Wonhyeok awoke to the feeling of something cold and damp rubbing against his forehead.
A wet animal nose was right before his face.
“Gasp! Wh-what is that?!”
He bolted upright and looked around, only to realize that he had fallen completely into another world.
SNORT.
The Heavenly Horse that had dragged him into this otherworld snorted.
Is this the inside of a Ghost Gate? Why did this uncanny power and wicked spirit bring Wonhyeok here only to stare at him?
Amid the swirl of worries, one thought drove itself into his tangled mind like a stake.
You said nothing would happen, yet a civilian has been swept into a Ghost Gate!
Ghost Gate Messengers truly were an untrustworthy breed!
Wonhyeok watched the Heavenly Horse scrape the floor with its hoof and snort out of habit before cautiously standing.
The dog-like face of the Heavenly Horse immediately followed Wonhyeok’s movements.
“I-it does not seem to be harming me....”
What kind of uncanny power and wicked spirit is this?
At that moment, Wonhyeok noticed information rising in his mind as though someone had written lines across it just before he was dragged into the Ghost Gate.
It was an auspicious beast. It resembled a mix of a dog and a horse, its body blue and white, its head black. Upon seeing a person, it immediately flew up and departed.
The Heavenly Horse, a horse that ran through the sky. But that was all he knew.
Wonhyeok did not know whether this uncanny power and wicked spirit harmed people. He did not even know what Grade it was.
As he stared blankly at the Heavenly Horse, Wonhyeok gradually began to comprehend his predicament.
He was alone in a black-and-red cave with an uncanny power and wicked spirit that gave off a strange glow.
Furthermore, an unfamiliar tremor periodically ran through the ground.
As though something deep within the cave were stirring....
Then the Heavenly Horse moved.
It went to a passage leading who knew where, then looked back at Wonhyeok.
“...You are not telling me to follow you, are you?”
SNORT.
The Heavenly Horse merely snorted wordlessly and watched Wonhyeok with piercing eyes fit for a painting of the Ten Kings of Hell.
“...I do not know....”
A civilian had been swept into a Ghost Gate.
No matter how unfamiliar Wonhyeok was with Ghost Gates, any expectation that he would survive this situation intact had long since been folded shut, like a pinwheel.
If he blew upon that pinwheel, it would likely make this sound.
Please, punish Ghost Gate Messenger Haje without fail!
That was how Wonhyeok felt at the moment.
When he hesitantly followed behind the Heavenly Horse, it jumped up and down as though delighted, continuing to lead Wonhyeok onward.
If Wonhyeok had been like the many young people of Joseon who were fascinated by Ghost Gates, he might have thought, This cunning uncanny power and wicked spirit is luring me in!
But although the Heavenly Horse was an uncanny power and wicked spirit, it had not harmed Wonhyeok. He could not bring himself to be deeply wary of it.
In truth, it was more because, even if he were wary, an uncanny power and wicked spirit could simply CRUNCH, SMACK, and devour a lone civilian if it wished.
After leaving the cavern chamber, Wonhyeok saw a sky darker than the night sky.
Yet it was not the outside. Black-and-red stone still blocked every direction.
Wonhyeok felt strange.
He was clearly inside a Ghost Gate, but that black sky did not feel like it belonged to the Ghost Gate.
No, perhaps it belonged to the Ghost Gate, yet was something alien to it.
But what in the world was it?
The moment thunder rolled across the black sky like waves rippling over marble—
【GRRRRR....】
The growl of something wicked echoed through the vast cave.
Wonhyeok jerked his gaze forward. The Heavenly Horse leaped and ran through the air beneath the black sky.
Then something emerged from the shadows.
Wonhyeok froze at the sight.
A gigantic mouth. A mouth opened wide as though it would touch the black sky, aimed directly at Wonhyeok.
Then the Heavenly Horse’s mouth burst into speech as it ran through the air.
【Will you flee? Can you see it? What do you think that is? What do you think that is?】
GRRRR.
With the sound of the ground scraping, the wide-open mouth drew closer to Wonhyeok once more.
【Open your eyes, scholar, open them! Guess, guess, what is that?】
“W-what is this....”
【If you cannot see it, it will eat you. It will swallow you in one bite; not even your bones will remain!】
The Heavenly Horse began racing rapidly through the air.
Its circling form gradually lengthened, as though it were tracing a long oval.
BOOOOM.
As the Heavenly Horse turned, the uncanny power and wicked spirit opened its mouth again and approached Wonhyeok.
Wonhyeok began to grow anxious.
What did it mean, open my eyes? A ghost has a gigantic mouth open right in front of me. It is not as though I want to look at it properly.
Then a thought occurred to Wonhyeok.
If I did not have dog eyes, I would not even be holding up.
If he had not possessed dog eyes, he would have simply fainted at the sight of the gigantic-mouthed ghost and the Heavenly Horse racing through the sky.
Right. Had getting tangled up with Ghost Gate Messengers been the problem from the beginning?
At an inappropriate time, he remembered running into his mother’s arms in tears as a child after seeing a ghost.
“Your son is excessively attuned to uncanny powers and wicked spirits.”
He could no longer remember what he had seen as a child that had frightened him so terribly.
Instead, he clearly remembered his mother’s gaze, though he did not know whether it carried regret or disgust....
“Though he sees such wicked things, if he does not see them; though he hears them, if he does not hear them, they cannot dare torment your son.”
A white hand covered the child’s wet eyes.
“You must always keep your eyes closed.”
The skin around his eyes felt cool. For some reason, the young master felt relieved and hugged his mother tightly.
It was nearly the only memory he had of his mother warmly embracing him.
