The slime spat out a slightly dirty-looking mucus.
Mixed with the slime’s purple mucus, it had a somewhat dark and sticky appearance, emitting a smell that irritated the nose and gave off a vibe that it shouldn’t be touched.
“Listen up. Don’t go near that. It seems like it’s spat out a concoction of harmful things. Seal it properly and have it tested, if you would.”
The old man, Kim Young-soo, who had already shrunk in size and become rather cute, was petting the slime while saying this.
The slime named Baeksuk wiggled with a “puling-puling” sound every time the old man’s hand touched it. It swayed under his touch, reshaping itself like a soft balloon and gently enveloping the old man’s hand.
The old man watched the antics of the slime with a smile, finding it adorable. Then, with a “kyeungcha” sound, he slowly got up and turned around.
“Phew… This old man needs to rest now. It looks like things have settled down, so I guess I can go?”
“Huh? Oh, yes? Yes, thank you very much.”
“Phew, elder. Thank you for your help. We’ll take care of the rest. If there’s anything important or necessary, we’ll let you know, so please go and rest comfortably.”
“Ho ho ho. Understood, understood.”
“Today, we’ve received great assistance from you. Please go safely, and once we wrap everything up, we will visit to express our gratitude. Thank you again.”
“That’s right, that’s right. I’m off now.”
Kim Young-soo descended the mountain slowly under the police’s farewell. The slime followed behind, plopping along after him.
As the two disappeared, the police all sighed in relief.
“Whew. We survived.”
“Exactly. If it weren’t for the elder, what would we have done? We’d have had to wait endlessly until support arrived, right?”
“Haha. Just thinking about it makes me shiver.”
The police were relieved that they had avoided a terrible future.
“By the way, what in the world was that thing? It wasn’t an evil spirit, was it?”
“No, our equipment didn’t indicate it was an evil spirit.”
“Then was it a summon creature?”
“Hmm… While it did seem like something touched by human hands when we looked at the weapons it had, it wasn’t registered in our database.”
“So it could be that it wasn’t a summon creature, after all, right?”
The police gazed at the space where the creature had darted around.
“That’s right.”
“And these things appeared simultaneously all over the country, didn’t they?”
“That’s right?”
“…This obviously looks like an artificial phenomenon, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right…”
The more they spoke, the more their faces grew grave.
Even after their brief conversation, they looked as if years had passed. Their faces were filled with fatigue at the thought of what was to come, their shoulders slumped.
“We’re going to be grilled when we get back.”
“Any way you look at it, this is terrorism.”
“Phew. My family is so… gone.”
Clearly unusual events had unfolded.
Even concealing them wasn’t an option.
If so, what was certain about the future?
People would cause an uproar.
The internet would burn with heated discussions.
Journalists would furiously churn out articles.
So-called intellectuals would step forward spouting conspiracy theories.
The government would react as if it’s a terrorist attack.
And they would hound the police.
“Watch your words. Understood? The journalists might come, and if you open your mouths improperly, it will affect your promotions. Understand?”
“Yep!”
“Since there’s already a national commotion anyway, just be careful what you say and we’ll be fine. Let’s stay strong, everyone!”
*
“Nationwide commotion – Was it the mountain spirits angered?”
“Hiking disaster – What’s happening?”
“Mountains teeming with monsters”
“Monsters appearing all over the country… abandoned summons?”
“Anonymous tipster: ‘The monsters appearing nationwide are not summon creatures. They are not registered in the government database.’ Are they unregistered summons?”
“Police: ‘We will consider the possibility of terrorism in our investigation.'”
“Government: ‘It’s still uncertain. Citizens should not create excessive panic.'”
“Unconvincing government response… Could they be results of biological experiments?”
“Conspiracy theories are brewing. Citizens: ‘The government must clarify quickly.'”
The situation was akin to setting fire to straw — everything was burning.
The nationwide commotion had spread through media, the internet, and word of mouth, reaching everyone in the Republic of Korea. People were shocked by these bizarre events and began spilling out countless conspiracy theories.
Of course, this was an understandable reaction.
It wasn’t just about one random monster appearing. These creatures appeared nationwide.
Furthermore, all the monsters appeared on mountains, sharing the common trait of blocking trails to prevent hikers from passing through.
And, on top of that, there were numerous photos and videos captured with smartphones circulating online.
How could such a situation not cause an uprising?
People began showing an intense interest in this strange case, just as the police on the scene had predicted — Korea was now focusing on this commotion.
This excessive attention only made the matter get bigger and bigger.
The religious community combined all sorts of occult theories and spread rumors. Journalists continued to write sensationalistic articles, stirring up more public anxiety. Meanwhile, people’s conversations—starting with phrases such as “In my opinion,” and “I heard from someone”—began to twist rumors and spread them far and wide, further escalating the chaos.
