The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 26

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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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Calamity-Grade Artifacts in Urban Legend: Obsession — Chapter 26
Ujoo’s footsteps never faltered.
He knew this place was dangerous. That’s why he’d stayed quiet and followed the others looking for the exit, didn’t he?
But then the exit vanished.
More precisely, the aquarium had erased it.
Of course, until they changed their minds, he wouldn’t see that exit again.
Even if the Steel Pipe had miraculous properties, he couldn’t punch a hole in the wall and claim it was a way out.
‘Or could I?’
He hesitated for a moment, entertaining the thought of giving it a try, but Ujoo shook his head and pressed onward.
Because, ultimately, his bold movement now was on account of them.
Stay still and he’d die anyway.
Whether trapped and starved, or caught in whatever schemes the aquarium staff had planned—the place looked stocked with lethal methods.
And far more ways to torment without killing.
So his best bet was to move aggressively while he still had strength.
“What should I destroy to make them happy?”
Of course, Ujoo wasn’t careless enough to smash things at random.
Currently, he was protected by the power of the Circular Artifact.
But if he started another Rampage, he suspected that protection would weaken.
Concealment items did lose their effect the moment you attacked someone, after all.
So he wanted to choose his first Rampage carefully—somewhere that would truly cripple this aquarium.
‘The 3rd Floor stairs. That’s where they were.’
That was why Ujoo had been heading for the stairs to the 3rd Floor.
He’d passed through the 1st and 2nd Floors, but found nothing that qualified as important infrastructure. Only unsettling tanks and exhibits.
So he’d continue climbing. To find something that would deal real damage to this aquarium.
Clack, clack, clack, clack.
Tap-tap-tap-tap.
In the meantime, he glimpsed drowned corpses and staff members bustling about in apparent haste. Searching for something, it seemed.
Ujoo assumed they were searching for him.
An ordinary person would be terrified by that alone, but Ujoo was the opposite.
‘They’re getting special treatment.’
The fortunate ones weren’t him—it was them.
Without the Circular Artifact, he’d have simply swept through and moved on, cleanly.
They lived only because he had the Circular Artifact.
Passing by the corpses and masked staff who couldn’t possibly know this, Ujoo climbed steadily upward.
The 3rd Floor he soon reached was disappointingly little different from the 1st and 2nd.
Instead of tanks, taxidermied specimens lined the walls in rows.
Yet here too, there was nothing resembling ordinary taxidermy.
‘Is that a person or a fish?’
Half-human taxidermy. Fish with multiple human faces. Something completely dissected. And more.
Exhibits that seemed designed primarily to sicken the viewer stretched on and on.
Ujoo surveyed the 3rd Floor briefly, decided there was nothing worth seeing, and climbed to the 4th Floor.
And there, he finally discovered a location that looked useful.
[VIP Exclusive Stage]
It looked quite splendid.
* * *
A vast stage.
A group of people stood in that brilliantly lit space, their eyes darting nervously about their surroundings.
Among them was a student named A-yeong in a school uniform.
A-yeong’s face was drained of color. It couldn’t be otherwise. No matter which way she turned her head, there was nothing but horrific sights.
Before them lay an audience section.
Occupying those seats were things so grotesque they were difficult to look at directly.
And if she glanced to the side, there were half-conscious people standing on the stage beside her.
“P-please… send me home.”
“Ugh… ugh…”
“Why… why am I here…?”
They muttered while scanning their surroundings with anxious eyes.
Then, just then.
Something approached from the far end of the stage and called out in a loud voice.
“Now then! I offer our deepest gratitude once more to all our esteemed VIP guests who have honored the Grim Ocean Aquarium with their presence!”
It was mimicking a human voice, but its form bore little resemblance to human at all.
It was wearing the head of some sort of fish.
Its round eyes rolled this way and that, and its mouth gaped open, spouting words without pause.
“Today’s performance! Is none other than our Live Bait Feeding Show! The deep-sea human-faced angler will chomp, tear, and swallow the live prey we’ve prepared, bringing all of you such delight!”
It spoke these terrible words without the slightest hesitation.
