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Jinseong returned home with a joyful heart.

How could he not be happy?

He had resolved his curiosity, developed a bond with a capable shaman, who even offered to help him master necromancy, and acquired quite excellent materials in the process.

Furthermore, the strange creature had surely regained its senses, so what could possibly be better than this?

‘Quite high-quality evil spirits indeed.’

Jinseong looked at what he held in satisfaction.

In his twinkling eyes, a long flicker of light revealed four severed heads strung together by a chain.

The evil spirits that had cheerfully whistled earlier now had their mouths sewn shut, preventing them from trying to charm his family with words.

Of course, he hadn’t sewn into the spirits directly. Instead, he sealed the spirits into dolls and stitched the dolls themselves.

He hand-stitched the dolls’ mouths with threads made from sun-kissed chili peppers and gold, and to prevent any funny business, he used a glue made from chicken blood and animal hide to firmly seal the dolls’ lips.

Those evil spirits would now be unable to utter a single word.

As long as that seal remained intact.

The doll would resemble a human shape.

While the doll is an object, it mimics a person, thus it can certainly take on a person’s role, and just as an evil spirit can dwell in a human, it can also inhabit a doll.

The doll had become a splendid home for the evil spirits and an inescapable prison.

And within that prison, the evil spirits would be rendered powerless against everything he commanded; without his permission, they could never advance.

If the doll were torn to shreds, the spirits inside would suffer the same fate, shredded to bits, and if thrown into a furnace, they would burn alongside the doll, tasting excruciating pain. And from the ashes, the burnt souls would emerge, shrieking in agony, floundering within their torment.

‘I had been inside a whale that followed the Loudcambinger. And I even tore my way out of those whales’ bodies…’

Jinseong recalled the nightmarish scenes in his dream.

The wicked whales charging towards the building, dragging water ghosts and evil whales along with them.

Although they hadn’t completely shattered William’s mental barrier and swallowed him whole, they had gotten quite close.

Perhaps just one or two more incursions into his consciousness would have shattered whatever feeble defenses remained, and William would have fallen right into the hands of the Loudcambinger. At which point, he would be toyed with cruelly like a mere plaything, and when he became boring, he would finally be devoured.

If that had happened, William would be dead.

The cause of death would probably be listed as cardiac arrest, leaving only the traces of a curse to speculate upon.

But Thomas hadn’t done that.

Using black magic, he completely shattered the mental barriers and instead of killing William by tossing him into the whale’s maw, he merely used the Loudcambinger as a hammer to break down the walls. The black magic was merely a way to carve grooves in the psyche, a preparatory step to create a gap through which he could insert the soul.

He got shambling but powerful evil spirits to possess William and made him act like a sleepwalker, leading him to the church.

Of course, evil spirits capable of such feats are exceptionally strong.

To find such spirits, one would likely have to cross the DMZ into North Korea.

‘Additionally, since these spirits had entered dreams and returned, crafting them into decorative items would probably prevent nightmares from taking place. How wonderful, just splendid.’

Karma tends to become more fragrant as it layers upon itself.

The scent of good people reaches the heavens while the stench of the wicked penetrates deep into the underworld, and the same goes for the karma of killing. Those who commit mass slaughter inevitably carry the smell of blood, and the more they slaughter, the stronger the scent of fear and death remains on them.

Even the fiercest dog would cower and wet itself in front of a dog butcher; when the scent of blood and death accumulates to such an extent that it threatens the very existence of an individual, a group, or a species, it becomes a horrific threat and warning all on its own.

What Jinseong aimed to create with his divine object was akin to this.

What kind of fragrance would the shreds and fragments of the evil spirits he used create?

What significance would it hold for those trivial ghosts?

The divine object he crafted would be evil spirits and wicked beings, instilling fear and preventing the powers of the divine object from entering. Meanwhile, those insignificant ghosts would panic and be driven out of the mansion by it.

Just like hanging a skull on a spear as a warning, the divine object would stand as both a sentry and a barrier that blocks the approach of the wicked.

Moreover, the evil spirits used as materials had ventured into dreams and returned, so it would effectively repel not only the evil present in reality but also the kind that one might encounter in dreams.

It would likely prove to be more effective than any regular dreamcatcher.

‘I’ll soon be leaving home, so I should at least leave behind some kind of gift. That’s only proper.’

—–

“It’s peaceful, isn’t it, sister?”

Peace had arrived.

