By Zephyria 
Clang! Clang!
A long, beastly howl erupted from the sky. The sun and moon, which had been flickering incessantly, were knocked violently aside as if struck by the clear yet heavy power imbued in that cry. Then, crushing countless deployed eyeballs and tearing through the heavens, a massive forepaw covered in pitch-black fur descended.
Thump! Thump! Thump! The beast’s paw, larger than a building, slammed down upon the edges of the spreading Contamination. With every scratch of its claws and every imprint of its footprint, the earth held its breath and the horizon returned. The world was being set right.
The spread of the Contamination was halted. Realizing that the scope matched the Management Bureau’s calculations exactly, Jeong Ing-bar gasped.
‘Was this what his Sunbae meant when he said Mae-gu would help?’
He had never felt more relieved than he did now, knowing that the fox demon—whose true form, hidden in some Aberrant Realm, was said to be comparable to a mountain range—was not hostile toward humans or the Management Bureau. With the rear secured, he only had to remain faithful to his duties as an Enforcement Division Agent. Steeling himself, Jeong Ing-bar moved the Aberration in his right arm.
Upon encountering Contamination denser than that of an Aberrant Realm, the Aberration dwelling within the body reacted. For the first time, Jeil Heon did not suppress it, letting it boil over. Ahahaha! The fox demon burst into a clear, piercing laugh. The flames that had once driven it mad and pushed it to the brink of death—flames steeped in the longing and murderous intent of brothers who wished to kill their sister—did not sizzle and burn his flesh, but instead soared around him.
Like an unbridled horse, the flames raged, swirling as if to incinerate everything in sight. Humans, Aberrations, the energy eroding the surroundings, the brothers he had loved and hated—everyone, everyone, everyone. Even the sin fire of hell was not hotter than the flames that had burned me. Now, let us go. Let us go. Let us go. Since we have burned them, it is time to eat.
“I’d rather pass on eating human livers.”
Enduring a hunger so intense it made his head spin, Jeil Heon used his flame-shrouded arm to tear, twist, and crush the Aberrations while assessing the surroundings. The presence of the Ten Thousand Waves Flute was quiet, likely focusing on the spread of the Contamination.
If left unchecked, this was a danger that could have annihilated the entire Korean Peninsula, not just a few towns or cities, but he wasn’t overly worried. Not only did he believe they wouldn’t harm civilians, but there was no way that bastard, who considered this land his territory, would just stand by and watch. Besides, he had agreed to help.
Clang! Clang!
Sure enough, Mae-gu intervened, revealing a part of its true form—something it rarely did. It would have been ideal for the Management Bureau if the two Aberrations clashed and mutually destroyed one another, but Mae-gu did not intervene further, and the Ten Thousand Waves Flute refrained from unnecessary impulses.
「Truly an inscrutable fox.」
It was impossible to control Mae-gu even with the innate power to suppress and purify anomalies, and besides, their goal had been the same from the start.
The collective presence watching from beyond the veil shifted its focus toward Jeil Heon. A caustic sneer flowed.
「What does a living man, not even a spirit, hope for while walking the path of the non-human?」
Even without being told, Jeil Heon could feel the changes in his body. The Contamination he had released instead of suppressing was altering his physical form down to the cellular level. Not only his left eye, but the pupil of his right eye also slit vertically, despite being under the sunlight. With a widened field of vision, colors blurred, and the essence of the anomaly became vividly clear. The Ji-hwan around his neck creaked precariously, as if it might break at any moment. His skin felt as though it would burst from the heat swelling from within.
“If you feel pity for your successor, it’s not too late to give up on finding the Sealed One.”
「You exude an aura similar to that fox.」
「Would it not be more appropriate to take that head and trade with the fox?」
「For it is the fox that blocks the path to the Sealed One.」
Before the words even finished, a blade rushed forward with a sharp whistling sound. The blade, flying toward Jeil Heon’s neck, struck his elbow instead and bounced off. An attack that would have severed the arm and cut the throat of a normal human with a normal sword left behind only a heavy metallic clang. It was proof that his body was being transformed.
