The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 27

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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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Urban Legends and Disaster-Class Artifacts 27
Woo Ju bolted down the staircase.
He could have escaped through any of the exits that had opened up throughout the structure, but there were people gathered on the first floor whom he’d assembled.
He intended to see them safely out before making his own exit.
And of course, to recover the Disc on his way.
No obstacles impeded him as he descended, so Woo Ju reached the first floor in moments.
“Wow, he’s here!”
“You made it!”
He spotted the people who’d been waiting for him.
Noticing their numbers had dwindled somewhat, Woo Ju asked urgently.
“Where did everyone go?”
“Ah, well—some people left the moment the exits appeared.”
Someone spoke carefully, eyeing him warily.
It was understandable enough.
Though Woo Ju had saved them, his appearance was frankly as menacing as any of the other entities they’d witnessed in the aquarium.
Of course, Woo Ju paid no mind to that.
“I see. Then you should all prepare to leave immediately.”
Had something gone wrong, he’d have been concerned—but if they’d simply chosen to leave on their own, there was no reason to worry.
Conveniently, an exit had opened right beside them, so Woo Ju pointed toward it.
“Don’t rush. Form a line and file through calmly. Now—where’s the Disc?”
“Here it is!”
A Young, who’d been holding the Disc, hastily handed it over to Woo Ju.
“Thank you.”
Woo Ju accepted it with a smile, and the mask he wore seemed to grin along with him.
It was the kind of expression that would drain the legs from even a reasonably courageous person.
“N-no! I’m the one who should thank you! For saving us!”
Yet A Young bowed her head deeply, offering her gratitude regardless.
The others were already hurrying into line, leaving hastily—but she couldn’t bear to depart without properly thanking the person who’d given them their lives back.
“H-here, take this!”
And though she couldn’t quite explain where the courage came from, she abruptly pressed something into his hands.
It was a small cat keychain she’d been using as a charm.
The moment she handed it over, regret swept through her—she’d wanted to offer something in return, but this was all she had with her.
Still, it was a limited-edition keychain she’d paid good money for.
“Thank you.”
Fortunately for A Young, instead of questioning why she was giving him such a thing, Woo Ju answered with a gentle voice.
Then he gestured toward the still-open exit.
“Go carefully now.”
“Yes!”
So A Young passed through the exit nearly last, emerging into the outside world.
Woo Ju surveyed the now-empty space, then picked up an Iron Pipe in one hand and the Disc in the other.
He walked slowly toward the exit himself.
Before crossing the threshold, he glanced back at the aquarium—even more ominous now than when he’d first entered.
“It was unpleasant having you around. I hope we never meet again.”
With that farewell, Woo Ju brandished the Iron Pipe and stepped through the exit.
* * *
Some time after Woo Ju emerged from the Grim Ocean Aquarium, a message arrived on his phone.
[Grim Ocean Aquarium Announcement]
Good day to you.
We sincerely apologize for the unfortunate news we must share.
Our aquarium, which held a special exhibition to commemorate our ■■■■th anniversary, will temporarily close for maintenance due to unforeseen circumstances.
The date of our reopening has not yet been determined.
-Entry by certain species (humans) is henceforth prohibited. We appreciate your understanding.
It was the message announcing the Grim Ocean Aquarium’s temporary closure.
Those who’d entered the aquarium with him received the same message. They stared at their phones for a moment before one of them turned to Woo Ju and asked.
“Looks like Woo Ju struck again?”
At Baek Ho’s remark, Woo Ju laughed awkwardly.
“I didn’t do much, really.”
“Didn’t do much? You destroyed everything, saved everyone, and escaped. That’s what I heard.”
Reasonable enough—he’d told his teammates everything that happened inside and filed a full report. That was protocol, after all.
“I may have used more force than necessary during the rescue operation.”
“Phew, you’ve got some nerve. I was so scared when you didn’t come out with us.”
“You’re right.”
Chae Wol chimed in from beside him.
She had every reason to be.
The three of them had passed through the exit together at first, but when they emerged outside, Woo Ju was nowhere to be found.
So they’d immediately contacted the team leader and deputy leader who were waiting outside, and had been searching for a way to infiltrate the aquarium again when Woo Ju returned in less than thirty minutes, bringing the whole affair to a close.
