The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 70

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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 Show Obsession — Chapter 70
Woo Ju was certain of it.
He didn’t know what it was, but the voice he’d just heard was unmistakably the same person’s voice from when he’d faced the Tatarikami.
Just as he’d suspected when he first saw the Hyakki Yako, this mysterious figure was deeply connected to the current crisis.
And more importantly, what Woo Ju had just destroyed appeared to be the core of this entire Hyakki Yako incident.
“It stopped!”
The moment Woo Ju shattered it, the spirits that had been raging wildly came to an abrupt halt.
More precisely, their eyes—which had blazed with murderous intent—went vacant and glassy, and their bodies went limp.
It was as though their consciousness had simply been cut off.
“Wait! Don’t attack!”
At that moment, the Ulsan Branch Chief’s sharp voice rang out.
The branch members who had been about to strike while the spirits were frozen flinched and stopped, turning to look at him.
The same went for Woo Ju and Hwa Ryeon.
Wasn’t this a golden opportunity, by any measure?
Yet the Chief seemed to think differently.
“If we attack now, we’ll only reignite their fury. Look—they aren’t even attempting to return through the Ghost Gate, are they?”
It was true; the spirits weren’t moving an inch.
But there was still a chance this was only temporary. If they began moving again, it made tactical sense to inflict maximum damage before that happened.
That’s why the branch chiefs from the other divisions, including Hwa Ryeon, wore expressions of deliberation.
Hwa Ryeon was the first to reach a decision.
“For now, let’s hold back.”
She too had chosen to follow the Ulsan Branch Chief’s judgment.
At that, the other branch chiefs one by one voiced their agreement.
Once the decision was made, Woo Ju and the others carefully retreated, taking pains not to provoke the spirits.
Even as they openly withdrew, the spirits gave no reaction whatsoever.
Woo Ju let out a small sound of contemplation.
He examined the spirits one by one as the distance between them grew.
Several minutes had passed since they’d stopped, yet they showed no sign of moving.
It was like watching a broken machine.
Just then, Hwa Ryeon approached Woo Ju’s side.
“What do you think that was just now?”
“I believe it was the work of the same person who helped the Tatarikami.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes. The voice was identical, wasn’t it?”
Hwa Ryeon’s expression turned skeptical.
“What voice?”
“Pardon? You didn’t hear it?”
“I only heard something like screaming.”
At those words, Woo Ju realized he had been the only one to hear that voice.
So he explained to Hwa Ryeon what he had heard.
“When I shattered that object, a voice came through. Something like ‘How… what…?’ or words to that effect.”
“And that voice was the same as the one that burst out of the Tatarikami’s body?”
“Yes. I’m certain.”
Hwa Ryeon fell silent for a moment. Then she tapped the traditional pipe lightly with her finger and spoke.
“So that’s the core that summoned and sustained the Hyakki Yako.”
Earlier, Hwa Ryeon had said the probability of the Hyakki Yako appearing naturally in Korea was extremely low.
Occasionally, foreign spirits or urban legends did cross over, but only after they’d become famous throughout Korea and gained nationwide recognition.
Otherwise? Even if they did appear, they would manifest in a greatly weakened state.
Fundamentally, phenomena born from human awareness are heavily influenced by it.
Of course, there were genuine monsters that didn’t fall under such influence, but the Hyakki Yako wasn’t one of them.
In that respect, the Hyakki Yako’s appearance this time was highly anomalous.
An urban legend that wasn’t even particularly famous in Korea had crossed over and was manifesting at full strength.
So the suspicion that someone had intervened was reasonable. And what Woo Ju had just discovered lent weight to that theory.
Hwa Ryeon shared what she’d heard from Woo Ju with the others.
“Hmm. Indeed. I did think something was strange.”
“For one thing, it’s odd that they’d become so completely frozen just because we dealt with one thing.”
The last comment came from the Ulsan Branch Chief.
Ordinarily, the Hyakki Yako couldn’t possibly become completely still like this through any conventional means.
“Perhaps, because it was manifested through human power, it has a weakness.”
“Well, even accounting for that, it’s absurd. Creating a phenomenon of this scale through human power alone.”
Woo Ju nodded in agreement at those words.
“Exactly. It’s hard to believe a human could do such a thing.”
Several people looked at Woo Ju with peculiar expressions.
After all, the way Woo Ju had just fought against the spirits and demons of the Hyakki Yako was equally inhuman.
Of course, no one dared voice that observation aloud.
But then.
“Wait! They’re vanishing!”
Someone pointed at the Hyakki Yako and called out.
Everyone’s attention snapped toward it, and they soon confirmed it was true.
The demons and spirits that had been standing in vacant stupor began to fade gradually, then one by one started to disappear.
Still, everyone kept their guard up, watching tensely as the procession dissipated.
A long, whistling sound echoed.
But nothing else went wrong.
The spirits and demons that composed the Hyakki Yako scattered in succession and vanished, their speed accelerating with each passing moment.
Within minutes, their numbers had fallen below half; minutes after that, they’d halved again.
As the situation developed this way, those observing quickly conferred once more.
“We should split up.”
The reason for dividing their forces was simple.
The Hyakki Yako seemed to be dissolving, so they meant to track down whoever was behind it.
“How should we divide?”
“Well….”
Though many took part in the discussion, the division of personnel was arranged swiftly.
Everyone seemed practiced at this sort of thing, completing the distribution in moments.
“All right, then. Let’s move immediately.”
“Yes.”
“Understood.”
The moment the discussion ended, Woo Ju headed toward the remnants of the Hyakki Yako alongside Hwa Ryeon.
