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Dr. Akitate was about to lose his mind.

Despite having such a superb intellect that he was even called “Divine Brain,” he couldn’t fathom why these foolish idiots would invade Eonyangcheong.

“These aren’t some insects stuck in honey, for crying out loud.”

Is this even sensible!?

And it’s not like this just happened overnight; this has been ongoing for quite some time recently.

Of course, I can’t make any sense of it!

“Dr. Akitate.”

“Yes, Saigo. Do you happen to know anything?”

The Saigo Shinto Priest slowly opened his mouth while glancing at Dr. Akitate, who was frowning.

“I pondered your distress and decided to ask the divine for clarity. Even if humans are ignorant, it stands to reason that the gods know all, doesn’t it?”

“Exactly. Exactly. Is the god’s vision any narrower than that of humans?”

“Thus, I posed the question to Him, and there was a brief glimmer of divine power before a piece of paper fluttered up into the air and then fell. Upon carefully examining what lay on the ground, I found a map, crumpled as if someone had unfolded it roughly.”

“Ah, the god has responded to your inquiry.”

“After thanking the god and scrutinizing it, the crumpled part was precisely the Japan Sea and its western region.”

Dr. Akitate paused while nodding along with the Saigo Shinto Priest’s words.

“What did you say? The west of the Japan Sea?”

The west of the Japan Sea.

In the adjacent country, they referred to it as the west of the East Sea.

“Korea?”

Yes. To put it differently, it was the territory of Unified Korea.

“That’s right. However, it’s not actual Korean territory; it was the very area that Joseon had recently occupied.”

Not the old Joseon.

The Joseon that existed until recently.

Yes.

It refers to the country commonly known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or North Korea.

“Right, that North Korea… that place?”

Due to the Shaman’s revenge, a failed Great Ritual of Magic was performed, which led to repeated failures thereafter and eventually resulted in it becoming the dreadful Land of Ghosts…

“Those piglets really are a headache even in death.”

When alive, they terrified Japan with their talk of nuclear weapons and missiles, and now they haunt Japan from the afterlife. Truly, these neighbors are nothing short of irritating.

Moreover, it wasn’t just emotional issues at play; the budget was also affected due to North Korea.

When North Korea was around, there were endless fluctuations regarding military actions, with taxes being spent on evacuations and responses every time. Even in the slightest sizable town, shelters designed to avoid missiles fired from North Korea existed, so one can only imagine how much tax was wasted because of them.

And what is it like now?

If they had just died out, it wouldn’t have been so unpleasant; South Korea could have tidied up the land and put it to good use. Had that occurred, South Korea could have become a bit stronger… perhaps even regarded more importantly in diplomatic matters than now… things could have ended like that.

However, because they recklessly went to their demise and spread ghostly hauntings, that land has become uninhabitable.

During the day, if you stepped in carelessly, you’d be immediately entranced by a ghost and met a horrific end, and at night, devices like CCTV or surveillance equipment would malfunction, or they’d even attempt to possess people hundreds or thousands of kilometers away.

Besides, do those ghosts remain quietly in that land?

Common animals search for prey, and these wretched spirits, unable to kill people, absolutely cannot sit still.

Naturally, the water ghosts, who attempt to draw in others to fill their void, along with malevolent spirits desperate to kill and evil spirits unable to possess people, all sought to escape from the land of the fallen North Korea, and the neighboring countries naturally strove to prevent this.

If they don’t, the nation that suffers the most will be South Korea, but Japan and China won’t escape the consequences either.

To safeguard its territory from the ghost army invading, China built a Great Wall, while the U.S., wishing to prevent Northeast Asia from descending into chaos, sent troops for assistance or facilitated connections with various exorcists. Though now, it seems they’ve drastically reduced the scale of that cooperation.

And Japan, of course, had to bolster its defenses.

While the sea provides a natural barrier, how effective is that against ghosts?

Water ghosts treat the ocean as their home.

Moreover, dangerously powerful they are… so it’s evident that they had to actively combat them.

However, they couldn’t simply stop them from entering South Korean waters, so of course, they had to do their best to prevent it within their own territory…

But, naturally, that’s no easy feat.

