The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 78

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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 Grow Obsessed — Chapter 78
The moment the swung iron pipe connected with the core, a violent recoil shot through his body.
For an instant he nearly flew backward, but Woo Ju dug in harder, holding his ground.
Crash-crack!
The metallic shriek rang out as a jagged fracture split across the core’s surface.
Whoosh!
At the same moment, brilliant golden light poured from the iron pipe.
The core made one final, desperate surge. It hurled all of its negative energy at Woo Ju.
The same force that twisted the earth and transformed people into monsters.
It was a power that resisted opposition regardless of whether its wielder was strong or weak.
Whoosh!
But the instant that power crashed down upon Woo Ju, the golden radiance streaming from the iron pipe spread across the leather jacket he wore.
Then a vivid pattern bloomed across the jacket’s surface.
A lion’s mark.
Hiss-hiss-hiss!
The energy trying to bore into Woo Ju’s body rebounded instantly.
The force came again, pressing insistently at his body, but the result never changed.
The lion’s mark glowing on the leather jacket wrapped around him like a second skin, and the energy flowing from the core could not penetrate its surface—it simply scattered away.
Crack!
Meanwhile, Woo Ju’s iron pipe burrowed deeper and deeper into the core. Then, in a single moment.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
Something solid shattered, and the iron pipe drove through with a sharp whistle.
By instinct alone, Woo Ju knew the creature’s resistance had ended.
And indeed it had.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.
The core, which had been struggling violently only moments before, began crumbling from its edges, turning to dust and scattering into the air.
But this was not the end.
If he left it unchecked, the energy would spread outward and become exactly what he’d feared.
The entire area around them would become uninhabitable.
He felt newly the sheer magnitude of what Pandora’s Box had been sealing away.
Of course, Woo Ju was not merely marveling at this.
“Your turn.”
Woo Ju thrust his bracelet-wearing hand deep into the half-shattered core.
The response came at once.
Hum-hum-hum!
The core’s energy, spreading outward across the space, reversed course and began flowing back. It was drawn directly into Woo Ju’s bracelet.
Woo Ju worried whether it could hold all of this, but Pandora’s Box seemed to laugh at such concerns, absorbing every scrap of energy.
From the way he felt it on his wrist, Pandora’s Box actually seemed disappointed—as though it wanted more.
‘Is it saying that because this is such a weakened state compared to its original strength, it’s not satisfying?’
Reading the faint intention, Woo Ju let out a soft chuckle. To grumble about hunger in a moment like this.
In any case, Woo Ju sensed the absorption was nearly complete and withdrew his arm.
Whoosh.
The remaining matter that had formed the core turned entirely to powder and scattered away.
It was finished.
“Phew.”
Woo Ju exhaled shortly and wiped the sweat from his brow.
Though it seemed to have ended in a flash as though he’d handled it effortlessly, in truth it had been no light task even for him.
Had the lion’s leather not perfectly defended against that final assault, he would have found himself in grave danger.
Breaking the core itself had required no small amount of effort.
But since it had gone well, that was the important thing.
‘Now, how do I get out of here?’
The real question was how to escape this place.
The fissure he’d passed through on the way in was no longer visible, and where the core had been lay only empty space.
Woo Ju surveyed the surroundings slowly.
There was no sign of a way out.
After a moment’s consideration, Woo Ju raised the iron pipe. Perhaps striking hard here would open a passage as well.
But then.
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
Suddenly, from somewhere nearby, a sound of something warping echoed, and a hole burst open.
“Come over here!”
At the same time, Seon Dam’s face appeared beyond the opening.
Woo Ju didn’t hesitate for a moment—he threw himself directly toward the hole.
And just as he had felt when crossing the space the first time, dizziness and a sensation of weightlessness enveloped his body.
Thud!
His feet struck solid ground.
Woo Ju landed lightly and looked around.
Seon Dam, Baek Ho, Chae Wol, and Yeon Woo stood nearby.
“Are you all right?”
The moment Woo Ju emerged, Hwa Ryeon asked if he was okay.
“Yes. I handled it well.”
Woo Ju nodded, but then he noticed something off and opened his mouth.
“But when did you all change clothes? And the surroundings seem completely restored?”
At that question, everyone’s expression grew subtle. Then Seon Dam stepped forward and asked.
“How long were you in there?”
“In there? Well… at most five to ten minutes?”
“I see.”
Seon Dam nodded, then spoke again.
“Outside, about two days have passed.”
“What?”
Woo Ju was startled and asked again.
“Really?”
Struggling to believe it, Woo Ju looked around. The landscape was indeed drastically different from when he’d entered and when he’d emerged.
Even if the sealing had ended and things had returned to normal, there shouldn’t have been absolutely no aftereffects.
“We were worried, so I’m relieved.”
“Sorry for taking so long. Tearing through that space wasn’t easy.”
Everyone’s face was worn with exhaustion—it seemed that after Woo Ju crossed over, they had been attempting to breach the space continuously.
“Still, I’m glad the job wrapped up well.”
At Seon Dam’s words, Woo Ju smiled and nodded.
All things considered, he felt good that the work had finished smoothly.
Now he just had to go back, wash up, eat his fill, and rest comfortably.
Woo Ju was thinking this when he opened his mouth, then stopped.
It was a very small difference.
