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The police dispatched encountered a walking tree the size of an officetel.

“Wow. Did they pull an ancient tree to make that monster?”

It was big.

Too big.

So big that it seemed impossible to come up with any plan to deal with it.

“Wow, did it grow by sucking down protein instead of water? It’s grossly huge.”

The assembled officers would need to hold hands just to hug its thick trunk, towering well above a four-story building. Plus, it was armed with ghastly weapons in six arms.

No matter how you looked at it, that was not something they could handle alone.

“Hey, do you think we can fight that thing?”

“Sir, it’s holding a chainsaw. A chainsaw! Haven’t you seen the movies? How are we supposed to fight that with just a stick? No way we can win.”

“That makes sense, right?”

All the police with their inadequate gear could do was stand by and watch the monster.

With even a flimsy club, they’d probably get torn apart by that chainsaw.

And the situation was no different in other areas.

“Wow. That tree must’ve eaten something good. Is it sucking on crude oil or something?”

“Geez, I’ve never seen a tree wielding a chainsaw, and I’m no lumberjack!”

“Yeah, I guess after getting harassed so much, it wants to slice something up itself.”

In regions where the Seonja imitation appeared, the police could do nothing.

With the massive size reminiscent of a building, armed with that ghastly weapon and chainsaw.

All of it made approaching impossible without risking injury or death.

Indeed.

To subdue that thing would literally mean putting one’s life on the line.

A life at that.

But was there really a reason to risk life?

Not really…

It wasn’t rampaging or walking toward populated areas; it was just standing there.

No one was hurt.

People trapped by the monster were being rescued one by one by the emergency services, while hikers, feeling unlucky, either avoided it or watched from a distance.

That was all there was to it.

It wasn’t barging into the middle of a city or factory and causing property damage; it was merely blocking the path to the mountain.

Of course, the way it was blocking the path was rather rough, though…

Still, compared to its vicious appearance, it seemed pretty tame.

It wouldn’t attack unless approached.

It wouldn’t attack if you didn’t try to pass by it.

What a peaceful method, right?

Wild boars encountered on a mountain might sometimes go berserk and charge at people, and deer, if startled, could break ribs with a kick…

But isn’t that safer than average wild animals?

So instead of forcing an attack and stirring up trouble, it was wiser to stay at a standoff and call in the experts.

Hence, most police stood by.

Indeed.

Most did.

Unfortunately, humans are not always wise.

“Sir, do you think… we could subdue that thing?”

“Well, maybe.”

They were justified in their excuses.

Not many veterans were among the police dispatched to Knife Peak.

They were new and full of enthusiasm.

Armed with nets and tranquilizer guns for capturing wild animals.

The creature that appeared at Knife Peak wasn’t a wood monster; it was a catfish the size of a person.

Also, because it wore human clothes, they thought it was a summon creature.

“Seeing it in human clothes makes it seem like a summon.”

“If it’s a summon, wouldn’t it have been trained not to attack people?”

“We could block its escape, shoot it with tranquilizers, and bind it up with nets.”

“What if it runs away?”

“Come on, run away? It doesn’t look all that impressive, does it?”

Standing in front of the Knife Peak officers was an appearance that seemed trivial at first glance.

A catfish.

A catfish the size of a person.

Compared to the giant walking tree or the other tree monsters that had strange fruits dangling from what looked like human heads, it truly appeared pathetic.

Moreover, beyond just being a catfish, there were plenty of other conditions to underestimate it.

First off, it stood up straight wearing human clothes.

The catfish donned robes like those worn by monks. Moreover, it would lower its head and move its mouth in a way reminiscent of chanting, producing sounds that, although close to noise, had a peculiar rhythm, almost like it was reciting sutras.

Its whiskers twitching while moving slowly gave it a somewhat cute appearance.

So much so that people watching from a distance would creep closer to try and take pictures.

Smack!

Of course, the catfish would threaten each time, ensuring that no one got too close.

But that threat didn’t seem serious; it merely whipped its tail on the ground.

Just loud sounds.

A classic case of “threat” without any follow-through.

A catfish in human clothes.

An appearance that seemed rather trivial.

Not much aggression, nor did it look vicious.

Its only apparent means of attack were its mouth and tail.

Taking all this into account…

A conclusion emerged.

It seemed entirely feasible to subdue it.

“Alright, when I say one, two, three, we shoot.”

