The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 12
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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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Paranormal Entities and Catastrophic Relics in the Urban Legend 12
Ujoo felt deeply wronged.
To anyone listening, the words laid out before them sounded unmistakably like an invitation to tear the place apart with relish.
Of course, Baekho hadn’t anticipated things would escalate quite so spectacularly on his end either.
“Damn, you’ve demolished the whole thing.”
Baekho clicked his tongue as he watched the staircase below collapse entirely.
Even as the building shook violently around them, he turned to Ujoo and asked, “Think we can recover the Steel Pipe……? Wait, you’re already holding it.”
“We can recover it anytime.”
“Good.”
Baekho seemed to have calmed his initial shock. He pointed at the trembling building and spoke again.
“All right. I’ll admit I was caught off guard, but I like it. Look at this thing—it can’t process what just happened and it’s shaking like a leaf.”
“Shaking like a leaf?”
“Yeah. It got a clean hit first, but now it’s just trembling helplessly.”
“Ah.”
It was a strikingly original interpretation. Yet somehow it made sense.
“So what do we do now?”
“What else?”
Baekho grinned and immediately hurled his fist at the wall beside him.
Crash-!
The weathered wooden wall crumbled to dust.
In that instant, a silhouette overlaid itself across Baekho’s form—but it vanished in a flash.
“We’ve got to demolish it. Since we’re already here, let’s just tear the whole building down.”
Normally, as the senior member of the Response Team, he would have calmly explained proper procedure. But any veteran worth his salt knew how to improvise—and adapt on the fly.
Besides, they’d already struck the first blow. A peaceful resolution wasn’t going to work here.
“Sounds good. Should we start demolishing now?”
“Tear into it without holding back.”
Ujoo nodded at Baekho’s no-nonsense approach and swung the Steel Pipe with full force.
With everything he had.
Crash-!
An entire wall was ripped away by the shockwave.
Even Baekho, who’d given the order, was momentarily speechless at the display of raw power.
‘He’s gotten stronger?’
Ujoo himself felt the unusual surge of strength but didn’t slow his assault on the pipe.
Bang, bang-!
As the two wielded their crude weapons, methodically demolishing the abandoned house—
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Something suddenly erupted from the floor below.
It was the very spirit of this abandoned dwelling—or rather, the spirit dwelling within the Painting of the abandoned house.
Screech-!
Its form suddenly swelled enormous as it lunged toward Ujoo and Baekho.
For a creature in its position, the choice was inevitable. Its Core Essence was collapsing, after all.
Yet it was hardly a wise decision.
Ujoo swung the Steel Pipe without hesitation.
Crash-!
The charging entity was reduced to powder in a single blow.
Completely pulverized in the spiritual realm.
“Wow.”
Baekho couldn’t help but marvel at the sight.
He’d heard the word “remarkable” ad nauseam before Ujoo even clocked in, but seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.
This was the first time in his life he’d felt a paranormal entity worthy of pity.
Rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-rumble-!
Then the building began to shake again.
But this time, it felt different.
Not the deliberate tremors meant to frighten—but the unmistakable convulsion of something about to collapse entirely.
The moment that realization hit, Baekho shouted, “Move!”
“Already?”
“Yes! This whole thing’s coming down!”
Baekho pushed Ujoo forward and retraced their original path. They arrived at the room with the mirror and positioned themselves directly in front of it.
Crash-crash-crash-crash!
All the while, the building was collapsing in real time from far away.
Just before that destruction reached the Mirror Room—
Whoosh!
Ujoo felt his body sucked into somewhere, and the next moment, both of them arrived in a room with nothing but a single canvas.
Ujoo pressed his forehead, dizzy, then saw something.
Shhhhh—
It was the Painting, crumbling to dust from its edge and scattering away.
Then Baekho muttered beside him.
“Wow. Conquest time: two minutes and thirty-six seconds. For a Grade 1 Urban Legend, that’s a new record.”
“Wait, so the conquest is over already?”
“Yeah. We completely destroyed the Core Essence of the Urban Legend.”
Baekho spoke in a measured tone.
“Not scared once, not panicked, didn’t even back down—just overwhelmed it with pure force. Something that feeds on the Incomprehensible meets something even more Incomprehensible than itself. It had no choice but to collapse.”
Then Baekho laughed quietly.
“Sure, it didn’t go the way I expected, but if you wanted delicate handling, I would’ve paired you with Cheong-woo instead.”
After that, Baekho stepped outside and slapped a piece of paper on the door.
