Since I’m a Time-Limited Princess Who Has No Tomorrow - Chapter 76

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 76
Ki Ho-cheol glanced at us sitting side by side, then opened his mouth as if recounting an ancient tale.
“Long ago, more than a hundred years past, villages nestled in mountain valleys began disappearing one by one. All the corpses had their heads burst open, so it was certain that a single demon was responsible.”
All of them with their heads burst open? It was a peculiar characteristic that nagged at my memory, yet remained just out of reach.
“To deal with that demon, the Supernatural Family Clans of our nation gathered to deliberate. They proposed: why not form an organization where we combine our strength to capture demons like this one, which are too difficult to handle alone? This became the catalyst for the Supernatural Family Clans to exchange with one another, to provide experience for their descendants and disciples, and to serve the nation.”
However, it seemed the nation would not look favorably upon Supernatural Family Clans banding together to form a military organization. It could appear as the seed of rebellion.
“Among the proud Supernatural Family Clans, the question of who would lead and manage the organization became contentious. Some argued for strength, others for majority vote, and after much deliberation, they ultimately decided to entrust leadership to an external authority—the King himself—to ensure fairness.”
The Yun Kingdom already operated a state-level organization of specialized hunters to eliminate supernatural threats. They were called the Tiger-Catching Soldiers, a special unit that selected personnel through rigorous hunting examinations to capture dangerous tigers throughout the realm.
The Supernatural Family Clans made a similar request to the King of that era: to establish the Jagyogapsa—Demon-Catching Soldiers. Young Supernatural Family Clans members selected from various families and organizations would serve for a fixed period, hunting demons that threatened the nation, while also exchanging knowledge, cooperating, and gaining combat experience.
The court had no reason to refuse. By providing monthly stipends and infrastructure, they would gain powerful military forces to handle troublesome demons, and establish an institution to manage and connect with the difficult-to-control Supernatural Family Clans.
“Thus, the newly established Jagyogapsa’s first objective became tracking and capturing the nameless demon that was massacring mountain villages. At that time, everyone still regarded it as good combat experience for the young Supernatural Family Clans members.”
But when the dispatched Jagyogapsa units kept being annihilated, both the nation and the Supernatural Family Clans sensed something was amiss. Soon, instead of young successors, the main forces of experienced families and Supernatural Family Clans in their prime were dispatched to the Jagyogapsa.
“The newly formed suppression force was composed entirely of Supernatural Family Clans members with renowned reputations throughout the Yun Kingdom. This time, they believed they could finally capture that demon.”
Yet only a single survivor returned from that unit.
“Through that survivor’s testimony, the demon’s appearance and characteristics were finally revealed. And just how dangerous it truly was.”
It appeared to be a fair-skinned, delicate boy of about fifteen or sixteen years old, yet his hair was white as an old man’s, and his eyes gleamed with a dark crimson hue like congealed blood.
“According to the survivor’s account, the demon introduced itself as Doo-eok-sini. It asked who they were. When the Jagyogapsa members answered, the boy smiled faintly, and immediately everyone’s heads burst open. Both those who answered and those who did not.”
The only one whose head did not burst was a Taoist wearing a straw hat who had long ago abandoned his true name and wandered under an alias due to personal circumstances.
“After that, with the surviving Taoist at the center, suppression attempts were made several times. Through these efforts, Doo-eok-sini’s abilities were revealed.”
Doo-eok-sini, or Doo-eok-shin—the deity that suppresses heads. This being possessed the power to recognize the name of any head by seeing it with its eyes. Furthermore, it could crush and burst the head of anyone whose name it knew merely by looking at them.
These two abilities formed a terrible synergy, such that anyone standing before Doo-eok-sini would have their head burst before they could even fight.
“However, the Taoist who had long used the alias ‘Kim Satgat’ survived. Centered around him, several suppression attempts were made, and clues to counter Doo-eok-sini’s abilities were discovered.”
First: Doo-eok-sini’s head must be concealed with a straw hat or similar covering so it cannot see. Second: one must have an alias used more frequently than their true name. Third: that alias must not be a unique nickname identifying a single person, but rather an anonymous name so common that it cannot be specifically identified.
Many Supernatural Family Clans members were sacrificed to obtain this information. When Doo-eok-sini realized the Supernatural Family Clans were attacking it systematically, it began assaulting not ordinary villages but the families themselves. Several clans were wiped out in an instant, and it became known that Doo-eok-sini was not merely killing them but devouring some of their heads.