And soon Woo Ju found something among the debris and lifted it up.
“This should work.”
“Let me check it.”
Hwa Ryeon took it and examined it closely, then nodded.
“Good. This will do nicely.”
She stuffed it into the traditional pipe and, through a process similar to what she’d done before, generated smoke.
Whoosh!
The smoke quickly coalesced into a single mass and began racing off in some direction.
“Get in!”
Meanwhile, an employee from the Busan Branch had brought a car around.
The engine roared to life.
With both of them aboard, the car immediately took off in pursuit of the smoke at high speed.
This entire area had been thoroughly cordoned off, so there was no need to worry about other traffic.
As they raced along, Woo Ju carefully surveyed the surrounding terrain.
‘It’s heading toward the mountains again.’
Come to think of it, there wasn’t a great vantage point nearby for surveying the Seaside from a distance.
There were no tall buildings in this area, and the mountains offered plenty of places to hide and good escape routes.
“Please increase your speed a bit more.”
As they drove, Hwa Ryeon asked the already-speeding employee to go faster still.
“Understood.”
Without hesitation, the employee pressed down on the accelerator.
Watching the scenery blur past, Woo Ju glanced at the speedometer and thought to himself.
‘Will this be all right?’
As the speed kept climbing, he found himself more worried about whether they’d make it to their destination without incident than about the person they were chasing.
But despite his concerns, the employee drove at a bone-chilling speed while maintaining perfect control of the vehicle.
Unable to hold back, Woo Ju asked a question.
“Do you perhaps race as a hobby?”
“Oh! How did you know? Are you interested in racing too?”
“Ah, yes, I’m somewhat interested.”
“Really?”
The employee immediately lit up with enthusiasm and asked back.
“Racing is so much fun! It’s great to drive like this yourself, but it’s also wonderful to go watch. Sometimes on days off I go all the way to Yeongam, and last time….”
The employee cheerfully launched into various stories about racing.
It was during this process that Woo Ju learned for the first time that the employee’s name was Yun Jeong Yeon.
There simply hadn’t been time for a proper introduction.
Still, given the circumstances, Jeong Yeon spoke with a wistful expression.
“Next time you’re in Busan, please get in touch. I know a really excellent racing course. Oh, and it’s perfectly legal, of course. If you have time after work wraps up, you’re welcome to come check it out.”
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
While the two exchanged pleasantries, Hwa Ryeon kept her gaze fixed ahead, her back resting comfortably against the seat.
Hwa Ryeon opened her mouth only after she saw the smoke ahead suddenly veer sharply to the right.
“It’s heading into the mountains. We’ll go on foot from here—wait for us up ahead.”
“Yes.”
Jeong Yeon brought the car to a smooth stop, and Woo Ju and Hwa Ryeon climbed out immediately, pursuing the smoke up the mountainside.
As they ran through the forest, Woo Ju’s mind drifted to a few days prior.
‘I can’t believe I’m scaling another mountain.’
He’d climbed mountains relentlessly while pursuing the Tatarikami—but he never expected to wrap this up the same way.
Not that he minded.
If anything, all he hoped for was that the creature hadn’t vanished yet.
After putting him through this much grief, the least it could do was show its face, didn’t you think?
Whoooosh—
But as they ran, the smoke suddenly began swaying erratically.
At that, Hwa Ryeon raised a hand, signaling him to stop, and studied the smoke intently.
Then she clicked her tongue and turned to Woo Ju.
“There’s a Barrier set up.”
“Should we break it?”
“No—this one’s different from last time. I can’t see any external points of contact.”
Hwa Ryeon paused to think, then spoke.
“It looks like whoever set it deliberately weakened its power and focused on stability instead. And the Barrier’s core is separate—it can’t be broken from here.”
If it were merely a matter of strength, it would crumble before an Iron Pipe like any other. But when the Barrier’s structure itself was fundamentally different, there was nothing to be done.
“Still, at this level it shouldn’t be a problem. Let’s keep going.”
If the Barrier had been more effective, the smoke would have vanished without a trace the moment it entered.
But the smoke wavered and swayed—yet continued relentlessly forward.
Huff—huff—huff—
Whenever the smoke threatened to disappear entirely, Hwa Ryeon clenched the Traditional Pipe between her teeth and exhaled more smoke.
After repeating this process several times over, they’d ventured far into the depths of the mountain.
There were no signs of a maintained path—only dense trees and overgrown brush stretching in all directions.
It was already dawn, and the moonlight was their only light source, but even that barely penetrated through the canopy above.
Yet the two moved forward unimpeded, as if they were walking through a sun-drenched forest.
Crunch, crunch—
As Woo Ju parted branches and cut through undergrowth, he felt his senses growing increasingly acute.
Limited vision sharpened his other perceptions proportionally.
‘There’s something heavy pressing down on my shoulders.’
At the same time, he noticed the air around them felt different from usual.
This was likely the Barrier’s effect.
The effect itself wasn’t particularly strong, though—nothing that caused real discomfort.
Rustle, rustle—
Then, abruptly, the undergrowth around them trembled.
Buzzzzzzz—!
At the same moment, the Iron Pipe vibrated in response.
“Something’s coming.”
Woo Ju quickly raised the Iron Pipe and pulled the mask down over his head.
His vision brightened instantly, flooding his eyes with the full illumination of the surroundings.
And then he saw it.
A massive wolf was charging directly toward him.
Continued in next chapter ▶
Urban Legends’ Obsession with Disaster-Class Relics
Author
Lee Se-gye-sa
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 under copyright law. Unauthorized reproduction and copying are prohibited, and violations may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagram eagerly 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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