily die.’

It resembled the thought process of an optimistically inept caster.

If the one who cast the black magic on William was a necromancer, they were surely no talent at all in battle or curses.

Yet, here’s the peculiar point.

If they lacked talent in combat or curses, then ‘Raudkembingur’s Endless Evil’ had been surprisingly enhanced.

Regardless of how Jinseong claimed he wasn’t specialized in divination, his skill level wasn’t low.

The fact that their divination was completely obstructed and even warned about indicates that the opposing party was certainly not of low caliber. Moreover, rather than merely manipulating the evil spirit or having protective spirits counter it, they had obstructed Jinseong’s divination through ‘cursing.’

Isn’t that rather contradictory?

It seemed clumsy, awkward, and inexperienced.

Yet, their skill level didn’t seem low.

Isn’t that an extremely unbalanced situation?

It’s as if someone who had been obsessively delving into research was attempting a curse for the very first time.

Or perhaps…

‘This is getting interesting.’

Jinseong felt curiosity arise from this inexplicable imbalance.

“Yes, I’ll refrain from intervening, but observing their face isn’t a bad idea either.”

* * *

[Contractor, my contractor. My cute little contractor.]

The hoofed camel spoke to its cute contractor, Iserin.

[I sense a secretive aura from your brother. It seems he wants to take action while harboring a playful secret and a fog in his heart.]

The grimoire met Iserin’s gaze and licked its own nose with its tongue before spitting out a sulfuric-smelling saliva onto the ground.

With a sizzle, the sulfur ignited, emitting a pungent odor that lingered momentarily before vanishing into thin air.

The sulfur that dissolved into the air began to shimmer like a mirage, transforming into a thin fabric resembling cicada wings and forming a wall suspended in the air.

Despite being in a windless room, the wall appeared to quiver as if it possessed a will, and three holes formed in the shape of an inverted triangle at its center, creating the appearance of eyes and a mouth. It then began to move its edges like an apparition cloaked in cloth, drawing closer to Iserin.

It circled around Iserin a few times before asking in the same tone as the grimoire.

[Contractor, my cute contractor. It’s not strange to be interested in your brother, but I think it would be wise to stop here. However, my cute contractor wouldn’t want that, would they?]

Iserin stared at the ghost draped in cloth and nodded, responding in a quiet voice.

“I’m curious.”

Though her voice was dim, it definitely held a warmth at the end.

A fervor born from a desire to see the secret that Jinseong was hiding.

 

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