Chapter 8
[Sashimi Station]
A man with a cigarette between his lips stood in front of the shabby station bearing that sign. He lit it with a lighter, slowly drew in the smoke, and stared at the train standing still.
“Kyaaah!!! Aaaaaah!!!”
Someone’s screams came from beyond the blood-soaked train window. Bits of flesh and blood caked all over it seeped out through the gap in the door, and the silhouette that had briefly been visible through the window trembled intermittently before falling still.
“He’s dead.”
With that, he had offered up one more sacrifice. Eddie flicked away the cigarette he’d been smoking as he watched the tiny monkeys carrying sashimi knives move off elsewhere.
At that moment, someone walked up behind him.
“What are you doing here, Eddie?”
The man called Eddie turned toward the owner of the voice. In his eyes was a woman dressed in black goth-loli attire.
Eddie watched her for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the train.
“Just watching.”
“You like cruel stuff? You should’ve said so. I could’ve made it more fun.”
The woman wrapped an arm around Eddie’s body. Eddie gave a small laugh and pushed her away.
“The number of humans already offered up as sacrifices has passed a thousand. From now on, this anomaly will no longer be bound to dreams; it’ll appear in reality too.”
“Perfect for harvesting. Yeah, we really did raise it well. Guess it’s about time we started eating it.”
The more an anomaly hungers for life, the higher its level rises. Even of the same kind, the gap between one that had devoured hundreds and one that had eaten only a few dozen was as wide as heaven and earth.
Naturally, the greater the anomaly’s magical value, the more desirable it was. Not to mention its quality, it also contained the life force of the humans it had feasted on, making it the finest material for curses or rituals. There was a reason mages went hunting anomalies.
But Eddie had no particular desire to go out and do it himself.
Why should an elegant mage have to run around on two legs like the Bureau’s vermin, basically no different from state slaves?
Mages are noble and beautiful beings. They are a race far superior to humans, creatures who could rule the world if they wanted.
The Bureau? The Papacy? The cartels?
They’re all groups of mundanes. How could beings with nothing but human bodies and minds stand before a mage?
They may be standing tall now, but in time they’ll be the first to kneel. When that happens, they’ll become faithful servants of mages, supplying whatever items and materials are needed to their heart’s content.
But... not now.
It was infuriating and disgusting, but he had to keep his head down for now. He needed to grow stronger and lay the groundwork for putting the world beneath his feet.
To do that, he needed better-quality materials. But as he’d said, Eddie didn’t especially enjoy the barbaric act of going out and doing it himself on two feet.
So he chose this.
“Kyaaaah!!! P-please, save me, pleeeease!!!”
Commonly known as Monkey Dream.
A Japanese ghost story that had now taken on real substance. A dream anomaly that appeared only in dreams and brutally killed humans.
Because it didn’t exist in reality, even the Bureau had trouble finding traces of it. There was no better anomaly than one you could force-feed sacrifices to, drag into reality, and then hunt.
It had already chewed through more than a thousand humans, so its quality should be exceptionally high.
One hunt could yield materials on the level of dozens of anomalies.
That alone was enough to make a savage hunt worthwhile.
“Focus on the reports coming in. If bodies start appearing in piles on a train in a particular country, there’s a good chance it has taken that country as its nest.”
“Mm. I’m not too fond of foreign travel, though.”
The woman let out a long sigh and opened her parasol.
Before long, the train that had been standing still began moving again. Passing through a red mist that blocked out even the view ahead, it let out monkey cries and vanished from sight.
“The most likely place is Japan, the birthplace of the ghost story, right? Though those shrine maidens there are a little off-putting.”
“It could be Japan, or somewhere nearby. It shows up where the ghost story first spread, after all.”
“Mm... Then what about Korea?”
The woman said.
“Because the internet is so developed there, Korea practically has every ghost story and urban legend alive and breathing.”
“It is a strange place. Which means the Bureau’s standards are pretty high there, too. But we can’t be certain it’ll appear in Korea. If it does... we’ll have to act faster than the Bureau does.”
“How annoying. I wish it would just show up somewhere in Africa.”
“You don’t mind dealing with voodoo sorcerers?”
Eddie asked with a smile. The woman folded up her parasol.
“They’re worse than necromancers. What’s so hard about killing them?”
Instead of answering her, Eddie took a knife from his pocket.
“Wait for news. It probably won’t take that long.”
“Please contact me right away if the monkey doll at home starts moving. And keep an eye on the world news, just in case.”
The woman said that and brought her neck to the parasol’s pointed tip.
And then, with a sickening stab, it pierced her neck without hesitation. Eddie, too, used the knife in his hand to cut off his own head.
The moment his severed head hit the floor, he woke from the dream.