William neither sent flirty texts to Ella nor Agnes and wasn’t loitering around the mansion. Moreover, even his bodyguards or servants were nowhere to be found, and there were no strange dealings at all.

It was as if the human known as William had evaporated.

And this uncanny stillness and peace only served to trouble Ella.

He was the same William who would stir up chaos over some sculpture called ‘The Christmas’ when he couldn’t visit the mansion, and it didn’t make sense for him to suddenly become quiet after the prophecy had ended.

“How strange. I thought he would be the type to cause a ruckus saying, ‘The prophecy has been fulfilled, so now what?’”

Ella couldn’t comprehend it at all.

She knew full well that William was not the type of person who would smoothly vanish saying, ‘The prophecy has been fulfilled, so my work is done! I’m off!’

A clingy, sticky, disgustingly repulsive human.

Such a person wouldn’t stay quiet when such a captivating event was underway without stirring trouble with Agnes?

It didn’t make any sense at all.

It was something that simply defied logic.

“Hmmm~ Could it be that he’s trembling in fear from a rough experience in his dreams?”

“No way. If he were someone like that, he wouldn’t have gained such notoriety as a wild one. If he were scared, he’d resort to trickster antics, trying to provoke maternal instincts. He’s definitely not the type to stay this quiet.”

Ella couldn’t grasp the peace surrounding them at all.

The William she knew.

No, the stories she heard about William couldn’t possibly be one-tenth true if it meant achieving such tranquility.

“Why is that… Did he die?”

It was to the point where she pondered, ‘What if something went wrong in his dreams and he died?’

However, Anastasia refuted Ella’s speculation.

“Hmmm. I don’t know much, but if he had died, wouldn’t there be some sort of commotion?”

“Would there…?”

In reality, the truth was far from Ella’s speculations.

William was neither dead nor trembling in fear.

He was simply enjoying the forced honeymoon that followed a marriage ceremony.

Of course, it was close to semi-coerced enjoyment…

But that wasn’t really a big issue.

“Sis, don’t fret. In any case, the prophecy and all that nonsense are over now, and you won’t have to see him again!”

“Yes, that’s… true, but…”

“Isn’t the current situation good, considering you don’t even want to see him? He’s actively holding back from getting in touch, so why are you worrying so much? You’ve got too many unnecessary thoughts, little sister!”

Anastasia consoled Ella, who was confused by the wild one’s sudden change in behavior. But when she saw that Ella continued to brood despite her comfort, she pouted her lips, leapt off the bed, and briskly made her way to the window.

There, she approached the Gaming Owl, basking in the sunlight, and poked it with her finger.

Chirp.

The owl squawked, sounding annoyed at being disturbed while sunbathing.

“Come on, just go for a stroll together!”

Bleep.

Anastasia pointed at Ella, who was mired in thought. The Gaming Owl realized her intent, nodded, and spread its wings, slowly flying over to perch atop Ella’s head.

“Eh, huh?”

B226!

Startled, Ella looked up as something settled on her head. Just before the Gaming Owl could slide off, it flapped its wings and soared back up, slipping right into Ella’s arms.

With the owl snug in her embrace, it nudged her arms with its wings, signaling her to hold it close. When Ella instinctively gathered her arms to catch it, the owl used its wings to tap her arms as if to beckon her.

“Huh?”

B226!

The Gaming Owl lifted a wing and pointed to the window, urging Ella to take it outside.

“Little sister! Just go for a walk with the birdie! And pick up some snacks on your way back!”

Thud!

Anastasia yanked the flustered Ella off the bed, giving her a push as they headed outside. Then, she slammed the door shut and locked it tightly.

As though she wouldn’t allow her to return without going for a walk first.

Ella stared blankly, dazed by the sudden turn of events that unfolded like flowing water.

“…A walk?”

B226!

It was then that Ella realized, she had been forced onto a walk with a bird.

She gazed at the creature nestled in her arms.

The Gaming Owl also looked back up at her.

And with their eye contact, the Gaming Owl finally spoke.

B626!

A ferociously commanding sound emerged.

The Gaming Owl stood there, shaking its body as if to say, “What are you waiting for?”

Ella couldn’t help but chuckle at its adorably impatient demeanor.

“Yeah, I might have been overthinking things a bit.”

Holding the sparkling, fluffy Gaming Owl, Ella felt her troubles grow trivial.

She sensed her overcomplicated thoughts lightening, clarity returning to her mind.

 

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