NOVEL NEXT – Chapter 29
Iengami (イエンガミ).
The original horror story was about people in S District, a spiritually open area, forcing themselves to smile grotesquely to drive away a being called “Iengami.”
The horror story about ‘S Village’ posted on the horror gallery was a newly created story derived from this original tale.
In late Joseon, a Japanese midwife came to a clan village of the ■■■ family.
The woman was from Japan, a shrine maiden who came to Joseon after the Unyo Incident when the country opened its ports.
She said it was difficult to survive in Japan due to rapid changes, so she came to Joseon, specifically to S Village, located deep in the mountains.
The shrine maiden offered two pure gold fish as gifts and requested to settle in the village.
At the time, two gold ingots were a considerable fortune. Her polite and humble demeanor, along with her pregnancy, moved the villagers. They decided to accept her, believing it was against humanity to drive away a pregnant woman.
The shrine maiden settled at the northern edge of the village, a barren but peaceful area near the mountain. She lived quietly, raising her child, and sometimes performed rituals for the villagers.
However, 15 years later, strange things began to happen in the village when her daughter came of age.
At first, it was minor incidents like the well water turning muddy or rice plants withering. But over time, things got worse.
Cows and horses began dying for no reason, and chickens in the coop all vomited blood and died overnight. Villagers started falling ill with mysterious diseases, coughing up blood and dying.
The village chief consulted a shaman from a neighboring village, who said the Japanese shrine maiden served an Evil God, angering the mountain deity. The shaman advised killing the shrine maiden and her daughter and sprinkling their blood on the ground.
The villagers were horrified by the shaman’s extreme suggestion, but as the calamities worsened, more people began to believe it.
One day, the chief’s granddaughter suddenly fell ill with a mysterious fever. Despite calling doctors and using medicine, her condition worsened.
Finally, the chief decided to act. He led a group of men to attack the shrine maiden’s house at night.
They killed the shrine maiden and her daughter, sprinkling their blood on the ground. The calamities seemed to stop, and peace returned to the village.
But exactly one year later, even more horrifying events began.
Deformed livestock were born, young men fell ill and died vomiting blood, all food rotted overnight, and black blood gushed from the well.
The chief went back to the shaman, who this time said the villagers’ actions had angered the Evil God even more. The men had violated the shrine maiden and her daughter in their final moments, deepening the curse.
The shaman said the Evil God had fully taken root in the village and suggested three solutions:
1. Erect a rock with a sacred rope at the village entrance to prevent the Evil God from leaving.
2. Build a Jizo statue and shrine in the north to suppress the Evil God’s energy.
3. Perform a ritual annually between March and May to transfer the curse to outsiders.
Most importantly, the shaman said, “No matter what happens, you must smile. Only by smiling can you survive.”
The story ended with the tale that, even after 145 years, a village in the mountains of Gangwon Province still sacrifices people to the Evil God.
“Does that mean the ghost I’m seeing now is the Evil God…?”
The shaman, seeing the villagers all faint, panicked and looked around. She then saw a disheveled woman rising from an empty coffin and screamed in despair.
The shaman’s scream echoed through the shrine. Blood began to flow from her hollow eyes.
At the same time, my body froze completely. It wasn’t just fear; something invisible was restraining me. I couldn’t move a finger, as if paralyzed.
The Evil God began to rage near the Foundation staff. Long, black hair dripped with dark liquid, and her white robe clung to her body, soaked. Her face bore a grotesque smile, torn from ear to ear.
“ひひひひひひひひひひひひひひひ!”
A chilling laugh pierced my ears, like a rusty blade scraping my eardrums. Dark liquid splattered everywhere.
Then, the Evil God suddenly stopped in front of four D-class personnel in orange jumpsuits. They froze in terror.
The Evil God slowly raised her hands and clasped them together.
With a twist of her hands, the heads of the D-class personnel exploded simultaneously.
“Puck! Puck! Puck! Puck!”
