The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 66

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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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Catastrophe-Class Relics from Urban Legends Fixate on Me – Episode 66
Vampire.
A very familiar word.
After all, isn’t it a creature that appears across every medium—novels, comics, films?
“Do vampires actually exist?”
“Hm? Didn’t they cover that in training?”
“Well, I think I must have missed that part. It was the day right after I got back from that haunted train station…”
At Woo Ju’s response, Hwa Ryeon let out a soft laugh.
“That’s possible. For one thing, the term ‘vampire’ is actually quite broad.”
“Broad?”
“Right. It’s more like multiple different creatures all lumped together under one name.”
She explained in an even tone.
“Everything from lower-tier vampires that are simply creatures hungry for blood, all the way to the kind you see in actual media. The range is very wide.”
“I see. So which one are we going out to capture this time?”
“The former. The latter type isn’t that common. Most of them tend to be found in Europe, anyway.”
Woo Ju nodded at her words.
Certainly, when you think of vampires, Europe does come to mind.
The image of a coffin with a cross painted on it in some ancient castle, with a vampire sleeping inside.
“Of course, you shouldn’t underestimate them just because they’re called lower-tier. They’re only inferior compared to truly intelligent and sinister ones—they’re fundamentally quite difficult to deal with.”
“Is that so? What about using garlic or crosses, things like that?”
“That’s all stuff from movies and comics. A vampire has only two true weaknesses.”
Hwa Ryeon told him.
“Sunlight. And silver.”
“Those two are the same as what appears in other places, at least.”
“Right. Long ago, information control wouldn’t have been properly maintained. Those old details must have survived from that time.”
Woo Ju nodded.
In any case, the vampire operation wasn’t directly related to Woo Ju or Hwa Ryeon.
The personnel deployed for that operation were from the Busan Branch—Woo Ju and Hwa Ryeon were simply staying here to prepare for any contingencies.
If they were assigned anything at all, there was a high probability they’d be deployed elsewhere, not to the vampire operation that already had personnel committed.
“Speaking of which, what should we eat tonight?”
“Hmm. What about kalguksu? I went to a place ages ago that had really excellent noodles.”
“Kalguksu? Sure, why not.”
“That place is right in front of the ocean. After eating, it’s nice to look out at the sea.”
“I’m not really a fan of the ocean. I don’t like water much either.”
They finished their conversation about vampires and chatted about dinner plans before heading back to their separate rooms.
Woo Ju entered his room and settled onto the sofa, lost in thought.
‘How long will I be staying here?’
Probably just a week at most, he guessed.
The Busan Branch personnel would return before then.
‘I should eat all the good food I can before then.’
With that thought in mind, Woo Ju stretched out comfortably.
* * *
The next morning.
Woo Ju woke early.
It seemed to be because he’d gone to bed earlier than usual the night before.
“I was trying to sleep in.”
As he pulled himself up, Woo Ju scratched his cheek.
His four days in Busan were vacation. In other words, he had nothing he needed to do.
Of course, that didn’t mean he could completely let loose. If a call came in, he had to be ready to move at any moment.
If Woo Ju had actually enjoyed going out, drinking, and carousing, he’d have been frustrated. But he wasn’t particularly bothered.
‘That kind of fun just leaves you exhausted anyway.’
If he’d at least had friends, the thought of drinking might’ve appealed to him. But he didn’t, so he figured he’d just take the holiday at a leisurely pace.
Woo Ju headed for the bathroom first.
If he wanted to eat, he had to go outside.
He could’ve had room service or ordered delivery, but it felt wrong to eat that way after coming all the way here.
It wasn’t like he came to Busan very often.
He let out a long breath.
Once he’d finished washing up, he felt refreshed and his mood lifted.
His lingering sleepiness vanished entirely, so Woo Ju changed into clean clothes and left the room in good spirits.
As he stepped outside, he caught the salty sea breeze.
The lodging where he stayed sat right before the sea, and even at this early hour, quite a few people were out for their morning walks.
‘Everyone’s industrious.’
Woo Ju carried on with that thought, strolling along steadily.
He had no particular purpose—just planned to wander around the Hotel area and slip into any place that looked appetizing.
‘Maybe it’s too early and nothing’s open yet?’
The worry flickered across his mind, but he soon realized it was groundless.
Before long, he spotted a restaurant that looked quite promising—a decent-looking pork soup place.
As it happened, he’d worked up an appetite from walking, so Woo Ju headed straight in.
“Wow. This is insane.”
When the pork soup arrived, he exclaimed in wonder more than once.
It was several times better than the place Baek Ho had taken him to before, swearing it was delicious.
Woo Ju snapped a few photos, already planning to show them off later.
In this way, he spent the afternoon wandering leisurely—sightseeing here and there, dropping by a café, shopping.
Before he knew it, the sun had set and night had fallen.
‘This is nice.’
Woo Ju made his way back to the front of the Hotel and strolled along the night sea.
As he walked, his thoughts naturally drifted back to the recent mission.
‘Who was that guy?’
When something had burst out from inside the Tatari-kami, Woo Ju had genuinely been taken aback.
That’s why he’d hesitated before lashing out reflexively, striking its head. The second time, he’d done it knowingly.
Still, he was curious about what exactly that thing was trying to do.
What was a Tatari-kami, anyway? A vile monster called a Calamity God or Curse God.
A being with not a shred of benefit to humanity. Yet someone had helped it escape?
Of course, Woo Ju understood that too.
Some people committed evil deeds without the slightest hesitation.
But usually, even when people did such things, there was a reason. And usually, that reason tied back to their own gain.
‘If it wasn’t just for the fun of it, then helping the Tatari-kami would’ve gotten him something in return.’
