The Ex-Hero Is Too Good at Exorcism

139.

“About Ureonggaksi… You know?”

I nodded my head at Ha Soo-jung’s words.

The legend of Ureonggaksi is one of the well-known tales in Korea.

Here’s what it says.

A farmer took pity on a snail in the rice field and brought it to a pot at home.

From the next day, when I came back from farming, there were things like rice being served or cleaning.

So the farmer, who found this strange, pretended to go to work one day and hid near the house.

Soon, he realizes that the one who did the housework was the snailfish that he saved.

After that, the two of them get married, and fight the powerful man who wants to take away the snailfish… roughly like that.

However, didn’t the snailfish in such a legend have nothing to do with ghosts?

“Is there really a snailfish in here?”

“yes. of course… Although it is very different from the generally known tradition.”

Ha Soo-jung let out a short sigh.

“First of all, this interior is in the form of a normal family home. It is a reproduction of the scene where the jar of snailfish was first secured… It measures 60 square meters and has a kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms. All I can see here is the kitchen, but… There are cameras in all the other rooms, so you can keep an eye on what’s inside.”

Ha Soo-jung showed the video of the camera that she was taking pictures of another room using her tablet.

As she said, it was a bit old, but the appearance was not much different from an ordinary apartment.

However, the figure of Wooreonggaksi is not seen anywhere in the video.

“Where is the snailfish? I can’t see you.”

“Now it is in a jar. The black pot in the lower left corner of the kitchen. That’s the jar of snailfish, a precious treasure we keep.”

After hearing her words, I confirmed that there was indeed a jar there.

It is slightly larger than a basketball.

Also, there was a lid on top of it, so I couldn’t see inside.

“Are the snails coming out of there?”

“like that… I am guessing.”

“A guess?”

“actually… We also couldn’t observe the reality of Ureonggaksi. General cameras, infrared, ultrasound, etc… It was impossible to capture with any available observation device.”

Didn’t you see the real thing?

As I tilted my head at the unexpected words, Ha Soo-jung continued.

“It is because of the succession. In the tale, the snailfish eventually revealed its true identity to the farmer. But to put it the other way around… It means that no one other than the farmer has been seen.”

“So, are you saying that non-farmers can’t see the snailfish?”

“That’s it.”

“Then how are you so sure it exists?”

“It leaves a mark.”

Ha Soo-jung displayed some data on the tablet.

Looking at it roughly, it was the data she had said about the traces.

“This is when we turned the kitchen floor into a sandy beach. When all the means of observation are removed, the snailfish starts its activity, and these are the footprints left at that time.”

The footprint itself… It looked very ordinary.

I don’t know the exact size or shape since it was left on the sandy beach, but at least it didn’t look like a monster.

Ha Soo-jung’s words continued.

“Aside from that, it’s clear that there are and are active, such as cooking utensils moving and dirty rooms being cleaned. only… You just can’t capture the moment.”

“Then what’s so dangerous about it that you’ve gone this far?”

He looked at the iron door blocking the room of the Ureonggakshi and said.

A door that is not only physically thick, but also sealed with amulets and various spells.

It meant that they were wary of Ureunggaksi.

“Any male who enters that room is accepted as her farmer. And the growl… They keep killing that farmer.”

Then she talked about some experiments.

It is said that when a man is first put into the room of a snakehead, it is said that it assists him in an unobserved place, as in the legend.

Even if you just sit in the room, the table is set in the kitchen when it’s meal time.

“What is surprising is that there are no food ingredients in it. Even so, the perfect Korean meal is set up, and there is nothing wrong with the food itself. Also, according to those who have eaten it, it tastes great. but… Right after eating, the snailfish kills the farmer who ate the food.”

“Killing, in what way?”

“Instantly disables all observers and slays the target. Not surprising. The fact that it is not captured by any observer means that it is aware of all observers.”

“then… Aren’t you going to eat?”

“Still, the results are the same. A man designated as a farmer may leave that room without finishing his meal, in which case he will be executed through a curse. It’s a powerful curse that can’t be lifted yet, so no test subjects have survived so far.”

I drool and organized the information in my head.

It was very different from the Ureonggaksi I knew.

“It’s very different from the tradition.”

“that’s right. So we’re guessing that the lore itself is twisted. because… There was an accident with this generation’s Ureonggaksi.”

Saying that, Soo-jung Ha uploaded the case file on the tablet.

“Originally, there are few cases of directly witnessing the transmission of Ureonggaksi, but it is one of the transmissions that have been handed down continuously. As if the elk became a white rock this time… In a place we don’t know, someone’s snailfish has been appearing for a long time.”

It is a tradition passed on quietly in an invisible place.

If it was a snailfish, it was a tradition that deserved it.

Even if the existence of snailfish is reproduced, it is neither a problem nor dangerous.

It is only the husband who finds out the identity, and the husband also has no reason to reveal the identity of the snailfish.

“But the jar of snailfish we found was at a murder scene 12 years ago. And what was found at the scene were the bodies of the two children and their father.”

“The robbery… Are they the same?”

Ha Soo-jung shook her head at my words.

“no. If that were the case, the tradition wouldn’t have been twisted. There are many cases in which the transmission of Ureunggaksi ends tragically due to outside intervention. But this time it was different. Investigations have shown that it was the father who killed those two children.”

“… … ”

“The man who was my father was a person with mental problems from the beginning. According to the neighbors, it seems that domestic violence was common. in other words… ”

Ha Soo-jung’s gaze turned toward the massive iron door.

There was a faint hint of sympathy in it.

