novelraw Chapter 75 : Fare for the Afterlife (7)
Chapter 75 : Fare for the Afterlife (7)
Chapter 75: Fare for the Afterlife (7)
“Deputy General Manager…….”
“……”
The two Grim Reapers stared blankly at the bizarre scene unfolding before their eyes. No, they had no choice but to watch.
All they had to do was merely open the gate to the Afterlife.
Through the opened Gate of Hell, the souls that hadn’t budged in months—some for nearly years—were now entering in a line.
‘So he’s not just someone who guards the Divine Tree?’
Even gathering the most renowned shamans from across Joseon’s eight provinces was possible, albeit with a generous offer.
But the child who emanated divine power strong enough to touch the Heavenly Realm was something else entirely.
It was enough to make one wonder where on earth such a being had suddenly emerged from—and he even used that child to intimidate the souls.
Of course, there had been people like that before. Those with strong intuition or special abilities who clumsily straddled the line between the human world and that of the supernatural beings. The shamans gathered here were such examples.
But the handsome young man before them far surpassed any such case.
What human could carry out such an overwhelming act without batting an eye?
Even for them, the ones tasked as Grim Reapers, and even if they brought in General Ma or General Woo, the gatekeepers of the Afterlife, no one could match his power.
“Could he perhaps be someone descended from the Heavenly Realm?”
“Gods of the Heavenly Realm can’t interfere this deeply in the living world.”
“Then he’s really human and has that kind of power?”
“You’re watching it happen now.”
And there was an even more chilling and terrifying fact.
‘Strictly speaking, that man didn’t actually do anything.’
Indeed.
All Jinseong did while forcefully sending the souls to the Afterlife was line them up and occasionally praise the child.
The true mastermind behind the mayhem merely stood there with his hands behind his back, watching.
Unless a god descended, as the junior had said, no one seemed capable of interfering with this man.
“There are 100 left.”
“Th-thank you. I didn’t think you’d actually manage it.”
“I kept my promise.”
Instead of humility, his answer carried a warning: ‘I kept my promise, now it’s your turn.’
From Jinseong’s chest came the item he had once asked to be delivered.
“Yes, I will keep my promise as well.”
Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik reached out to receive it. But Jinseong showed no sign of handing it over.
“There’s no need for you to do so.”
“Pardon?”
“This isn’t a place where reward covers punishment, is it?”
His face clearly asked, ‘Did I ever say that out loud?’ so Jinseong responded ahead of time.
“I just guessed.”
“Ah, I see.”
Sending one hundred souls, who could have become Evil Spirits, to the Afterlife was more than enough to earn a departmental transfer.
However, trading an item from the living world—a deal involving the delivery of a soul—to the King of the Underworld was an entirely different matter.
“He’ll have to come retrieve it himself.”
“His Majesty can no longer descend to the living world.”
“I know. He only came down last time because he mistook us for Evil Spirits.”
“Haha, that day, I must’ve been seeing things……”
“Deputy General Manager, you weren’t seeing things that day.”
“What do you mean?”
“The man you saw at the café suddenly tried to annihilate a hundred souls. That’s why you hastily opened the Gate of Hell to evacuate them, didn’t you?”
“Huh? Deputy General Manager, that’s right!”
There may never be a situation that exemplifies the phrase ‘a slip of the tongue’ so perfectly.
Though he accepted the deal, Jinseong hadn’t handed over the item. As a result, the deal was effectively nullified.
Moreover, the souls would’ve been extinguished had they not opened the gate themselves. The punishment vanished, and only the merit of saving the souls remained.
“This matter is serious enough that His Majesty must come in person, don’t you think? He’s been here once already, so I’ll leave the rest to you.”
That was Jinseong’s final farewell.
With those parting words, Jinseong and the child got into an old compact car and drove off.
‘Did he plan this from the start? Even accounting for me being punished? Maybe he didn’t trust me. No, if he doubted me, he wouldn’t have come at all.’
Jinseong left without offering a single clear answer, leaving a trail of unanswered questions. But what’s done was done.
“Deputy General Manager, this isn’t a dream, is it?”
“We’ll find out when we return.”
With hollow expressions, the two Grim Reapers stared at the road where Jinseong had vanished, then turned toward the Gate of Hell.
“But will His Majesty or the others believe us? We’ve come back empty-handed twice already.”
“We’ll just have to try again.”
There was no other option. If the judges and other ministers blocked them by claiming the previous descent had yielded no results, the entire plan would surely collapse.
But the two’s worries proved unfounded.
At the entrance to the Afterlife, the souls who had nearly been annihilated by Jinseong were tearfully giving their testimonies.
“I’m telling you, that bastard really tried to kill us! I saw my life flash before my eyes twice!”
“Good grief, I lost ten years off my life!”
“That snot-nosed brat lined us up and shouted, ‘Do you want to die?’… sob!”
Samdo River, once filled with sorrowful wails, was now crowded with souls sighing in relief at having survived. It seemed they had forgotten their time of death had long passed.
Having crossed Samdo River with the hundred souls, the two Grim Reapers reported what had happened to Yeomra and his ministers in the office at Yeomra’s Palace.