Woo Ju scratched his chin at that point.
He couldn’t stretch his thinking much further—the real problem was how little he actually knew.
All he had was that the man had helped the Tatari-kami and seemed skilled with Barriers.
‘Oh, and he had some insider knowledge about the Inspection Bureau.’
The underground space behind the Hospital was something even the Hospital staff hadn’t known about.
There was no reason to dig up the ground without cause.
‘Though it’s not like the information definitely leaked from the Inspection Bureau.’
It wasn’t the kind of information the Inspection Bureau carefully controlled.
There were any number of other ways he could’ve obtained it.
Right. Possibilities.
All of it was in the realm of possibility. Nothing was certain.
‘The investigation team’s probably already moving.’
Woo Ju concluded that it was better to leave this sort of thing to them.
Agonizing over it alone had its limits. All he’d get was a headache.
“Hmm.”
Having thought it through, Woo Ju turned his head to the side.
His gaze fell once more on the dark sea.
After a moment’s consideration, he slipped off his shoes, then his socks, and holding them, walked slowly toward the water.
The sand’s texture became vivid beneath his bare feet.
Whoooosh—
Walking along the Sandy Beach as the sound of the waves reached his ears, he felt oddly wistful.
But as he’d been walking for some time, a suddenly familiar voice called out.
“What are you doing, walking barefoot alone out here at night?”
It was Hwa Ryeon’s voice.
He turned his head slightly toward where the voice had come from, and there stood Hwa Ryeon at the water’s edge.
Woo Ju found himself smiling as he replied.
“Then why are you wading into the sea yourself, Team Lead?”
Hwa Ryeon laughed softly and answered.
“It’s been a while since I came to the Beach—I had to at least soak my feet.”
Then she gestured to Woo Ju and spoke.
“Don’t just walk on the sand—come wade in with me.”
“Isn’t it cold?”
“It’s just my feet. What’s there to be cold about?”
“Well, is that so?”
Woo Ju regarded Hwa Ryeon uncertainly.
But then something occurred to him.
“Actually, Team Lead, I’m curious about something.”
“Hm? What is it?”
“Didn’t you say you don’t like the sea? That you don’t care for water?”
The moment Woo Ju spoke, silence fell between them. But it was brief.
“Did I say that? Well, I just meant I’m not particularly fond of it.”
“You said it just yesterday. What were we doing until yesterday?”
“…… We came on a business trip, remember? We had meetings with clients.”
“Ah.”
Hearing that much, Woo Ju smiled and nodded. Then he walked straight toward the beach.
As he approached with long strides, Hwa Ryeon smiled as if welcoming him.
But as the distance between them closed.
Snap.
Something materialized in Woo Ju’s empty hand.
An Iron Pipe that gleamed silver in the moonlight.
“Wha—”
The thing’s eyes widened, and it cried out in shock.
Splurch!
Those were its last words.
The Iron Pipe swung through it, and its body burst like a balloon.
Woo Ju grimaced at the sharp, briny stench that flooded his nostrils.
“Ugh. A Water Ghost, just as I thought.”
The thing masquerading as Hwa Ryeon had been a Water Ghost.
‘Water Ghosts typically congregate in stagnant water, or so I’ve heard.’
Generally, Water Ghosts are found most often in still, sluggish water.
But this one pretending to be Hwa Ryeon seemed to have enterprising tastes. To show itself openly here on a beach and lure someone in—that was unusual.
In any case, it was fortunate he’d recognized it immediately.
Woo Ju flicked the water from the Iron Pipe and turned to leave the beach.
“Hm?”
But as he turned, something caught the corner of his vision.
Woo Ju narrowed his eyes toward that direction, then opened them wide.
Far off, there was something.
But its appearance was far from ordinary.
‘What is that?’
Along the distant horizon, countless figures hovered.
At first he thought his eyes were playing tricks, but the longer he looked, the more certain he became.
They were human forms. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people standing along the horizon, moving about.
In this line of work, he thought he’d seen everything, but this transcended even that.
It was beyond anything he could have anticipated.
Woo Ju came out of the water at once, pulled out his Mobile Phone, and made a call.
After a few rings, a familiar voice answered.
“Team Lead!”
—Yes?
It was Hwa Ryeon’s voice. The real Hwa Ryeon.
“Team Lead, can you see the sea right now?”
—Understood.
Rather than ask why, Hwa Ryeon simply answered his question with confirmation.
After a few seconds of silence, she spoke again.
—What in the world is that?
Hwa Ryeon had seen exactly what Woo Ju saw.
Woo Ju headed toward the Hotel Lobby as he spoke to her.
“Do you have any idea what it is?”
—That’s… to be honest, nothing like it has ever occurred in Korea before. Just a moment.
This was the first time Woo Ju had seen Hwa Ryeon flustered like this.
Even in situations that would make an ordinary person faint, she had maintained her composure almost without fail.
The fact that she was alarmed now only deepened Woo Ju’s sense of the gravity of the situation.
Just as he reached the Hotel Lobby.
“Let’s go!”
I ran into Hwa Ryeon, who had already come downstairs.
The moment their eyes met, Hwa Ryeon approached Woo Ju and spoke. Woo Ju asked in confusion.
“Where to?”
The answer was simple.
“To the place where the sea is most beautiful!”
Continued in the next episode ▶
Calamity-Class Relics from Urban Legends Are Obsessed
Author
Lee Se-gye
Publishers
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Gerae Publishing
Contact
[email protected]
Publication Date
May 26, 2026
UCI
G720:N+A327-20260410110
※ This e-book is protected by copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and distribution are prohibited. Violation may result in criminal and civil legal liability.
※ Pentagram welcomes precious manuscripts from writers.

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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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