“The snailfish that appeared in reality this time would have been killed at the hands of my husband, who played the role of a farmer. The farmer himself, and no one else, kills his children and himself. This is an ending that doesn’t exist in any version… It’s an accident that’s enough to distort the tradition.”

“hmm… ”

Did that happen?

In the end, it is said that the legend was twisted, and the snails ran out of control.

I roughly figured out the context and moved on to the next topic.

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

“of course… It’s the elimination of Ureonggaksi. Is it possible?”

I knew it.

As expected, I calmly expressed my affirmation.

But I must have answered too easily, instead Ha Su-jeong added more words.

“Are you in danger?”

“I know. But you know my ability, right?”

Ha Soo-jung nodded belatedly at my words.

“Oh, you said you could see the level… ”

As she said, a level of 68 was visible on top of the Urn.

It was a level corresponding to the level of the enemy right before the dark spirit, but it was a dangerous level for ordinary exorcists.

Of course, there was nothing I couldn’t deal with.

More than anything… I won’t even have to fight the snailfish.

“Note that… That jar doesn’t break either. Of course, I don’t know what will happen if I synthesize it like before… In that case, we don’t know what kind of reaction it will be. There may be unexpected reactions, so you should be careful.”

I nodded and went straight into the room of the snail.

Several locks and seals are temporarily broken.

At last the heavy door opens.

But even so, the pot of snailfish placed in the kitchen didn’t even bother to move.

I stepped into the kitchen.

“then… I’ll close it. All observation equipment will be turned off. Otherwise… Because the snails don’t come out. When you’re done, knock on this door. Then let’s turn the camera on again.”

“All right.”

With her last words, the door closed again.

A quiet kitchen.

I stared at the jar from there.

For some reason, the jar felt tense.

No, actually, the snailfish must have been quite nervous.

as much as me… You’ll never be able to take on the role of her farmer.

But I had no intention of doing anything to the snailfish right now.

The time is already 6:00 PM.

It was just evening time.

So I looked at the jar and said.

“Give me some food.”

I passed through the kitchen and entered the room at the back.

Then, after a while, a chuckle came from the kitchen.

The clatter of dishes and the crackle of knives hitting cutting boards.

It really felt like someone was cooking.

“… … ”

And I waited patiently for the meal to be ready.

After about 10 minutes like that.

Suddenly the sound stopped.

When I got up and opened the door, there was a wonderful 7-cheop table set there, just as Su-jeong Ha said.

I carried it into the room and immediately started eating.

And its taste

“Oh, this is a real restaurant.”

It was wonderful.

It wasn’t stimulating, but it was like the skill of a snail gaksi that has been passed down since the Joseon Dynasty.

Soon after, I finished my meal and put the spoon down.

but… No matter how long I waited, the snailfish that was supposed to attack immediately after that did not appear.

yep, it was natural

No matter how twisted the tradition is, the root of the snailfish cannot be changed.

So I got up and went to the kitchen.

Then he looked at the tightly closed jar and said.

“come out.”

The jar flinched at my words.

However, the entrance did not open easily, and I touched it with a human sword and opened my mouth again.

“Come out.”

I only had to say one more word, but the pot was soon shaken violently.

In the original tale, Ureonggaksi was described as the daughter of the Dragon King.

The story of the snailfish begins when the dragon king’s daughter commits a mistake and is punished by becoming a snail, and a farmer discovers it.

That’s why the dragon king is a father to snail snails, and an undeniable absolute being who turned herself into snailfish.

No matter how twisted the tradition was, it was impossible to escape from its authority.

And what helped me there was the spirit of the blue dragon I had.

The blue dragon is the symbol of King Gwangdeok, the eastern blue dragon in charge of the eastern sea, the eldest of the four sea dragon kings, who are said to have the highest rank among the dragon kings.

Therefore, from Ureonggakshi’s point of view, it was no different from the sudden visit of her father.

“… … ”

Is that why?

Soon after, the lid of the tightly closed jar moved slowly.

Soon after, a woman crawled out of there.

However, the appearance was so ugly that the name Ureonggaksi did not suit it.

The hair was scattered, and the clothes that were torn and bloody were really close to ghosts.

Also, there was a lot of resentment in the red eyes.

Enough of this… Beyond just twisting the legend of Wooreonggaksi, it was at a level where the traditions of other ghosts were mixed together.

“That’s how you meet a good man.”

I muttered that and raised the sword.

A blade filled with white flames.

However, even after seeing that, Ureonggakshi just closed his eyes.

In her tale, the dragon king was not just a father who punished the snailfish.

When she married a farmer, he blessed the marriage.

He was also a blessing who forgave her sins and made her completely take off her snail shape.

So, from the perspective of Ureonggakshi, he would not have the courage to look at his father like that.

Looking at the snailfish, I struck down the raised Ingeom.

“… … ”

The snailfish did not resist and was cut by the teeth.

A single tear flowed from her eyes.

At the same time, her body, which had been dyed black and red, slowly began to disappear like smoke.

Soon, the snailfish disappeared, leaving only an empty jar.

“Is it over?”

I looked around.

There were no more visible level indicators.

So I took my jar one last time and knocked on the door leading out.

It was once a rare item, so it will require at least some investigation.

however.

“… huh?”

I thought it was just empty, but when I looked closely, there was something stuck near the mouth of the jar.

It’s a snail smaller than a fingernail.

That… is it a baby

But think about that for a while.

It eventually turned into a small group of lights and was absorbed into me.

And a new letter appeared in the log window.