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The slime spat out a rather dirty-looking mucus.

It mixed with the slime’s purple goo, giving it a somewhat grimy appearance, radiating a bad smell that hinted you shouldn’t touch it.

“Hey now, don’t touch that. It seems like it’s accumulated some harmful things; better seal it up and have it examined.”

The old man, Kim Young-soo, said this while petting the cutely transformed slime that had shrunk over time.

The slime named Baeksuk responded to his touch with a gentle, wobbly movement, shaking its body at every touch as if it were a soft water balloon, wrapping around the old man’s hand.

The old man gazed at the slime’s antics with amusement before grunting and slowly rising.

“Oh dear, this old man really needs to go rest now. Since things seem to be settling down, I hope it’s alright for me to take my leave?”

“Yes? Ah, yes? Thank you very much.”

“Oh, sir, thank you for your help. We’ll handle the rest. If there’s anything troubling or urgently needed, we’ll contact you, so please go in and rest comfortably.”

“Ahahaha, understood, understood.”

“You have been a great help today, sir. Have a safe trip home, and once things are tidied up, I’ll make sure to come by and express my gratitude. Thank you once again.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll be going then.”

Kim Young-soo slowly descended the mountain, escorted by the police. The slime followed behind, bouncing along after him.

Once the two disappeared from sight, the police let out a collective sigh of relief.

“Phew, we made it.”

“Yeah. What would we have done without that old man? We’d have been waiting here forever until reinforcements arrived.”

“Haha, just thinking about it is terrifying.”

The police felt relieved at having narrowly escaped a dreadful future.

“But what exactly was that thing? It didn’t seem to be an evil ghost, did it?”

“Right. The equipment didn’t register it as an evil spirit.”

“Well then, could it have been a summon creature?”

“Hmmm… Looking at the weapons it had, it certainly seems to have been touched by human hands, but… it wasn’t registered in the database.”

“So, it might not be a summon creature after all?”

The police began to converse, glancing at the area where Seonja had been active.

“Exactly.”

“And that unknown entity appeared all over the country simultaneously?”

“That’s right?”

“…This looks like it has to be an artificially induced phenomenon, doesn’t it?”

“Exactly…”

The more they spoke, the deeper the frowns grew on their faces. Despite their brief exchange, they looked as if years had passed, exhaustion evident as they pondered the future weight on their shoulders.

“Return home, and it’s going to be a hell of a squeeze.”

“Clearly a terror case; there’s no doubt.”

“Oh man, home here we come.”

An absurdly suspicious commotion had erupted. It wasn’t exactly something that could be covered up.

What was about to happen next was all too predictable.

People would be in an uproar.

The internet would be ablaze.

Reporters would frantically churn out articles.

So-called scholars would step forward, spouting conspiracy theories.

The government would make a fuss claiming it was a terror incident.

And then,

They’d grill the police.

“Watch your mouths. Got it? The reporters might come asking questions, and if you say the wrong thing, it could jeopardize your promotion. Understood?”

“Yes, sir!”

“This is a nationwide stir-up, so as long as we’re careful with our words, we should be fine. Now, let’s keep our spirits up!”

—

『 Nationwide commotion, did the Mountain Deity get angry? 』

『 Went hiking and got struck by lightning, what on earth happened? 』

『 Monsters swarm the land 』

『 Monsters everywhere across the country… are they abandoned summon creatures? 』

『 Anonymous tipster: “The creatures that appeared nationwide are no summons. They aren’t in the government’s database.” Are they unregistered summon creatures? 』

『 Police: “We are considering the possibility of a terror incident in our investigations.” 』

『 Government: “Nothing is certain yet. We must avoid causing unnecessary panic among the citizens.” 』

『 Lackluster governmental response… could it be a byproduct of biological experimentation? 』

『 Conspiracy theories are swirling. Citizens: “The government needs to explain quickly.” 』

Like lighting a match to straw, flames blazed brightly.

This nationwide commotion spread rapidly through various media, including news, the internet, and word of mouth, causing shock among the people of the Republic of Korea, and numerous conspiracy theories were unleashed about this strange occurrence.

It was, after all, the obvious result.

It wasn’t just one monster popping out; they appeared all across the nation.

Especially since they all manifested on mountains, blocking hikers’ paths.

Moreover, there was an overflow of photos and videos taken on smartphones spreading everywhere.

How could there not be an uproar?

People began developing frantic interest in this bizarre incident.

Just as the officers on-site had predicted, all eyes in the Republic of Korea turned toward this commotion.

And this excessive focus only fueled the situation’s escalation.

