Chapter 107

Inside the Wall Painting Village.

Not long after Gye Se-hoon left, the villagers, sensing the situation, began to open their front gates one by one and step outside.

Soon, all the villagers, including Park Aju, gathered on the streets.

“What? You just let him go?”

“He really left the village, right?”

In truth, the villagers had been keeping an eye on Gye Se-hoon.

Through the surveillance cameras installed everywhere.

The villagers stared blankly at the village entrance, then turned their gaze to Park Aju, questioning her reproachfully.

“Park Aju. What happened?”

“Didn’t you give him the sleeping pills?”

“You said today was the day. How could you just let him go?”

“If the sleeping pills failed, you should’ve used force to keep him here.”

The reason they were so regretful was simple.

They had lost Gye Se-hoon, their “art material.”

“Ha, haa… It’s been so long since we had a male material…”

This village was home to self-proclaimed artists.

A gathering of mentally deranged individuals pursuing twisted forms of art.

“I thought I could finally unleash my artistic spirit again.”

“Haa, haa… Lately, my hands have been itching so much I’m going crazy. We need to find art material quickly…”

The villagers’ way of thinking was starkly different from ordinary people.

They believed that when a human is on the brink of death,

When a human writhes in pain and cries out in despair,

That moment is the most noble and beautiful in the world, and elevating that instant into art is the true duty of an artist.

And to create such art, they naturally needed “art material.”

Human art material.

So, the villagers would kidnap outsiders or drug unsuspecting tourists who wandered into the village.

Then, they would subject them to various tortures,

And immortalize their suffering through sculptures and paintings.

Even the murals on the village walls were filled with the blood of countless humans sacrificed by the villagers.

“At least try to make an excuse, Aju.”

“How are you going to take responsibility? We can’t even kidnap people from outside anymore these days.”

“L-let’s just use Aju as the art material this time…!”

“No, do you think I wanted to let him go? There was a reason! Calm down and listen to me first! So, here’s what happened…”

As the accusatory questions continued, Park Aju began to explain, sweating profusely.

***

Park Aju’s explanation was as follows:

The man seemed to notice the sleeping pills and refused to drink the tea.

He introduced himself as an exorcist.

To prove his strength, he kicked and destroyed a tree in the yard.

He complimented the murals.

Finally, he said he would catch the monster outside the village and left.

Hearing this, the villagers initially distrusted Park Aju.

Most of her story was unbelievable, so their reaction was natural.

However,

When Park Aju showed them the fallen tree in her yard, some villagers began to think her story might be true.

“So, he knocked down this tree with a kick?”

“Was that the sound we heard earlier?”

“A tree wouldn’t just fall on its own… Could Aju’s story really be true?”

The villagers’ distrust slowly faded.

Only then did Park Aju let out a sigh of relief.

“See? It’s true! Why would I lie?”

Park Aju, now more confident, raised her voice.

The villagers, deep in thought, frowned and then began to barrage her with more questions.

“So, is it true that he’s an exorcist?”

“A monster… no, a yokai hunter? That’s his profession?”

“Yes. He said so himself. At first, I thought he was lying, but after seeing him kick down the tree, I believed him. No ordinary person could do that.”

“Well, whether he’s an exorcist or not, if he catches the monster, it’s good for us. We’ve been struggling to figure out how to get rid of it.”

“B-but… wouldn’t it have left on its own eventually…?”

“You never know.”

The villagers decided not to press Park Aju further.

Even if they had been in her position, they wouldn’t have been able to handle a man with such monstrous strength.

“But what if he comes back? We don’t have a way to subdue him other than the sleeping pills. It’s a shame to let such high-quality material go to waste.”

“Huh? What have you been listening to? Didn’t you hear that he complimented the murals?”

“What does that have to do with it?”

“If he understands our art, he wouldn’t mind becoming art material. If we just ask, he’ll probably agree to become art material himself.”

“Ah! That makes sense!”

“Y-yeah, that sounds plausible…!”

The villagers believed that anyone who truly understood art would gladly agree to become art material if asked.

It was a bizarre way of thinking, as if dozens of screws were missing from their heads.

And so, the villagers all moved to the village entrance, waiting endlessly for Gye Se-hoon to return.

***

I tapped the eight-foot monster’s shoulder and spoke.

“Popo.”

[Balloon Gum Collector]—Wakya-pya. Popo, what now?

[Maid]—Wakya-pya. Is the eight-footer’s name Popo?