“And any leftover bait will be used in the next performance! Just how deep can a human dive! How long can they hold their breath! We’ll show you everything! Of course, we’ve also prepared a stunt show.”
The fish eyes gleamed.
A-yeong felt her legs trembling beneath her.
Where had it all gone wrong? What could she have done to end up here?
All she’d done was receive a message.
Even after arriving here against her will, she had done her best to follow the rules. But when she came to her senses, she found herself in this place.
She’d been dragged into some dark space, held captive for what felt like an eternity, and then hauled onto this stage. Along with the others.
“Now, let’s see how those who volunteered to participate react!”
The host called out while turning toward the gathered people.
“Aaah! This is! So thrilling!”
“Truly, what a! Wonderful program!”
Several people shouted in response, their voices flat and mechanical, as if reading from a textbook.
These were the ones who had been dragged away by staff earlier as “Special Education” subjects.
Their eyes were as clouded and dull as those of a rotting fish.
This place was hell.
Hell with no hole to escape through.
“We’ve drawn this out far too long! Well then, let’s begin at last.”
The fish-headed host cried out in a loud voice and gestured toward the back of the stage.
“Now! We’ll count! Everyone, please count along! Four!”
A terrible voice answered from the audience.
“Three!”
They had appearances even more grotesque and unpleasant than the fish-man.
“Two!”
And they waited for this performance with eager, eager anticipation.
“One!”
The host cried out with exultation in his voice. And just as the number finally left his lips—
Crack!
The host went silent all at once.
Or rather, he had no choice but to go silent.
His skull had caved in—struck by a Steel Pipe that had appeared from behind.
“Tch. The stage layout here is disgustingly complicated.”
A voice followed.
A-yeong looked in that direction.
Thump.
Behind the convulsing, collapsed host, a figure appeared.
A man in formal wear, gripping a Steel Pipe in one hand.
On his face was a bizarre mask with four eye-holes that blazed with golden light.
Compared to the fishman sprawled on the floor, his appearance was scarcely less grotesque, and many trembled at the sight.
“Everyone, pay attention!”
The masked man shouted then.
His voice carried an uncanny sense of overwhelming authority.
“Come this way, all of you! If you stay here, you’re in danger!”
The people hesitated, uncertain of the situation.
So the man with the Steel Pipe resorted to a more direct and efficient method of persuasion.
Crash!
“Move!”
He brought the Steel Pipe down against the floor, jolting everyone into action.
All greatly admired his elegant technique and began to move according to his instructions.
Certainly not because they feared getting struck by the Steel Pipe if they didn’t obey.
“Critical hazard detected.”
“The intruder must be punished. Let us pluck out his eyes and deafen his ears, then feed him to the beasts.”
“Proceeding to reeducation facility.”
But at that very moment, staff began climbing up onto the stage.
They meant to punish the intruder who dared desecrate the sacred stage.
The audience watched with interest, as though all of this were part of the show.
A-yeong, who was evacuating to the side, did not know it—but the masked man was deeply displeased with this development.
“I’ve already checked out the layout of this place beforehand.”
So without hesitation, he walked toward the back of the stage and picked up the Steel Pipe.
And right after A-yeong and everyone else had made their escape.
“Found something interesting back here.”
Crash!
He brought down the wall before the staff could swarm him.
That spot held the connecting passage to the tank that had been prepared for the performance.
Ujoo bolted from there in the direction the crowds had fled, just before an ominous rupturing sound could echo through the space.
Crack!
Splash!
Water began pouring out the moment the wall collapsed.
The masked man—Ujoo—was already laughing as he hurled himself toward the hole in the adjoining wall.
Naturally, what poured out of that hole wasn’t just water.
Countless “creatures” that had been prepared for the enjoyable performance swept across the audience seating along with the flood.
The spectators were delighted by the sudden 4D experience.
“Hehehehe!”
Ujoo watched the scene with considerable amusement, then sprinted onward.
He reached the backstage area—the spot he’d scouted beforehand—where the others had gathered, and addressed them.
“Right. Everyone head down to the 1st Floor. Let’s see here. You, student. You’re going to hold this.”
What he handed over was none other than the Circular Artifact. A-yeong, who’d taken it almost reflexively, stared at him in bewilderment.