If one’s focus wavers, even a strong soldier can fall prey and leap into the sea, inadequately constructed equipment could be destroyed by water ghosts or plagued with negative energies, and on occasion, things may even slip through surveillance, reaching the coastline or drifting near an island.

Indeed, it’s the very definition of a hassle.

But did a state of such inconvenience pop into existence from the Shinto Priest’s mouth?

Dr. Akitate stared at the Saigo Shinto Priest.

As if to say, “Hurry up, keep talking.”

“I found the insinuation strange and posed another question; the god replied that the attempt to gain strength has not been effective with the existing methods because the corporeal form is there now. No matter how thorny the fence made of wood is, when an elephant comes, the fence breaks easily. Hence, this cannot be considered an auspicious sign.”

“W-what? Are you saying there’s a corporeal form?”

Bang!

Dr. Akitate jumped up at Saigo’s words.

“Ugh! There’s a corporeal form! I can’t just not believe you now, Saigo. This is something, indeed.”

The brilliant mind of Dr. Akitate, known as the Divine Brain, comprehended Saigo’s words instantly.

A corporeal form.

What could exist in the territory of North Korea that would gain corporeal form?

Is there a country there for it to gain power, or are there people to bolster their strength?

The only things present are ghosts.

It’s the most cursed of places, where even animals can’t survive, only succumbing or becoming hosts to ghosts.

So what could be gaining corporeal form other than the ghosts!?

Moreover, for ghosts to gain corporeal form… of course, that’s not a good omen.

Evil spirits and malicious spirits that harm humans to some extent.

‘No, no. How many evil spirits and malicious spirits are rampant in North Korea? It’s called a breeding ground for spirits for a reason.’

Then what could be the ‘thing’ significant enough for the god to issue a warning?

In a realm where malicious spirits wander like wild animals, and ghosts are embedded in the lives of humans, what could warrant such a warning?

‘Great!’

Exactly.

That entity could rightly be regarded as a national calamity!

Great Evil Spirit!

Even just one appearing could threaten the very fate of the nation!

“This is something one shouldn’t speak of lightly. Tell me, Saigo, do you have any evidence?”

However, naturally, one shouldn’t just lightly mention such entities.

It was no matter for just a few experts to handle; it was on a level where the entire nation had to mobilize.

To stir such a significant issue and then say, ‘Oh? It seems that was just a misunderstanding. Haha!’ simply wouldn’t work.

To act on such a scale, a certain degree of evidence is necessary.

Dr. Akitate gazed at the Saigo Shinto Priest, wishing he had some solid evidence, but secretly hoping that he was mistaken.

And the Saigo Shinto Priest answered his skepticism.

“Yes. I have it.”

He stated that he does indeed have proof.

“Listening to what the god had said, I felt it was strange, so I began to inquire here and there. And then… I heard a peculiar rumor swirling among the lower rank warriors, you see.”

“A peculiar rumor?”

“It was said that a warrior enjoying sea fishing in the Japan Sea had caught a sword.”

He caught a sword?

A rare occurrence, but it’s not outside the realm of possibility.

There are people who fish for pistols in rivers or lakes, so surely it’s possible to catch a sword, right?

However, the story from the Saigo Shinto Priest didn’t end there.

“However, that warrior reportedly felt something unusual emanating from the sword. Although it appeared to be a blade that could only be used as a dagger, he couldn’t take his eyes off it, deeply immersed in seawater and rust, yet it felt as if it shone like a peerless divine sword. Moreover, although the hilt had completely decayed, the seaweed attached felt pleasantly fitting in his hand, prompting the warrior to swing the sword out of curiosity.”

Anyone would find that a situation far from ordinary.

“Then, what do you know? It seemed as though the previously stuck sword path was cleared magnificently, and his body felt obedient, with a rapid increase in his prowess. Thus, the warrior believed that what he held was something extraordinary and decided to visit a blacksmith with it.”

“…Could it be?”

“Then he requested the bared, thin blade to be slightly sharpened and for the decayed hilt to not be discarded, but instead, to add other woods or materials for grip.”

“That, that’s a Yōtō!”

Yōtō!

A sword of special power that leads its user to ruin!

“Yes. That warrior reportedly used that which he obtained from the sea to… create a Yōtō.”

 

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