[Maehwa Tree]—Seems like he just made it up.

[Drifting AI]—I’ll say it. He has a great naming sense.

[Handsome Licker]—Naming sex. Lick.

As soon as my hand touched him, the eight-foot monster’s sobbing stopped.

[Poo…]

The eight-foot monster looked up at me.

Tears were welling up in its eyes.

“Why are you crying here? What’s wrong?”

[Po. Po. Po…]

“……”

[Po. Po. Po…!]

“Maehwa. Can’t the eight-foot monster speak human language?”

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—Even the maid can, so why not the eight-footer?

[Maid]—Wakya-pya? Are you ignoring me?

[Maehwa Tree]—Some yokai can’t speak human language.

[Po. Po.]

[Po. Po…!]

[Popopo….]

It seemed this eight-foot monster couldn’t speak human language.

Just as I thought there was no way to communicate,

The maid began to translate the monster’s words.

[Maid]—Wakya-pya! I’ll translate!

[Maid]—I’m glad you made it out of the village safely.

[Maid]—That village is dangerous…!

[Maid]—My daughter went into that village a week ago and hasn’t come out since. The villagers must have done something bad to her. I want to save her. I’m sad.

[Maehwa Tree]—Ah. I was going to translate first.

[Balloon Gum Collector]—Wakya-pya! The maid is so capable!

[Min Ji]—Wow! Maid-nim is awesome!

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—Don’t make stuff up, you bitch. He didn’t say that much.

The maid’s translation seemed accurate.

The Dolharbang yokai next to her was translating the same way.

[I’m glad, Reubang.]

[That village is dangerous, Reubang.]

[My daughter too…]

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—D-damn?

[Big Girl]—He’s saying the same thing as the maid.

[Se-hoon Defense Team]—They’re both yokai, so of course they understand each other.

Thanks to the maid and Dolharbang,

I could now communicate with the eight-foot monster, so I decided to listen to his story carefully.

***

To cut to the chase,

This eight-foot monster wasn’t a yokai that harmed humans.

Of course, that’s just his claim.

But given the situation, I doubted he was lying.

If he were a yokai that harmed humans,

He would’ve tried to eat me right then and there.

‘This isn’t some elaborate scheme to get into the village, is it? He doesn’t seem that clever.’

Anyway,

The reason the eight-foot monster was lurking around the village was because of his “daughter.”

A week ago,

His daughter went into the Wall Painting Village to eat,

And shortly after, screams erupted.

Since then, there had been no news of her.

Oh, by the way, I heard the eight-foot monster’s daughter is human.

He found her as an abandoned baby and raised her with great care.

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—F*ck? So there’s a kidnapper in that village?

[Min Ji]—Uh… If the screams could be heard outside the village, doesn’t that mean all the villagers are accomplices?

[Yoho]—Room Master. Let’s report this.

[Se-hoon Defense Team]—Report what? A yokai’s daughter was kidnapped! Who’s going to believe that?

[Big Girl]—This doesn’t seem like a problem that can be solved by reporting. If they’re committing crimes so brazenly, the police are probably in on it too. They’re probably being bribed to cover it up.

[Reverse Rape Mania]—So, is the eight-foot monster a good yokai then?

[Maehwa Tree]—It could be an act. There are plenty of cunning yokai, so don’t trust him blindly.

[Balloon Gum Collector]—Wakya-pya! Maehwa is so suspicious!

[Maid]—Wakya-pya! Suspicious bastard!

[Min Ji]—Se-hoon-nim. What are you going to do now?

[Qkrnfl892]—Either the humans or the yokai is lying. I’m voting for the yokai.

[Drifting AI]—I’ll say it. Gye Se-hoon is at a crossroads of choice.

[Handsome Licker]—Who should we believe? The village seems suspicious, though. Lick…

[Meng Yao]—I think we should believe the yokai. Park Aju? That woman put some weird powder in the tea earlier. She’s not trustworthy.

After some thought, I looked the eight-foot monster in the eye and spoke.

“Popo.”

[Popo.]

“First, let’s go back to the village entrance together.”

[Popo…]

“Reubang, you come too.”

[Reubang?]

[Gyeongsaeng Guburi]—Why are you bringing that rock bastard? Did you adopt him as a pet?

[Maid]—Wakya-pya! No!!!

For now, I decided to take the eight-foot monster to the village entrance and have a three-way confrontation with the villagers.