“You must never go near those wicked things.”
Yet despite those words, Wonhyeok had been dragged into a Ghost Gate.
In present-day Joseon, though, could he truly control that?
He had avoided Ghost Gates and uncanny powers and wicked spirits, living only by reading. Yet a Ghost Gate Messenger had suddenly selected him.
He had been dragged around by that ill-mannered Ghost Gate Messenger, awkwardly forcing his dog eyes to see ghostly traces.
And now, the Heavenly Horse urged Wonhyeok to “open his eyes.”
Mother, Nanny.... Your son, Lee Wonhyeok.
I cannot die here, can I?!
As he had done in the Ansan village, Wonhyeok focused his eyes and looked at the ghost with the enormous mouth.
RIIING—.
Just as when he first saw the Heavenly Horse, the sensation of someone placing a gong inside his head and striking it shook his skull.
CRACK.
Something seemed to split apart.
It was a ghost, one with a gigantic mouth....
Information engraved itself in clear lines, as though someone were writing inside his skull.
An upper lip that seemed to reach Heaven, and a lower lip that seemed to reach the Underworld.
An uncanny power and wicked spirit that appeared to test passersby. The moment they feared it and tried to flee, it opened its massive mouth and devoured them.
Its name was—
“...Giant-Mouthed Ghost.”
As Wonhyeok whispered the name, he raised his head.
The ghost with its enormous mouth opened wide before Wonhyeok stopped just before devouring him.
The breath that reached him was too damp and cold to belong to the living.
Within the Giant-Mouthed Ghost’s mouth, Wonhyeok saw those who had fused into a single mass of flesh.
What had merely looked black inside became clear as his vision sharpened.
Something thrashed as though it believed it could escape even after becoming part of the Giant-Mouthed Ghost’s mouth lining.
As Wonhyeok’s attention was seized by the squirming movement, the mouth snapped shut at the tip of his nose.
Then the Giant-Mouthed Ghost rolled backward once, and a pale boy dressed in blue stood in its place.
The Heavenly Horse, which had stopped moving, watched the two of them.
Blue-Robed Boy. Wonhyeok knew it the moment he saw the boy.
It was exceedingly strange.
Yet Wonhyeok’s current situation had already reached the height of strangeness. Even if something became stranger, he could not spare it any attention.
【You got it right! Correct!】
The Blue-Robed Boy spread his arms wide and deeply bowed, as though paying formal respects.
Then the Heavenly Horse gave a high cry, carried the Blue-Robed Boy on its back, and bit the back of Wonhyeok’s neck.
“W-what? Whaaat?”
【Congratulations! As expected, you are fully qualified to become an Underworld Official!】
“An Underworld Official?”
What are these uncanny powers and wicked spirits talking about?
An Underworld Official? I want to become an official in the world of the living! If I am going to be an official, I want to do it in the world of the living!
Riding atop the Heavenly Horse, the Blue-Robed Boy smiled with eyes that had no whites.
It was a smile that made the fine hairs on Wonhyeok’s body stand on end.
【To escort you to the Underworld, you must first die!】
“What?”
【DROP!】
With the Blue-Robed Boy’s cheerful cry, the Heavenly Horse released Wonhyeok.
How considerate. He had qualified as an Underworld Official, yet since he did not seem able to come, they would personally kill him.
Damn uncanny powers and wicked spirits!
Wonhyeok fell freely.
“Aaaah!”
Then an unfamiliar voice echoed in Wonhyeok’s mind.
It was a monotone voice utterly devoid of life.
[‘Viewing Access’ has been partially acquired. Permit connection to obtain additional access?]
I do not know what that is, but yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!
[At the request of the authorized user, accessing <Registry of the Dead>.]
[Searching…]
[Not suitable because you do not belong to the Underworld.]
[At the request of the authorized user, accessing <Golden Rule>.]
[Searching …]
I do not know what it is, but could you search faster?
The rectangles flashing past him in an instant vanished upward as he fell from a tremendous height.
[Compatibility verified.]
[Welcome, ‘Clerk’.]
So what happened?
The ground rushed toward Wonhyeok’s eyes.
I am going to die!
Wonhyeok squeezed his eyes shut.
“I wondered who dared access the Registry of the Dead without authorization, and it turns out....”
A tired voice echoed, and with a sigh, Wonhyeok’s shoulder softly touched the ground.
Through his barely open eyes, Wonhyeok saw a black shadow.
The black figure raised a hand and said, “Forget it, Red Sun.”
SNAP.
Wonhyeok blinked his eyes open and realized he was lying upon a gigantic mound.
If not for the indigo-blue grass growing around him, he would have thought he had escaped the Ghost Gate.
Wonhyeok realized that his entire body was drenched in cold sweat.
It felt as though he had awoken from a long nightmare.
“W-what is this...? Am I... alive?”
His gat had come off and fallen behind his back, while the collar that Wan Pilseok had roughly grabbed was already in complete disarray.
With hair spilling out from beneath his headband, he looked so unkempt that anyone who saw him would point and call him mad.
Soft footsteps sounded.
A familiar black figure walked toward him.
It was Haje.
At the sight of him, the tension drained from Wonhyeok. He pointed at the damned Ghost Gate Messenger.
“You... leaving your accompanying inspector like this... You truly are the worst Ghost Gate Messenger....”
He had intended to fiercely lash out, but an overwhelming exhaustion suddenly came over him.
Wonhyeok mumbled like someone talking in his sleep before collapsing.
Staring blankly at his clerk, Haje let out a hollow laugh beneath his military hat.
“That is not wrong.”
The bright communication network beside Haje rang noisily.