Thus, the police chose action instead of inaction.

“One.”

They were confident in their abilities.

“Two.”

They were convinced that the catfish wasn’t all that formidable.

“Three!”

Bang—!

With the noise from a tranquilizer gun in one officer’s hand, the fight commenced.

The needle-laden bullet flew through the air and embedded itself in the catfish’s body.

[….]

And just like that, the catfish, suddenly punctured by a needle, froze in place.

It stopped producing sounds reminiscent of sutras.

Stopped moving about.

Stopped lowering its head.

It stood still, as if frozen in that spot.

Then, amidst the chilling silence, it slowly raised its head.

[….]

It looked at the police officer who had attacked it with fish eyes bulging out.

Then it noticed those around it, dressed similarly, and saw what they held in their hands.

It realized they were slowly approaching.

[Ah.]

The catfish emitted a sound through its opening mouth.

The sound was nearly noise, yet somehow, it resembled a human-like sound.

[Ah. Ah? Ah, Ah ‘Ah!’]

If a monster were to mimic a human, wouldn’t it feel like this?

The catfish wiggled its neck as if molding clay into a human vocal shape, and the rising and falling sounds created an eerie atmosphere.

And when that sound suddenly stopped.

[Hey, why are you oppressing me, you ruffians?]

The catfish spat out human words.

Its pronunciation was awkward, but… it was undoubtedly Korean.

[Why are you surrounding and oppressing a mere monk?]

That Korean language was enough to cool the excited atmosphere.

Those nearby who were watching the monster being subdued gasped and closed their mouths tightly, and the officers approaching the catfish had no choice but to halt. Even the officer from afar who had fired the tranquilizer showed a guilty expression and, as if embarrassed, lowered his gun.

“Uh, you can talk?”

“Ahem, I didn’t mean to upset you… I’m sorry.”

It can talk.

The realization hit the officers like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing their high spirits.

Rather than subduing the catfish through force, they hoped to coax it into revealing information about the summoner or to move the summon creature.

“Uh, so you’re a summon, right? People are worried, and we’d like you to come down…”

[There are always obstacles in achieving the Buddha’s heart.]

“Since you’re a summon, you know about your summoner, right? There must be a phone number. Or perhaps there’s something given to you by the summoner? There might be contact information on that.”

[Buddhism says: do not kill, do not consume life.]

However, these efforts from the police soon came to a stop.

Something felt off.

It can talk.

But… it wasn’t engaging in a conversation.

The catfish was only babbling its own desires and not responding to anything the officers said.

Moreover, each time it spoke, noticeable changes occurred in its body.

Something was emerging from the area around its body.

Long, awkwardly formed appendages that seemed like they were mashed up like clay.

Arms.

“That thing is acting weird. Get your weapons back up. Hurry.”

The protruding arm, which had looked like a bulbous growth, elongated to the size of a human arm.

In its empty hand, it grasped a staff that had appeared from who knows where, and in the other hand was a bracelet strung with black eggs.

From that bracelet… a horrible stench emanated.

[Ah—]

The catfish, holding the staff and bracelet, slowly opened its mouth.

There was a murderous intent in that action.

“Shit, everyone be careful—!”

The kind of killing intent honed like a blade.

A shattering cry marking the beginning of combat.

[Do not kill—!-!]

The catfish howled as it leapt up from the spot.

Using its tail like a spring, it soared into the air, aimed at the officer holding the baton as if a projectile. Its mouth opened wide enough to swallow the officer whole, brimming with human-like teeth stacked inside, ready to slice the officer in half at any moment.

Thud!

Thankfully, the officer didn’t get sliced apart.

His colleague beside him grabbed his collar and yanked him away.

Crack!

Thanks to that, the tree behind them became the catfish’s unfortunate victim.

The mass of wood the catfish bit was no bigger than a person could hug, yet it snapped like a twig. Even worse, about a meter’s worth of wood vanished into the catfish’s mouth.

If that hadn’t been wood…

If it had been a person instead…

“Damn it.”

The officer almost cursed as he narrowly escaped death.

And the other officers, too, remained taut with tension as they watched the catfish.

Not knowing when it might leap again to maul them.

“Huh? What’s that?”

“Blue? What is that?”

“Is that ‘Qi’?”

But the police’s tension quickly turned to horror.

Because energy was swirling around the bracelet that the catfish held.

“Get in touch with the military, quickly!”

 

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