But his swift return had resolved everything before it could spiral further.
“You did really well with this one.”
That’s when Hwa Ryeon, who’d been reviewing documents at the side, finally spoke.
“The aquarium incident appears to have lasted nearly ten days. That’s when the missing persons reports suddenly shot up.”
Urban legends like this one—those that “abduct” people—are notoriously difficult to track down.
Because they don’t happen in one fixed location.
Woo Ju himself hadn’t been abducted from some remote site; it happened right in the middle of the office alongside the others, didn’t it?
“The number of survivors we recovered was twenty-nine. Which means at least thirty or more people were abducted during those ten days. More than that if we count the company employees.”
When you put it that way, the scale was genuinely staggering.
Hwa Ryeon, who seemed to have wanted to emphasize that point from the start, spoke directly to Woo Ju.
“Woo Ju, thanks to you, we’ve managed to save survivors and prevented further damage on top of that. And against an urban legend that looked to be Disaster-Class 2 or even 3.”
“No, I worked alongside the others.”
“Of course—the other two worked hard too. That’s why all three of you will receive bonuses that won’t disappoint. Count on it.”
She smiled and leaned back in her chair, continuing her thought.
“And the survivors are being contacted individually by the cleanup team, so don’t worry about that.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
“Good. Then Woo Ju, get up and head to the Development Team right now.”
“Pardon? The Development Team?”
“Yes. They’ve finished examining the Disc.”
“Oh, of course!”
Woo Ju nodded.
The Disc he’d brought back from the aquarium was currently being held by the Development Team for analysis.
Since he’d obtained it during company work and from within an urban legend, it needed to be investigated.
“I’ll be on my way.”
“Go ahead.”
Woo Ju stood and left the office.
The Development Team’s workshop wasn’t far from the office itself, so he arrived quickly.
After knocking and entering, he found a familiar face inside.
“There you are.”
“Hello, sir.”
That familiar face belonged to Tae Eul, the Development Team’s leader.
The same man who’d participated in the test disguised as a participant, wearing traditional clothing.
“Come for the Disc?”
“Yes. Can I take it?”
“You can. Fortunately, it’s been determined to be harmless.”
Tae Eul pulled on a pair of gloves as he spoke, then walked to the side and retrieved the Disc.
“Want a quick rundown?”
“Ah, yes please.”
“The name of this Disc is Mercurius Sigillum.”
“I’m sorry?”
The name was so unfamiliar that Woo Ju glanced back and forth between the Disc and Tae Eul, questioning what it meant, and Tae Eul continued his explanation.
“You might recognize it better as Hermes Spragis. You know Hermes, right?”
“Oh, of course.”
The first name had sounded like gibberish, but Hermes was a name you couldn’t avoid if you tried.
He’d read comic books featuring the figure repeatedly as a child.
To be precise, a god.
“Isn’t he the god of messengers?”
“More specifically, he’s the god of thieves, travelers, and merchants as well. Generally, he corresponds to the Roman god Mercury from the Roman era.”
“Ah, I see.”
Woo Ju knew that Greek gods were called by different names in the Roman era.
That’s why the comic books were titled after Greco-Roman mythology.
“Then what do Sigillum and Spragis mean?”
“Both carry similar meanings. Seal. Sigil. That sort of thing. If I had to be precise, this one leans more toward the sigil side.”
Tae Eul tapped the disc with a gloved hand, then held it out to Woo Ju.
Woo Ju took it almost reflexively.
“That Spragis is notorious for never staying in one place. According to remaining records, it’s been found in at least dozens of countries. For what it’s worth, the last sighting was in Ghana, Africa.”
“Oh…….”
An international artifact, then. As Woo Ju turned that over in his mind, Tae Eul continued.
“In short, it’s capricious by nature. But since there are no major side effects and its effectiveness is outstanding, it’s quite convenient to use.”
“What does it do?”
“Simply put, you’d call it Concealment. You might say it’s the power of a god of thieves being exercised. Though it’s not infallible.”
Tae Eul spoke with his arms crossed.
“That Concealment effect mainly applies to beings that exert strong dominion over a particular location.”
“Ah. I did notice something like that. People could still see me just fine.”