“As long as you’re holding that, you’ll be safe. Stay put on the 1st Floor and don’t move.”
“Y-yes?”
“I’m going.”
With that, Ujoo took off.
He could feel A-yeong and the others watching him leave, but now was the time to move.
Finding this place had been lucky.
He’d wandered in because the name “VIP Exclusive Stage” looked perfect for a Rampage, but he hadn’t expected so many people to be trapped here.
‘And I got to teach those weird VIP bastards a lesson too.’
The aquarium probably considered it a disaster from their standpoint.
It wasn’t just the facilities that had taken damage—he’d made a mockery of the very people they’d treated as VIPs.
But Ujoo had no intention of stopping here.
The aquarium probably felt the same way.
If they’d wanted things to end, they wouldn’t have sent staff—they would have simply opened an exit and let him leave peacefully.
Flash.
Golden light glinted from the eye sockets of the Mysterious Mask Ujoo was wearing.
‘Today is your closing day.’
He’d left the Circular Artifact with the people. Just like any other relic, it would return to him when it chose to—and if it didn’t, then that was where their connection ended.
Already having gone on one Rampage, the Circular Artifact wouldn’t stop the aquarium’s attention anyway.
So from now on, he’d conduct a full-fledged Rampage.
Crash!
The moment Ujoo left the stage area, he struck the nearest tank at moderate force.
Hard enough to crack it, but not enough to shatter it completely. Then he did the same to every tank he passed.
And whenever he spotted a visible facility, he went in and destroyed it all.
Special Processing Areas. Special Exhibition Halls. Re-education Chambers. And so on.
Of course, the aquarium’s “staff” hunted him relentlessly.
Whoosh!
At one point, the Guardian Bracelet on his wrist activated when a staff member charged at him from behind.
If not for the bracelet, he’d have been in serious trouble.
Boom!
But thanks to the bracelet, Ujoo escaped the crisis and turned the tables, sweeping them aside instead.
Having rapidly laid waste to the 4th Floor, he descended to the 3rd Floor and continued his destruction spree.
The people had already made it down to the 1st Floor, so there was nothing left to hold back his rampage.
And in the gaps between his destruction, he shouted.
“Open the exit now if you don’t want to die!”
Crash!
Everything in sight was destroyed.
Some believed Urban Legends to be entities that humans cannot comprehend, creatures with whom communication is forever impossible.
Boom!
That was only because they lacked enough power. In truth, beat anyone enough times and they’ll want to listen eventually.
At least, that’s what Ujoo believed.
—Guest? Guest? If you wish to exit the aquarium, we can guide you to our exclusive exit.
His instinct had proven correct.
The aquarium had been the first to surrender, sending staff forward with the white flag.
Ujoo’s response was simple.
“I don’t negotiate with terrorists.”
—Pardon?
Anyone could see that Ujoo himself was the terrorist, but he pressed on without flinching.
“Open the exits so every person inside can get out safely. And stop forcing humans in here. You don’t comply, this place is done for.”
Ujoo didn’t wait for an answer. He sprinted toward the first floor, striking another tank nearby with the steel pipe on his way.
He’d struck the weak points he’d identified through the Mysterious Mask with perfect precision—soon the water pressure would overwhelm the structure and shatter it.
As he bounded down toward the first floor without waiting for a response, a voice resonated through the ceiling speakers.
—This establishment has decided to close temporarily, effective immediately. All guests are requested to exit through the designated exits.
—Once more, we announce: This aquarium has decided to close temporarily. Please refer to the map on the wall and exit through the designated exits.
He wondered if this was another trick, but there really was a map on the wall now.
It hadn’t been there before.
And there, on every floor, new exits had appeared where none had existed moments ago.
So the aquarium had surrendered.
“See? When you push, things happen.”
Ujoo had proven once again that the steel pipe was his most persuasive tool of negotiation.
If the director of this aquarium existed somewhere, they were surely trembling by now.
To be continued ▶
Urban Legends and Their Obsession with Calamity-Grade Artifacts
Author
Lee Segye-sajang
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publishing House
Grae Publishing
Inquiries
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
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※ Pentagram welcomes 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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