When 'it' appeared, the patrol team was filled with despair.

 

It was as gigantic as a castle.

 

Or perhaps, it might have looked like a giant Clam.

 

But one thing was certain: it was not of this world.

 

The shell of 'it' was covered in incomprehensible ancient script. Well, it was understandable, but one couldn't gaze at it for long, knowing that understanding it would lead to gouging out one's eyes while laughing. 

 

Suddenly, a voice burst out as the shell slightly opened.

 

"Come here, save me, don't enter, I’m melting, it hurts, please..."

 

In the gap, countless people were melting inside the Clam.

 

They were the same people seen in the DMZ that morning.

 

With melted bodies and empty eyes, they reached out and stared outside.

 

As their screams, not quite screams, reached the living, panic was inevitable.

 

"Aaaaaah! There! Over there!!!"

 

"Sniffle, sniffle. Sniffle. Sniff."

 

"It can't be. It can't be. It can't be"

 

A monster that devoured friends and colleagues they knew.

 

A creature with a soul so different that just seeing it made one want to give up the fight.

 

 

 

That was the Gwizon.

 

A demon capable of opening the Ghost Gate and turning a region into hell.

 

Yet, a man known as Yoo Hajin stood fearlessly before such a monster and shouted.

 

"Hey, you idiots, don't freak out!!!"

 

Was it courage or recklessness?

 

The patrol team was too terror-stricken to think.

 

But the Clam, indifferent to such insignificant cries, looked at the patrol team with a hateful gaze.

 

And from the abyss' depths, the Clam, feasting on souls, stretched a greedy hand toward Fengchu. It must have thought that Fengchu as a meal fits its stature.

 

"Beep, beep beep."

 

Fengchu, facing that hand, was engulfed in extreme terror.

 

She was scared. So scared.

 

This world was too frightening.

 

She acted strong, but she was not really.

 

If she didn't act strong, she would be outcast by her family.

 

She wished someone would save her.

 

She didn't want to be devoured.

 

That was the moment.

 

Fengchu or Jinari looked at the back of a man.

 

The back of the man protecting her.

 

"Hey, don't touch the chick. You bastards."

 

 

 

And then, the man began to punch at the Gwizon. Astonishingly, his punches cracked the seemingly indestructible shell, freeing the souls trapped and tormented within the Clam's flesh, and even made the Gwizon spew filthy blood.

 

The patrol team looked at the man's back.

 

A single man was standing against the Gwizon, protecting them.

 

He was sacrificing everything he had.

 

"The captain is protecting us."

 

"Even for a captain, it's impossible to beat a spectral Gwizon with a shell like that."

 

"He must have drawn power from a vow. He swore to the heavens to protect us. Such a vow puts a tremendous burden on the soul."

 

"Damn it, making me cry in a place like this. With that kind of power, he could've just run away alone. Why is he fighting and risking his life?"

 

Of course, Yoo Hajin had no idea he was beating up the Gwizon.

 

He just thought he was beating up a pervert.

 

Specifically, a pervert targeting a chick.

 

But others didn't know that.

 

"Let's fight too."

 

"Are you crazy? How can we fight such a monster?"

 

"Then what, if we don't fight, do we have a way to survive?"

 

"Right. If the captain is fighting like that, we can't just stand by."

 

Even though the Gwizon was terrifyingly fearsome,

 

Seeing the courage of Yoo Hajin, the man, inspired them to challenge it.

 

The patrol team clenched their fists and stood up.

 

Conquering the fear of the Gwizon, they felt their souls grow stronger.

 

And then, they too began to punch at the Gwizon.

 

"Die, Gwizon!!!"

 

"Aaaaahhhhh!!!"

 

"Nymph Punch!"

 

"I'll give you 500 won, go buy bread in 10 seconds!!"

 

"Peep!!!"

 

Originally, these were weak attacks that would be blocked by the shell, but now that Yoo Hajin's Punchs had shattered it, things were different.

 

 

 

The Gwizon, having wished for a hard shell as a clam, faced the consequence that its interior was exceedingly fragile. It was even weaker than a typical first-class evil spirit.

 

This meant the patrol team's attacks could penetrate it.

 

"This, this can't be."

 

At that moment, the Gwizon sensed its impending death.

 

It was inconceivable to die at the hands of such vermin.

 

Unthinkable to perish to such impure beings.

 

Two Gwizon floating in the sky heard this silent scream.

 

"No, that thing is dying, isn't it?"

 

"Even for an unstable Gwizon, to be defeated by those weaklings?!!"

 

These were the Gwizons pushing back the Ghost Gate of Gamlo. Hence, they couldn't interfere in the battle until the Ghost Gate was closed.

 

"If that guy dies, the Demon Lord will be furious."

 

"Damn it!!! These weaklings are causing trouble!!!"

 

"We'll have to use it. Regrettable, but necessary."

 

But sending power was possible.

 

The Gwizon, fearing the wrath of the Demon Lord, brought out something they had been saving.

 

From the hands of the two Gwizons, a substance known as Ectoplasm, a condensed form of spiritual energy extracted by torturing human souls into complete loss of will and individuality, began to form.

 

Decades of collected Ectoplasm would be enough to recover and open the Ghost Gate. If the Gate opened, those insects could be crushed in an instant.