“Exactly. According to the report, the Concealment effect primarily worked against the creatures in the aquarium, right? That’s probably because they’re beings that belong to the aquarium.”
After explaining that much, Tae Eul offered a few more brief points.
“For now, that’s the extent of its current power. But the Spragis has greater potential. Depending on your abilities, it may display other functions down the line.”
“Understood.”
“Good. I think that covers the essentials. Oh, and the Iron Pipe—no problems with it?”
“Pardon? No, sir. No issues at all.”
At Woo Ju’s reply, Tae Eul spoke with a meaningful expression.
“You’ve impressed me quite a bit, it seems.”
With that, he smiled thinly and settled back into his chair.
“All right then. Off you go.”
“Yes. Thank you very much.”
“Don’t mention it. I looked into it more closely out of personal interest. If you turn up anything else unusual, let me know.”
“Ha, will do.”
The conversation ended there.
Woo Ju bowed and left the Development Team office, returning to the Response Team’s workspace.
“No problems, I take it?”
“No, sir. He said we could take it without issue.”
“One more useful item added to our arsenal.”
“That’s very good news for our team.”
Everyone had their say, then promptly returned to their work.
Woo Ju placed the disc neatly into his bag and resumed his own paperwork.
The documentation related to the aquarium incident was still in full swing.
For a long while, the office echoed only with the sound of keystrokes.
Time passed, and evening came—around six o’clock.
“All right! That’s it for today!”
Hwa Ryeon rose from her desk and clapped her hands together sharply.
“Everyone clock out. Clock out. And don’t let anyone drag you off somewhere again for a late-night call.”
“Yes!”
“Understood.”
At her words, everyone sprang up as though they’d been waiting for permission and began gathering their things. Woo Ju did the same.
He prepared quickly and, having collected all his belongings, left the office alongside the others.
They took the elevator down to the first floor.
“Be careful heading in.”
“Yeah, you all did good work today.”
“Have a good night!”
They exchanged farewells on the first floor and stepped outside.
Since Woo Ju didn’t have a car, he walked through the main gate to a nearby bus stop and caught a bus home.
When he arrived at his apartment.
Woo Ju set down his bag as usual and was about to head straight to the shower when he noticed something.
“Hmm?”
It was a small box.
Woo Ju hesitated, then narrowed his eyes to examine it more closely.
He’d never seen a box like this before. There was no one who would have sneaked in and left something like this.
‘Not again?’
Had another artifact tumbled into his hands, following the disc? The thought flashed through his mind, but something about it didn’t feel right.
Less welcome than unsettling, somehow.
Woo Ju quietly drew the Iron Pipe from his bag and shifted the box slightly to reveal its top surface.
Then he saw the letters and image written there.
[Fantasy Land Dream Land Experience Kit]
A peculiarly strange mascot was drawn on it.
Woo Ju stared at it for a moment, deliberating, then lifted the Iron Pipe.
Puzzling over what it was, fretting and worrying, then getting tangled up in something bizarre. Complicated. Tiresome.
Bang—! Bang!
Making what had been a box into something neat and tidy with the Iron Pipe.
Simple. Clean.
Crack—!
Soon, the box was utterly demolished by the Iron Pipe.
Just in case something else happened, he watched it for a moment, but the box trembled and crumbled to dust before his eyes.
As if it were a spirit being exorcised.
At that same instant, he could have sworn he heard a voice, brief as it was: “How frustrating.”
“Ah. Should’ve done this outside the house.”
Seeing the dust scatter belatedly, he felt a belated twinge of regret, but with that, the box problem was cleanly resolved.
Woo Ju filed a brief report with the Inspection Bureau just to be safe, then went about his household chores.
It was a peaceful evening.
The next day.
As Woo Ju was preparing to head to work, a call came through. It was from Hwa Ryeon.
—Let’s go somewhere right now.
“Go where?”
—Gangwon Branch. That branch has gone silent.
It was a call informing him that a business trip had just been arranged.
To be continued ▶
Disaster-Class Artifacts Within Urban Legends Obsess
Author
Lee Se-gye
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Grae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
※ This e-book is protected under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and duplication are prohibited, and violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram awaits your precious manuscript.

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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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