It read: Conquest Complete.
They headed straight for the elevator, and as Ujoo stepped in beside Baekho, he asked him something.
“What was your original plan for the conquest?”
“Nothing fancy. Show some momentum—let it know we’re not easy opponents. Then break down whatever it tries to do, wear it down piece by piece.”
“I see.”
“But honestly, don’t sweat it. If you don’t have power, your head has to work twice as hard.”
Baekho tapped his own head as he spoke.
“Flip it around, and if you have enough power, there’s no need to think at all. Same goes for you.”
“But shouldn’t we still learn the orthodox approach?”
“Orthodox approach? That doesn’t exist in the first place.”
“It doesn’t?”
“Right. With ten people, there are ten paths. You especially have to find your own way.”
Baekho looked directly at Ujoo as he spoke.
“If a tiger decides to copy a human and pulls out its teeth and claws, what’s the point in that?”
Ding—
Right after, the elevator arrived back at the 7th Floor.
Baekho walked briskly into the Response Team office, with Ujoo following behind.
“Oh? You’re back already?”
The moment they entered, Ryoo Seon-dam looked up with a puzzled expression and asked.
Baekho nodded and replied.
“The conquest took less than three minutes.”
“Less than three minutes? What exactly did you conquer?”
“TASH-917.”
“917, so…”
Ryoo Seon-dam trailed off and looked at Ujoo and the Steel Pipe in his hand. Then he looked back at Baekho and asked.
“Don’t tell me you just smashed it to pieces and called it done?”
“Yes.”
At the question, which carried an oddly chilling edge, Baekho answered with a calm expression.
“That wasn’t me.”
Ujoo, who’d been listening to the exchange, startled and looked at Baekho.
But Baekho spoke without changing his expression.
“I! Advised against it! But the new recruit’s blood was just running too hot!”
This bastard—
The words nearly made it to Ujoo’s tongue, but fortunately, Ryoo Seon-dam opened his mouth first.
“I asked him, as a senior, to show a calm, methodical approach to conquest, not just raw power. It seems the communication didn’t go through. That’s my fault.”
Ryoo Seon-dam said this with a pleasant smile, his voice as gentle as ever. But Baekho’s complexion had grown visibly paler.
“Actually, I think it was my mistake—”
“No. It’s my fault for not giving clear instructions. Just write up a detailed report for me.”
“Yes, of course.”
“Detailed, please.”
“Yes!”
Baekho immediately left to prepare the report.
Then Ryoo Seon-dam turned back to Ujoo and spoke.
“Baekho will show you the ropes for writing reports.”
“Ah, understood.”
Ujoo hurried over to Baekho’s side as well. Baekho, mindful of Ryoo Seon-dam’s presence, kindly walked him through the essentials of report writing.
After some time had passed like that.
“We’ve completed the elimination of TASH-853 and returned.”
“Ah, good work. Was there anything unusual?”
“No, nothing.”
Cheong-woo and Chaewol returned.
The two looked somewhat tired, though there didn’t appear to be any serious issues.
Ryoo Seon-dam simply nodded without comment this time, and Cheong-woo’s team soon began writing their own reports.
Time drifted on until lunchtime arrived.
“Shall we head to the dining hall?”
“Yes.”
“Yes.”
Everyone rose from their desks and made their way to the dining hall. Ujoo went along with them, of course.
The dining hall was located on the 5th Floor, and as they rode the elevator down, Ryoo Seon-dam offered a brief explanation.
“Besides the dining hall on the 5th Floor, there’s a small convenience store and a café. There are no particular restrictions on their use, so feel free to visit whenever you like unless there’s urgent business. By the way, their vanilla cold brew is quite excellent.”
The moment Ryoo Seon-dam finished speaking, they arrived at a dining hall that was remarkably spacious and immaculate.
Moreover, instead of simply receiving a set meal like a typical cafeteria, you could choose from multiple dishes and take what you wanted—and the variety was impressive.
Of course, the quality of the food was outstanding.
‘This is incredible.’
At this quality, you’d easily pay fifteen thousand won or more at a restaurant outside. Yet the meals were free.
Ujoo found himself thinking anew that he’d made a good decision joining.
After they sat down, Ryoo Seon-dam and Baekho shared various stories with him.
What facilities existed in the building, how the regular work operated, and so forth.
He was so absorbed in listening that he barely noticed whether he was chewing or swallowing, but the food tasted wonderful nonetheless.