 

And the clam-like Gwizon thought the same. Like absorbing seawater, it sucked in the surrounding air while forming a seal.

 

"Open the Ghost Gate!!!"

 

But the Ghost Gate did not appear.

 

The clam-like Gwizon no longer had the power to open it.

 

"No, how could this..."

 

 

 

The ectoplasm sent by the other Gwizons was futilely scattered by the hands of the man who had beaten it. It seemed the man wasn't even aware that he had dispersed the ectoplasm.

 

And there he stood, holding a stun gun in each hand. The man spoke up.

 

"You know what?"

 

"What, what do you mean?"

 

"How do you not know!!! That Chidori splits lightning!!!"

 

"What, what's that!!! Aaaargh!!!"

 

After Yoo Hajin's Chidori was activated, the beating resumed. The patrol team, who had been frightened at the mention of 'Open the Ghost Gate,' no longer hesitated.

 

Even with the Ghost Gate about to open, they fearlessly fought the Gwizon, looking at Yoo Hajin with eyes full of respect.

 

So, they followed Yoo Hajin's lead.

 

More precisely, they imitated his actions.

 

"Die, Gwizon!!!"

 

"Wooooooh!!!"

 

"Not even a lawyer can dodge my punch!!!"

 

"Where's my bread!!! Haven't you bought it yet?!!!"

 

"Peep!!!"

 

The punching did not stop.

 

Not until the shell was completely shattered.

 

Not until all the tormented souls inside were gone.

 

Thus, the Gwizon perished, leaving only the words 'It hurts too much.' But Yoo Hajin mistook this disappearance for teleportation.

 

If it had teleported, it might come back to target the chick.

 

So Yoo Hajin said,

 

"Chick, stay behind me."

 

"Peep peep. No, yes. Yes."

 

The chick followed Yoo Hajin closely.

 

At that moment, the entire surviving patrol team shouted.

 

"We won!!!"

 

"Damn, we, we annihilated the Gwizon!!!"

 

"Such leadership is unreal!!! Our captain is the best!!!"

 

"My bread!!!"

 

 

 

Yoo Hajin shook his head in disbelief at the team.

 

What they just beat wasn't the Gwizon.

 

Because, he saw it with his own eyes.

 

But there was no need to point that out.

 

Just as Yoo Hajin was thinking of taking a break while on his phone, he noticed the chick trembling.

 

"Why, is someone targeting you again, making you scared?"

 

"I'm, I'm not scared. I'm a phoenix. My body, my body shaking like this is because peep, uh, stop making weird noises. Sniff."

 

Yoo Hajin wasn't great at comforting kids.

 

So, he just covered her with his coat.

 

"Well, they say chicks are sensitive to cold."

 

When the chick looked up at him with moist eyes, an embarrassed Yoo Hajin awkwardly turned his head and muttered.

 

"They say chicks shiver when cold. So, it must be the chick inside your heart, right?"

 

Hearing this, Jinari smiled. Yoo Hajin wanted to tease her that crying then laughing would grow horns on her butt, but refrained since she was a girl.

 

* * *

 

The absurd demise of a new Gwizon.

 

The Gwizons murmured upon witnessing it.

 

"If we don't want to incur the Demon Lord's wrath, we need to at least take the life of Gamlo."

 

"Yes!!! Kill Gamlo and the phoenix, and the Demon Lord will forgive us!!!"

 

As the Gwizons' murderous intent became overt, Gamlo positioned herself in front of her Ghost Gate. Originally, the opening of the Ghost Gate is a technique to unleash one's spiritual realm into reality through the gate, spreading the gate's power in all directions.

 

But what if that power was focused entirely on oneself? That thought led to the creation of an altered form of Ghost Gate Opening, the Defensive Gate Opening.

 

By vowing not to leave the gate's front and focusing the gate's power onto oneself.

 

The power of the Ghost Gate, which could turn the world into a realm of clouds and mist, began to concentrate solely on Gamlo.

 

"Is she buying time?"

 

"How boring!!!"

 

 

 

At that moment, Gamlo saw something.

 

And upon seeing it, she closed her own Ghost Gate and used Corruption Travel to defile her body with impurity, losing her spiritual abilities and falling to the ground.

 

The Gwizons smirked at this incomprehensible act.

 

"What's she doing? Gamlo, don't you know once the Ghost Gate is closed, it can't be reopened for several minutes? And each time it's opened, the energy consumed is enormous. Hehe, you won't be able to open the Ghost Gate again in this battle."

 

"Foolish woman!!! Your choice will lead to your death!!!"

 

Seeing Gamlo's face distorted with fear, the Gwizons smiled with glee. They felt something odd, though. Why would Gamlo, who had been fighting them effortlessly, suddenly become paralyzed with fear?

 

It was strange.

 

Thus, the Gwizons turned their gaze to where Gamlo had looked.

 

There stood a girl.

 

A girl of cruel beauty.

 

"Return what's precious to me."

 

Spoken by the girl, known to some as 'Jamsuni' and to others as 'Spirit Lord.'

 

"Then I'll let you die painlessly."

 

– – – The End of The Chapter – – –

 

[TL: You can support the translation and read 3 chapters ahead of the release here on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Bill94 ]