Like rotten fruit being crushed, their heads burst. Thanks to Leon’s keychain effect, the gruesome scene was pixelated, but it still made me nauseous.
Headless bodies collapsed to the ground, their orange jumpsuits soaked in blood.
The Evil God laughed again.
“ひひひひひひひひひひひひひひひ!”
Something warm flowed from my nose. It smelled metallic—clearly blood. Then, blood began to flow from my ears.
Spirit Pollution Phenomenon (SPP). A typical symptom of mental contamination from contact with horror phenomena.
Even Narae, a decades-old fox spirit, bled from her eyes and nose, unable to move.
The Evil God was overwhelmingly powerful, far beyond anything like the Three-Tailed Fox.
‘Are we all going to die like this?’
It was a desperate moment.
Then, Team 3’s leader, foaming at the mouth, pulled out a crumpled talisman and began chanting.
“By the power of Guan Yu, the hero of the Three Kingdoms…”
His voice trembled, but he continued the chant clearly.
“Six Ding, Six Jia, Six Soldiers, Six Generals, summon the spirits, Om Om Ji Ji Ru Yu Ling Shi Ba Ha!”
As soon as the chant ended, the talisman burned black.
At the same time, the restraint on my body was released. It felt like invisible chains had broken, and I was suddenly free.
‘Now’s the chance!’
I immediately grabbed a green spray from my waist and sprayed it at the Evil God.
“ひひひひ…ひ…”
The Evil God’s laughter faltered. Her movements slowed, weakened by the spray.
There was no time to waste. I opened the flask’s stopper that Cheon Seungsoo had handed me.
As the stopper opened, a two-foot-long white energy surged out like a sword.
The pure white blade, glowing in the air, seemed like condensed sunlight. Its energy pushed back the surrounding darkness.
I charged at the slowed Evil God and plunged the blade into her stomach.
“ひ…ひひひ…”
The Evil God still tried to laugh, but her laughter was no longer sharp.
However, her laughter carried a defiant will, as if such an attack couldn’t harm her. Even as the white blade pierced her body, she continued to laugh.
But it didn’t last long.
Her body began to be sucked rapidly into the flask. The Evil God’s laughter stopped. Her hollow eyes showed panic. The grotesque smile disappeared, replaced by a scream.
“あああああああああァァーー！”
Even as my brain cells burned from SPP, I smirked and said, “What’s wrong? Not going as planned?”
At that moment, the effects of the reflective thought-enhancing serum brought up information about the Palak Sword.
『Palak Sword (八握剣)』
– Grade: A
– Description: One of the ten sacred treasures bestowed upon Nigihayahi-no-Mikoto, a deity of ancient sorcery. A weapon capable of sealing eight demons. When the stopper is opened, a two-foot-long white energy blade surges out. Piercing a demon with this blade seals it inside the flask.
The Evil God resisted desperately, clawing at the ground to avoid being sucked into the flask.
“Kaga kaga, kaga kaga…”
Her nails dug into the ground, making a horrifying sound, like nails on a chalkboard.
Dark liquid splattered everywhere. Black blood oozed from the gouges her nails made in the ground.
But it was futile.
Her body was gradually sucked into the flask. Like being pulled into a black hole, her body distorted and was drawn into the flask.
“キエエエエエエエエエクーー！”
With her final scream, the Evil God completely disappeared into the flask. I quickly sealed the stopper.
Instantly, the atmosphere changed. The oppressive pressure lifted, and the eerie energy vanished.
The Foundation staff, who had been unable to even blink under the Evil God’s curse, began to move again.
“Jeong Woo…”
I handed the Palak Sword back to Cheon Seungsoo and knelt down.
“…Please handle the aftermath.”
With those words, my consciousness faded. The accumulated tension, fear, and SPP damage had taken their toll.
I felt all strength leave my body. I collapsed forward, but someone caught me before I hit the ground.
And just like that, my consciousness went completely dark.