“Ah, here you all are.”
Just as the meal was winding down.
Someone approached and spoke, so he turned his head—and there stood Hwa-ryeon.
“Team Leader.”
“Welcome!”
Everyone naturally rose from their seats and greeted her, and Hwa-ryeon waved them down with a flourish before turning to Ryoo Seon-dam with a question.
“Has everything been going smoothly?”
“Yes. This morning, after a light welcoming ceremony, I had them familiarize themselves with the work by dealing with a paranormal entity within the Surveillance Bureau alongside their mentors.”
“Thank you. Well, since you’ve finished eating, would it be alright if I took the new recruits with me?”
“Of course.”
Ryoo Seon-dam nodded with a smile, and Hwa-ryeon returned the nod before directing her gaze toward Ujoo and Chaewol.
Having just finished their meal, the two immediately gathered their empty plates and stood up.
After returning their dishes.
Hwa-ryeon led them toward the stairs.
“How are you both settling in?”
“Well.”
“Yes. Everyone’s been very helpful.”
In response to Chaewol and Ujoo’s answers, Hwa-ryeon climbed the stairs and spoke in an even tone.
“The team atmosphere is decent enough. Oh, and just so you know—there’s not just one Response Team.”
“There isn’t?”
Ujoo tilted his head in question.
Hwa-ryeon nodded in response.
“Originally, we were Team 1 and the other was Team 2, but there was some dispute over the names. So we became the Response Team, and they became the Exploration Team.”
“I see.”
“We don’t get along with that team, so if someone suddenly picks a fight with you in passing, just remember it’s those guys and ignore them.”
“Got it.”
“Understood.”
After offering this eminently practical advice, Hwa-ryeon entered the corridor of the 6th Floor.
“Where we’re going now is a place you should’ve visited right after arriving, but I was too late getting in today. Have you heard what’s on the 6th Floor?”
“We heard there are facilities and equipment related to what regular agents use.”
“Right. You can’t go out on a call empty-handed.”
Saying this, Hwa-ryeon walked straight ahead and soon came to a stop at one spot.
It was an office-like space, and the nameplate read “Dusk Street.”
“Follow me. Don’t stray more than six paces from me.”
Hwa-ryeon said nothing more and swept the door open.
In that instant, a deep, suffocating darkness surged from within and swallowed all three of them whole.
Ujoo’s surroundings plunged into complete darkness before light suddenly blazed back to life.
When he came to his senses,
‘Oh.’
Ujoo had arrived in a place of extraordinary mystery.
Under a heavy darkness, luminous streetlights hung like stars in all directions.
Yet they weren’t alone on this street. Quite a number of figures moved through it.
“This way. Don’t let the others notice you.”
Hwa-ryeon spoke from ahead.
Ujoo and Chaewol hurried after her, and soon they arrived at a place where the sound of hammering echoed through the air.
A nameplate reading “Chaehong Smithy” hung prominently on the storefront.
Inside, however, stood only a single table, upon which lay a hammer, resting quietly.
“This place existed long before the Surveillance Bureau was even called by that name.”
Hwa-ryeon walked toward the hammer as she spoke.
“The method is simple. Take this hammer in your hand and just tap the table a few times. Then fitting equipment will appear.”
“Is that all?”
“Yes. Though there’s a chance nothing happens at all. To be honest, that’s far more likely. It’s very selective about who it chooses. Don’t be too disappointed. Usually, you’ll obtain your equipment at the next location anyway.”
Selective about who it chooses—that sounded like this was no ordinary hammer at all.
Hwa-ryeon looked at Chaewol and spoke.
“Chaewol, you first.”
“Understood.”
Chaewol stepped forward, took the hammer, and carefully tapped the table twice.
Nothing happened.
“A miss.”
Hwa-ryeon nodded, as if she’d expected nothing less.
“Now you, Ujoo.”
Ujoo took the hammer from Chaewol at her gesture.
But then—
A brilliant flash erupted!
The hammer trembled as if thrilling with joy, and five colors of light burst forth from it.
The brilliance was so intense that every light on Dusk Street dimmed for a moment.
The dark figures passing nearby froze and stared in his direction.
Standing at the center of it all, Ujoo thought,
‘Did I win?’
At least it wasn’t a blank, so that had to be good!
Continued in the next episode ▶
Calamitous Relics from Urban Legends Grow Obsessed
Author
Lee Se-gye
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction or copying is prohibited, and violation may result in both criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram awaits your precious manuscripts.
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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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