Ahahaha! Hahahaha! Let’s eat! Let’s devour that too! the fox demon shouted in manic joy. Jeil Heon gave a bitter smile. To think it was willing to engage in devouring—something Aberrations usually avoid for fear of changing their Core Spirit—it was truly beyond insane. And he was the one harboring this crazy Aberration.
The others noticed this as well.
「You harbor a truly hideous thing.」
「Since you go so far as to draw that out to stop us, it is only right that we also give our utmost effort.」
The contaminated energy condensed, and the distorted air was swallowed as if being sucked in. A distinct presence could be felt from beyond the veil. Not an anomaly of the same kind, but a presence that even an ordinary human could detect—something that could be called a human presence.
The constantly shifting form solidified. Blurred armor, weapons glistening with dripping blood and oil, a rough aura of fighting spirit, and neighing warhorses. One step, then another. As they advanced, the crudely crushed outlines gradually began to take physical shape. The heat and scent of blood from the battlefield they generated overlaid a new layer of Contamination upon reality.
They were far fewer than the 3,000 troops of their prime. Not Yi Bang-gwa or Mu-gol, who led the Special Guard Unit after Yi Seong-gye, but those who had cooperated with Yi Bang-won—who possessed a spirit mirroring Yi Seong-gye—like Jo Young-mu; those who had snapped a blade forged in their hearts when Yi Seong-gye fell; and those who had succumbed to the era of the Special Guard Unit’s dissolution. Excluding such people, these were Vengeful Spirits who used only resentment as their foundation.
Their target was the one and only human, Seoljuk, who was clearly protecting the Sealed One.
The Sujagi (Commander’s Flag), which embroidered the contaminated sky with towering majesty despite the absence of its owner, fluttered violently. Wooooooong. The sound of the daera, which once dominated the battlefield and struck enemies with terror, echoed loudly.
The Vengeful Spirits charged. Toward the human who stood alone against them, looking absurdly small and fragile compared to the prestige generated by hundreds of cavalrymen.
Crash.
The loud sound of a mug falling and shattering on the floor rang out. Yoo Jiha collapsed, turning pale.
“Isn’t this the cliché where the middle-aged man is in danger?!”
「Do not worry too much and calm yourself. You were trembling so much even while drinking a glass of water; it is only natural that you dropped it.」
Despite Gong Ran-sa’s soothing words, he did not calm down at all. He was told that an operation to isolate the Ten Thousand Waves Flute was underway, but since he was trapped in Pilgyeongdang with no way of knowing the situation outside, he was dizzy with anxiety. With a feeling of wanting to cry, Yoo Jiha tidied up the remnants of the mug.
His teammates were too busy to contact him properly. Even if they had, the Investigation and Exploration Division had been excluded from this operation, so he wouldn’t have been able to get high-quality information. DMs and calls from friends worried about him missing classes continued to come in, but he had no capacity to pay attention to them. Whether he got an F or not wasn’t what mattered right now.
Seeing Yoo Jiha groaning in the inner room, feeling even more anxious while alone, Gong Ran-sa beckoned him over. On the phone screen she held out, a post from some online community was visible.
[I live in Pyeongtaek, look at the sky omg]
It’s toward the US military base, and the sky suddenly changed like that since noon. It seemed to get bigger for a bit, then suddenly stopped, and it’s been like this for a while now..
What is this? Radiation or something? Should I evacuate? No disaster alerts have come.
In the video attached by the author, a veil of deep green and purple, similar to an aurora but imbued with an ominous feeling, was spread across the sky. The comments were a mess, claiming it was made by AI, a normal weather phenomenon, a top-secret US military experiment, or a sign of the end of the world.
Yoo Jiha’s heart sank. One of the truths about society he had realized while working at the Management Bureau was that when something incomprehensible happens, it is usually related to an anomaly.
“C-could it be that reality itself has been contaminated? If reality is being encroached upon to that extent, isn’t it dangerous?”