The monkey doll by his bedside, holding the kitchen knife he’d left there, was staring straight at him, its mouth stretched into a wide grin.
*
Ian took the KTX down to Busan on the train he had booked. It was his first time riding the KTX, but it was less impressive than he’d expected. Like any other train, the seat was uncomfortable, and the person sitting next to him was a stranger.
Still, the speed was a relief. Even his overworked back could handle this.
'It's... noon, huh.'
Normally he’d still be asleep at this hour, but since he had made an appointment, he came down to Busan as quickly as possible.
He wasn’t especially tired. Thanks to becoming a mage.
'The workshop is near the subway station.'
Ian entered the address he’d been given into his phone and followed the shortest route.
His bag, slung over one shoulder, held the materials for alchemy and the grimoire. It was a grimoire he could summon whenever he wanted, but he’d brought it anyway, thinking it would be better to have it with him.
He had also put the monkey-killing knife he’d already made into the bag.
In Ian’s opinion, it was a fairly well-made piece, but he had no idea how another mage would feel about it. Since the opportunity had come, asking for advice wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Beep.
He left the train station and went down at once to catch the subway.
Because it was the weekend, the station was fairly crowded. Not enough to make moving difficult, but he figured he should give up on the idea of sitting down for the subway ride.
Ian looked around, wondering if there might be an anomaly among them, but nothing seemed particularly supernatural.
Feeling more at ease, he bought some food sold at the station, quickly ate lunch, and purchased a gift for Sim Majung.
The gift wasn’t anything grand. Just a small diffuser.
Ian was living off part-time jobs. He didn’t even have a clear sense of how much money he’d need to pour into alchemy right away, so he couldn’t spend a fortune on a gift. A decent housewarming present was about the limit of what he could buy.
'I really need to do something about the money.'
Up until now, he hadn’t really felt strapped for cash, but that was different now. Ever since becoming a mage, everything cost money.
Setting aside the workshop, the materials needed for alchemy alone would empty his bank account if he kept buying them.
It was time to wrap up the part-time job and look for other ways to make money.
'I should ask Sim Majung if there’s anything decent.'
Thinking that, Ian quietly waited for the subway to arrive.
A little later, the subway came in. People streamed out in a rush, and a similar number streamed in. Ian slipped into the crowd.
As expected, there was nowhere to sit. He let out a long sigh and, with his bag worn on the front, gripped a handhold and waited quietly until he reached his destination.
Fortunately, every time the subway stopped along the way, the number of passengers gradually decreased. Ian stood there quietly, then took an empty seat and caught his breath.
[The next station is...]
Listening to the subway announcement, he counted the remaining stops.
'Four more, huh.'
There wasn’t much left. Ian idly stroked the grimoire and knife he’d tucked all the way inside, waiting for arrival.
Ten minutes passed like that.
There were still four stations left.
…….
Even after ten minutes, they still hadn’t reached the next station.
A clear anomaly.
Ian didn’t panic like a rookie. He immediately tore off the bandage wrapped around the knife and clutched it tightly in his hand. With his other hand, he grabbed the grimoire.
“...Why haven’t we reached the next station yet? Hey, sir. Did we maybe pass it?”
“...No. I have to get off there too, but we still haven’t arrived.”
“We’ve been running for quite a while now, haven’t we? Why won’t it stop...”
Listening to the voice coming from nearby, Ian narrowed his eyes sharply.
At that moment.
[Announcement.]
The subway’s announcement rang out.
[The next station is, Sashimi. Sashimi. All passengers, please remain seated.]
There wasn’t even time to react to the word Sashimi. Suddenly, all the lights in the subway went out, and the standing passengers were forcibly flung toward the empty seats.
“Kyaaah!”
“Ugh, ngh!”
“What the fuck!”
With a bang, the passengers who had been flung away screamed in panic. But no one got back up.
No, more precisely, no one could get back up.
The moment they sat down, all strength drained from their bodies. Like unconscious people, they slumped in their seats and stared blankly into space.
…….
Ian wasn’t one of them. But he followed the mood and let his body go slack, leaning against the handhold.
He half-opened his eyes and looked over the quiet subway car.
Then he saw some brown-furred beings walking into his field of view.
He moved his head in time with the subway’s jolt to identify what they were.
[Ukkik.]
They were monkeys. Monkeys holding sashimi knives, kitchen knives, scalpels, and the like stopped right in front of a woman and began whispering among themselves.
Then.
[Ukkik!]
A monkey holding a sashimi knife suddenly flew into a rage and slammed it down into the woman’s thigh.
Blood splattered. Light returned to the woman’s dazed eyes, and she immediately screamed.
“Kyaaah!! Save me! Save meee!”
Her screaming mouth was ripped straight down vertically, tongue and all.