They ended with the recommendation that the King of the Underworld himself needed to return to the living world.
“That is not possible!”
“Please reconsider!”
“No matter what, returning to the living world is out of the question!”
The ministers who heard Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik’s request raised their voices, veins bulging in their necks.
“……”
But Yeomra, who had lost his memories, simply sat blankly on the throne.
His attire had changed from a blouse to a thick hanbok, and the sparkle in his eyes seemed to have lost focus.
“That Evil Spirit wasn’t even visible during His Majesty’s last descent. Deputy General Manager Oh may have fabricated the story!”
“Even if it were true, we could send armed guards to take care of it! Please reconsider!”
“Please reconsider!”
“Do as you all wish……”
Was it the ringing voices shaking the entire office that gave him a headache? Yeomra furrowed his brows slightly, then weakly waved his hand in annoyance.
“That is indeed a wise decision!”
“Immediately, I will select the armed men to send to the living realm!”
Just as the meeting was about to conclude with Yeomra’s permission, Deputy General Manager Oh Chang-sik raised his head, met Yeomra’s eyes, and spoke.
“His Majesty must go personally.”
“Hmph! What kind of safety is this that you speak so recklessly without permission!”
“Oh Chang-sik!”
“Shut up! My name is not Oh Chang-sik!”
Bang.
The ground cracked loudly where Deputy General Manager Oh struck it with his fist. The room fell completely silent in an instant.
“Your Majesty, a hundred years ago, you called me Oh Chang-sik; three hundred years ago, Lee Bang-ho; five hundred years ago, Hodam. You called me differently whenever you took tonic medicine. But none of those are my true name.”
Oh Chang-sik slowly stood and released spiritual energy. His black suit transformed into a formal military uniform.
“A thousand years ago, when I served as General Kang Gam-chan’s messenger, the name you called me was…”
“Kangrim.”
“Your Majesty!”
At last, hearing his name from Yeomra’s mouth, tears welled in Kangrim Doryeong’s eyes.
“Kangrim, where must I go to catch that Evil Spirit?”
“To Dangsan-ri Café.”
“Dangsan-ri Café?”
Yeomra took out a worn notebook from his chest. A faint memory suddenly surfaced.
His eyes stopped at the last page while reading.
‘Two hundred fifty-three. Return to Dangsan-ri Café.’
Grrrrrr.
The thick bronze door stored near Jinseong’s café slowly opened.
It was Rodin’s masterpiece, the Gate of Hell, opening by itself in an unbelievable moment, but fortunately or unfortunately, no one was around.
Kooong.
When the door opened wide enough for a person to pass through, it finally stopped.
Three people stepped out from inside the opened door. Yeomra, Kangrim, and Employee Shin Ji-hye.
“A fascinating door.”
“Looks Western.”
“Huh? Why would a Western door be in Joseon? With this kind of aura, it seems like it’s been used as the Gate of Hell for a long time.”
“It seems made for us to come out this way.”
“Right? There are even lanterns lit on the floor like this.”
Not only lanterns.
A luxurious cloth stretched out long beyond the building as if guiding the way.
Even after stepping outside, it was not difficult to find the next destination.
Apart from the building they had just exited, there was only one house visible in the barren field straight ahead.
“You must enter that place.”
“Not coming along?”
“You went alone last time, so you must go alone this time as well.”
“What’s inside?”
“A teahouse! They sell incredibly delicious tea!”
“There’s an Evil Spirit in a teahouse?”
“Not an Evil Spirit.”
“Then?”
“One strong enough to erase hundreds of souls with a single hand, and who cherishes even fleeting connections with righteous virtue.”
“Wise like a sage, too!”
The two Grim Reapers’ evaluation of Jinseong was so generous it almost seemed suspicious.
‘Looks like he’s not here to catch an Evil Spirit.’
They said he possessed power comparable even to the rulers of the Afterlife, so they expected a tough battle.
Yet, the two who told him to go alone showed no sign of tension. Rather, they even wore ambiguous, pleased smiles.
Though Yeomra wanted to go in together, the two’s firm stance forced him to stand alone at the teahouse’s door.
However, when he actually tried to open the door and enter, he hesitated.
His memory wiped clean, unable to see the karma mirror, and with no experience of the living realm, he found it difficult.
He lingered in front of the café for a long while,
Ding dong.
Suddenly, the door swung wide open, and a child rushed in for a hug.
“Unnie! Why are you so late!”
“Huh?”
“Hurry inside! Quickly!”
Led by the child’s hand, Yeomra entered the teahouse, and a cool breeze blew onto his face, enough to relieve the summer heat.
The second person he met was a handsome young man wiping the table.
“Welcome. Shall I prepare your usual drink?”
“Uh, yes.”
“Unnie! Look at this!”
“What’s this?”
“It’s Blue Marble! It’s the game we played before!”
With their fluid, natural responses, Yeomra couldn’t gather his wits at all.
Though prepared to fight an Evil Spirit, he had unwittingly ordered tea and was now sitting face to face with a child he’d never seen before.
Yet for some reason, a familiar and warm feeling rose, and Yeomra’s lips slowly curved upward. That smile was remarkably similar to the expressions the two Grim Reapers had worn before sending him out.