Under normal circumstances, he would have overlooked it, but after the grueling test of strength he’d just endured, Woo Ju’s senses were sharp enough that he didn’t miss it.
“But Team Lead.”
“Yes?”
“Why are you holding that staff in your left hand?”
Woo Ju pointed to the rod Seon Dam was holding.
It was a tool he’d used frequently throughout the operation—originally, he’d always used it with his right hand.
“And Yeon Woo, your mask looks subtly different?”
The mask Yeon Woo had worn with its pale reddish hue now had an orange tint.
And moreover, Chae Wol had nail polish on her nails—someone who didn’t even grow her nails out because they got in the way of work.
Once he felt the dissonance, all those differences came into focus at once.
And on top of that, he could now notice something that at first he hadn’t questioned at all.
“Above all, how are you here, Captain?”
“Hmm.”
Rather than answer immediately, Seon Dam closed his mouth.
“What, are you tired?”
Baek Ho laughed and tried to brush it off casually, but Woo Ju said nothing.
Then Baek Ho fell silent too.
Everyone was silent, watching Woo Ju. And right after.
They all rushed at him at once.
But Woo Ju, as though he’d anticipated it, swung the iron pipe without hesitation.
Clang—!
Seon Dam, who was closest, took the full force of the iron pipe and dissolved into smoke.
Bang! Bang! Clang—!
The others who rushed in met the same fate. All of them scattered without withstanding a single blow.
Once he’d struck down everyone around him, the peaceful landscape of the Park began to melt away.
Woo Ju remained alert, uncertain what might appear next.
Whoosh—
But as the scenery faded, what was revealed was the place from before.
A space filled with nothing but dense darkness.
Thump.
And then something fell to the ground.
It was like a small stain.
Poof.
Before Woo Ju could do anything, it scattered and vanished.
When he glanced at Pandora’s Box, it told him that much could be left alone.
It seemed that core had kept one final move in reserve.
If he hadn’t noticed then and had simply followed along, wouldn’t something terrible have happened?
“Phew.”
In any case, it was already in the past.
Woo Ju shook his head once and returned to the problem at hand.
‘So how do I escape from here?’
Was the Iron Pipe really the answer?
But this time too, light spread out from one side at that precise moment.
Only, unlike before, he couldn’t see the faces of his teammates beyond that light.
“Hmm.”
Woo Ju pondered for a moment, scratched his chin, and walked toward it.
He was suspicious because of what happened before, but what choice did he have? He couldn’t just stay here indefinitely.
Besides, Pandora’s Box had even sent him the assurance that it would be fine this time.
And so Woo Ju walked into the light.
Whoosh!
He went through dizziness and the sensation of landing before opening his eyes.
“Ah.”
“Officer Woo Ju has returned!”
The first sound he heard was Seon Dam’s voice.
Immediately after, the sound of fierce combat followed.
Looking around quickly, he could see that the battle was still in full swing.
At that, Woo Ju instinctively raised the Iron Pipe. But only for a moment.
Splurch.
With Woo Ju’s arrival, everything around them began to dissolve.
Those who had been fighting fiercely stopped short at the sight.
Only one person remained unflustered. Seon Dam alone.
“Have you finished dealing with it?”
To that question, Woo Ju nodded.
“Yes. I’ve completed the sealing and returned.”
“I see. It seems that with the core gone, it can no longer be maintained.”
Just as he said, the alien landscape that had been overlaid upon the Park was rapidly fading away.
Sunken ground and bent streetlamps remained as they were, but those belonged to this world originally.
“Phew. It’s finally over.”
“It appears so.”
“Ahhh…….”
Everyone wore expressions of relief at the sight. And soon Baek Ho and the others approached and asked.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Are you all right?”
At that, Woo Ju nodded.
“Yes. There were some strange things inside, but I handled them all well.”
Even as he spoke, he couldn’t shake the thought that he might still be caught in an illusion, so he kept his suspicions sharp.
But no matter how carefully he examined everything, there was nothing particularly striking to notice this time.
Hwa Ryeon, who had been receiving treatment, was nowhere to be seen.
“That’s a relief. For now, let’s leave the cleanup here to the others and make our way to the exit.”
Seon Dam spoke gently and took the lead once more.
Part of him wanted to rest right there, but no matter how much the crisis had ended, that wasn’t an option.
There could still be other dangers lurking.
And so they walked slowly along the desolate path.
* * *
The suddenly erupted crisis was resolved faster than expected.
Less than a day had passed since Response Team 1 was deployed before the matter was concluded.
Moreover, with no one suffering serious injuries, everyone expressed amazement.
In contrast, the damage suffered by Response Team 2, which had been deployed earlier, was severe.
Most of those who’d exited early were cleared to recover and return to duty, but those who remained were not so fortunate.
Of them, only one had come back in relatively intact condition.
The rest were dead, or had been left in a state that demanded permanent retirement.
And this was despite the Inspection Bureau possessing medical resources far superior to what the general public could access.
So Response Team 1 could not wholly celebrate the operation’s resolution.
In that subdued atmosphere,
“What’s with all the gloomy faces?”
Hwa Ryeon returned.
Continued in the next chapter ▶
Urban Legends of Catastrophe-Class Relics and Their Obsessions
Author
Lee Se-gye
Publishers
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Publisher
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 distribution are prohibited, and violators may face civil and criminal liability.
※ 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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