The religious sectors began combining all things occult to chatter about it, while journalists continuously wrote engaging pieces to feed the people’s anxieties. As such, rumors tagged with phrases like “I think,” or “I heard from someone” proliferated, causing hysteria.

There were forces that exacerbated this anxiety.

To be precise, there were both “factions” and “individuals.”

『 Jung Jong-oh, did he take bribes for convenience? 』

『 “Outstanding individuals are always slandered… I am innocent,” claims politician Jung Jong-oh. What’s the truth? 』

『 Anonymous informant: “This bribery case involves many people. Jung Jong-oh is just the tip of the iceberg.” The biggest gate since the founding of the nation? 』

『 Jung Jong-oh, what a stunning crime history. Has a potentially explosive matter exploded? 』

『 Repeat offender, 17-time felon, this bribery case was a foregone conclusion. 』

This was all about Lee Jae-soon targeting politician Jung Jong-oh ever since moving to the social department.

Jung Jong-oh was struggling desperately to escape the tightening leash spun by Lee Jae-soon, who had set the bait, wanting the talk around monsters rather than politics to dominate public attention through money and connections.

Those entangled with Jung Jong-oh lent a hand, helping him push the narrative about monsters.

Seeing such desperation, Lee Jae-soon put in every effort to sink Jung Jong-oh.

Having already fired his shot, one among them had to die.

If an imperfect outcome emerged, it would be Jung Jong-oh, the journalist who pierced through articles.

Thus, without fail, he had to eliminate Jung Jong-oh, by whatever means necessary.

Including manipulation and fabrication, if needed.

『 Anonymous source: “Jung Jong-oh said in private that this is all the fault of the country’s lack of virtue.” 』

『 Jung Jong-oh: “This is all due to misfortune in the country. If you observe those like me, you’ll know that those unable to attain power…” 』

『 Outrageous remarks stoking controversy over Jung Jong-oh’s comments. 』

『 Anonymous religious figure: “Only if Jung Jong-oh becomes president will this calamity end.” 』

『 Jung Jong-oh’s past outrageous remarks resurface….” We must learn from the British during the Industrial Revolution. The working hours of Koreans are too short.”, “We need to distinguish pureblooded Koreans for benefits. Immigrants are ruining Korea.” 』

『 “I once saw Jung Jong-oh performing some strange prayer ritual on Mt. Hwangjang…” Is Jung Jong-oh possibly involved in this incident? 』

Lee Jae-soon clung to Jung Jong-oh as he squirmed, trying his best to grip tightly, like a leech sucking blood, while dredging up his past actions and outrageous remarks, fanning the flames, tying him to monsters, combining the occult and mysterious ‘rumors’, alongside controversies he concocted in his mind to launch attacks.

Once he started, Lee Jae-soon’s journalistic capabilities kicked into high gear, merging Jung Jong-oh with the buzzing monsters of the uproar.

By now, thinking Jung Jong-oh evoked a monster, the fight between them was used like firewood to intensify the monster commotion.

Had results come out swiftly, it might have quelled the rumors slightly.

“First off, it’s not an evil ghost or spirit. No matter what we examined the devices with, it all returned negative.”

“And regarding the possibility of summon creatures…. Unregistered summon creatures are clearly out of the question, but since it could potentially be an unregistered summon creature, based on the phenomena observed when they were shot down, they appear more like artificially created beings.”

“It’s plausible that they may be entities formed through a witch’s witchcraft, or homunculi created by an alchemist, or mimicking constructs formed through magic or divine objects…”

They were nowhere near any quick investigations and had no solid grasp on the existence of the monsters.

The possibility of it being a terror attack, that the seal on an ancient divine object might have been broken, that someone committed a terror act via magic, that the witch’s experiments led to the escape of test subjects, that unregistered summon creatures had gone awry, that attempts to create a homunculus went wrong, or that they had seeped in from abroad…

Only countless hypotheses sprouted.

And at that moment, when everyone was floundering with no clear lead,

The internet caught wind of the clue.

『 Title: This is the catfish that appeared. Doesn’t it look similar?

Content: Hello, I studied abroad in Japan for six years. I’ve now returned to Korea, happily married, and I’m doing well.

When I was in Japan, I used to go to temples a lot with my ex-girlfriend, who is now my wife.

We went there for exercise and I told old tales to the kids, so I joined in to study Japanese alongside that.

But this catfish monk that appeared now seems quite alike the yokai I heard back then.

(Photo 1)

The Iwanabouzu (岩魚坊主, いわなぼうず) is a yokai.

Depending on the region, it’s called a catfish, loach, or carp…

Isn’t it similar to the one that appeared on Knife Peak? 』

 

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