Additionally, there were forces fanning the flames of this unrest.
Or rather, there were both “forces” and a few “individuals.”
“Jung Jong-Oh: Did he take bribes while providing favors?”
” ‘The talented are always criticized… I am innocent,’ claims politician Jung Jong-Oh. What is the truth?”
“Anonymous tipster: ‘This bribery scandal involves many people. Jung Jong-Oh is merely the tip of the iceberg.’ The biggest scandal since Dangun?”
“Jung Jong-Oh’s impressive criminal record. Is this the inevitable fallout of his actions?”
“The politician with 17 prior convictions: Was this bribery scandal unavoidable?”
This was none other than Jung Jong-Oh, the politician targeted by Lee Jae-soon after he transferred to the social affairs section.
Jung Jong-Oh fought tooth and nail to break free from Lee Jae-soon’s suffocating grip, desperately trying to shift public attention with the monster incident. Using money and connections, he asked them to emphasize stories about the monsters instead of his political scandals, and his network helped to amplify these narratives.
Upon seeing Jung Jong-Oh’s struggles, Lee Jae-soon committed his all to sinking him.
Once the trigger was pulled, either he or Jung Jong-Oh had to die.
If Lee Jae-soon failed, he would be the one assassinated through an article.
Therefore, he had to exhaust every ounce of his strength to eliminate his target.
Even resorting to manipulation and fabrications if necessary.
“Anonymous tipster: ‘Jung Jong-Oh claimed privately that all this is due to the nation’s lack of virtue.'”
“Jung Jong-Oh: ‘All this is due to disaster befalling the nation. One can tell from the fact that people like me cannot gain power.’ ”
“Over-the-top remarks spark controversy over Jung Jong-Oh’s comments.”
“Anonymous religious figure: ‘Only when Jung Jong-Oh becomes president will this calamity end.'”
“Revisiting Jung Jong-Oh’s past outrageous comments: ‘The Industrial Revolution era in Britain should be our model. The working hours of Koreans are too short’ and ‘We should provide benefits to pure-blooded Koreans. Immigrants are defiling our country.'”
” ‘I saw Jung Jong-Oh conducting strange rituals at mount Hwangjangsan’… Is Jung Jong-Oh involved in this incident?”
Lee Jae-soon held onto Jung Jong-Oh, who was trying to wriggle free using the monster incident, with all his might.
Like leeches, he stuck tenaciously, stirring up the controversy further by bringing up his past actions and outrageous comments. He associated the monsters with Jung Jong-Oh, and linked him to occult rumors and conspiracies that Lee Jae-soon had fabricated in his head to attack him further.
Once Lee Jae-soon fully committed his journalistic skills, Jung Jong-Oh was quickly cornered again.
Thoughts of Jung Jong-Oh evoked images of the monsters, and thoughts of the monsters evoked images of Jung Jong-Oh.
Thus, the commotion surrounding the monsters continued to burn, fueled by the two men’s fierce battle.
If only the investigations could reveal some results quickly to quell these rampant rumors…
“After numerous tests with all kinds of equipment, it’s confirmed that they are not evil spirits or evil souls.”
“As for the possibility that they are summon creatures, while it’s clear they’re not registered summon creatures, there’s also the possibility they might be unregistered ones. However, based on the phenomena when they were killed, it seems more likely they are artificially created beings.”
“There’s a chance they could be creatures created by witchcraft, or homunculi made by an alchemist. There’s also a possibility they could be mimics formed through magic or divine objects…”
Without even beginning to grasp a proper understanding, the investigators could barely keep pace with the monsters’ existence.
The possibilities included: a terrorist attack, the breaking of the seal on a divine item somewhere, someone using magic to commit terrorism, a witch experimenting with witchcraft whose experiments escaped, unregistered summoners causing trouble, an issue that arose while trying to create homunculi, the creatures originating from foreign lands…
It was only a proliferation of hypotheses.
Just as everyone was at a loss,
The internet offered a possible lead.
“Title: Regarding the megi that have appeared this time. Doesn’t it seem like this?
Content: Hello. I’m someone who studied abroad in Japan for six years.
I’m now back in Korea, married with a child, living happily.
When I was in Japan, my then-girlfriend, now wife, and I used to visit temples often.
We would go there for exercise and also because the temple would tell old tales to the children, and I would listen along to study Japanese.
However, this megi monk I’ve seen recently reminds me of the yokai I heard stories about back then.
(Picture 1)
This is the yokai known as the Iwanabouzu (岩魚坊主, いわなぼうず).
While its type may vary depending on the region, such as megi, konmeogi, or bbeongeori, doesn’t it look similar to the one that appeared on Knife Peak?”