“The corpses either had no heads remaining, or bore traces of partially consumed heads. As several families disappeared, the Supernatural Family Clans realized this was no longer a simple suppression—it had become a war for their very survival.”
The Jagyogapsa’s campaign against Doo-eok-sini thus became a true war. The Supernatural Family Clans gathered under the Jagyogapsa banner and, with the court’s assistance, organized a genuine army.
“Furthermore, special straw hats were crafted to evade Doo-eok-sini’s head-bursting ability.”
Enormous straw hats large enough to completely conceal the head. These hats were inscribed with sorcery to not obstruct the wearer’s vision, and with camouflage sorcery so that one could not discern whether the wearer was old or young, male or female.
And to maintain anonymity, all Jagyogapsa members wearing these hats—regardless of age or gender—were called “Kim Satgat.” The name was taken from the first survivor, the Taoist “Kim Satgat,” who despite such horrific experiences did not flee but continued to lead the suppression of Doo-eok-sini.
“Thus began the war between countless Kim Satgats and Doo-eok-sini.”
Even without its head-bursting ability, Doo-eok-sini was a terrifyingly powerful demon. It was a brutal war—difficult to capture even in ordinary combat, and instant death if the hat cracked even slightly during battle.
“In the end, victory belonged to us, to all the Kim Satgats. However, it could hardly be called a perfect victory. We never confirmed Doo-eok-sini’s death.”
After fierce combat, Doo-eok-sini was gravely wounded by the Kim Satgats and fell from a cliff. Yet the body was never found, so no one could be certain whether it had died or survived.
“The Jagyogapsa disbanded due to the massive casualties, but after the straw hat war, most Supernatural Family Clans in the Yun Kingdom carry straw hats. The custom of using the alias ‘Kim Satgat’ when one’s true name cannot be revealed also originated then.”
“So that is why the Taoist Kim Satgat’s whereabouts are so mysterious and stories of him circulate throughout the realm.”
The Crown Prince spoke with both regret and admiration in his voice.
Meanwhile, my mind was growing hazy.
‘Doo-eok-sini? Truly the deity that suppresses heads?’
The head—the word could refer to an actual head, but it also carried metaphorical meaning.
‘The apex, the heavens, and… the supreme deity.’
When the gods, immortals, and Heavenly Realm accumulate karma to a certain threshold, a being is born as a counterbalance—to “suppress the head.” The king and god of all wickedness.
‘From the gods’ perspective, the laws of the Celestial Deities are trials imposed upon them by this world, or perhaps punishments.’
This is why gods, who do not cycle through reincarnation like humans, go to such lengths to avoid accumulating karma. Why they uphold divine law and strive to live virtuously.
‘From the perspective of wicked things, it is their only chance to change the world’s head, to rule this realm, to gain supremacy.’
Doo-eok-sini’s birth carried such meaning.
‘Both Mother and Father said that the Previous Jade Emperor and the Yama King died to Doo-eok-sini and inherited their divine positions around the same time.’
I heard they began to notice each other during the war against Doo-eok-sini before becoming the Jade Emperor and Yama King. The tremendous divine positions they inherited as the supreme gods of the Heavenly Realm and Underworld came from the prestige they gained by defeating Doo-eok-sini—just as Cheoyong became the god who captures malevolent spirits and governs calamity.
‘Either way, this is incredibly dangerous!’
My heart pounds violently. I struggled to recall what I had heard about Doo-eok-sini long ago.
‘When it first emerged… it was like a warning. Before Doo-eok-sini could gain the prestige to ascend to the Heavenly Realm… it was still weak, supposedly.’
But the gods couldn’t intervene preemptively to deal with it. The moment a god confronted Doo-eok-sini directly, they would accumulate karma from ‘interfering with the Mortal Realm,’ and Doo-eok-sini would gain true ‘divine nature’ based on that karma.
‘While it’s still in the Mortal Realm, the gods must refrain from accumulating karma, and it’s best for mortal beings to handle Doo-eok-sini themselves, or so I recall.’
Conversely, Doo-eok-sini’s goal is to ascend to the Heavenly Realm as quickly as possible by devouring other beings with the prestige to reach it—mountain spirits, supernatural entities, or divine-blooded creatures—and growing stronger.
‘That demon in Pyeong who lost in the Kim Satgat war and was driven out of Yun Kingdom—that’s Doo-eok-sini. If it was driven out by humans, it’s still weak, just a seed of calamity.’
Do Mother and Father know? That Doo-eok-sini has appeared?
‘I need to ask them right away, just in case. As soon as class ends…’
I waited anxiously for Ki Ho-cheol’s lesson to conclude.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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