The Calamity-Class Artifacts in Ghost Stories Are Obsessed with Me - Chapter 80

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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 Catastrophe-Class Relics: Chapter 80
At the name Shutendoji, Woo Ju recalled the briefing he’d heard before departure.
Shutendoji—in Korea, it was more commonly known by the Sino-Japanese reading as Shutendoji, the same name rendered in different characters.
Literally translated, it meant “sake-drinking youth,” and it was a youkai known as the commander of the Oni.
“According to legend, Shutendoji is a youkai that has its base on Mount Oeyama, in the vicinity of Kyoto.”
Shinichi continued his explanation in a measured voice.
“It seems there were several instances of significant damage in the distant past, but it has been relatively well managed by combining it with mountain god worship.”
In Japan, it was common practice to manage powerful youkai by making them objects of faith.
By venerating as divine those mysterious beings that harbored vague hostility toward humanity, they drew favor from them instead of outright fear.
It wasn’t such an unusual case.
Even in Korea, there was the tradition of deifying tigers as mountain lords and enshrining them as mountain gods.
Transforming a potentially hostile entity from an object of fear into one of reverence.
It was one of humanity’s oldest methods of dealing with something stronger than itself.
“However, Shutendoji’s sealing was recently broken.”
At that point, Shinichi’s expression darkened slightly.
“As a result, considerable damage has occurred. Currently, the area around Mount Oeyama remains completely off-limits.”
Woo Ju and Hwa Ryeon listened in silence.
They hadn’t heard the exact extent of the damage caused by the Shutendoji incident on the Japanese side, but they had heard that it was quite severe.
There was also talk that if measures hadn’t been taken quickly, the damage would have been several times worse.
“Still, Shutendoji’s sealing itself is proceeding smoothly. The issue is the traces that were discovered in the process.”
Shinichi continued.
“At first, I wondered if it might be the same person who assisted with Tatarikami, but when I cross-referenced it with information from Korea, it seems likely that’s not the case. And the timing with the Korean incident is nearly identical.”
“Yes. And it seems the probability of the two being the same person is also quite low.”
The implication was simple.
There was someone with power similar to the one who had been Tatarikami’s accomplice. Two of them, even.
Of course, this was still only at the stage of suspicion.
“So, examining the remaining traces would be the first priority, and the second would be accompanying Shutendoji’s sealing site as requested earlier.”
“That’s correct.”
In fact, the Japanese Inspection Bureau’s request had weighted the latter more heavily.
Because the damage from Shutendoji had been so severe, they had decided to invite Woo Ju, who had shown an impressive display of martial prowess.
It wasn’t common to request assistance from other branches, but if a problem arose, the potential damage made it no time to stand on pride.
After that, Shinichi continued with various explanations, and Hwa Ryeon interjected with occasional questions.
“We’re almost there now.”
When some time had passed in this manner, Shinichi spoke.
Outside the window, tall buildings had appeared in abundance, and numerous people could be seen walking along the streets.
Only after seeing that landscape did Woo Ju truly feel that he had arrived in Japan.
It was his first business trip of note.
* * *
After arriving at the Osaka branch of the Japanese Inspection Bureau, he had to move about busily with Hwa Ryeon.
They examined the traces that had been discovered and shared some of the materials from the Korean Branch that Hwa Ryeon had brought.
He also had brief conversations with the field agents.
Though the incident had begun in Japan, in the current situation it represented a threat to both Japan and Korea.
Tatarikami had come from Japan, but the Baek Geuk Moo Hee Yeong Saeng Gyo incident had proven that Korea was not safe either.
Most problematically, they still hadn’t pinpointed the exact culprit.
All they had discerned at this point was a possible connection to whoever had been manipulating Tatarikami.
Neither Korea nor Japan had yet determined the exact nature of that relationship.
That was why Woo Ju and Hwa Ryeon had come this far together.
“Now I’ll show you to your accommodation.”
They were shown to the lodging early in the evening.
The accommodation they were led to was a hotel not far from the branch building.
“Hm.”
Woo Ju let out a low exclamation upon seeing the building.
It was a luxury hotel the old him wouldn’t have even glanced at.
“I hope you’ll be comfortable during your stay. If you need to settle any bills, including meals, you can use this card.”
Moreover, Shinichi handed each of them a card and a rather generous cash envelope besides.
Even this wasn’t included in the special compensation—it was purely activity funds.
After seeing them off to the hotel entrance, Shinichi withdrew.
“Let’s just get some proper rest tonight. We’ll each handle our own meals.”
“Yes, understood.”
The two rode the elevator up together, then dispersed to their respective rooms.
“Hmm.”
Once he’d reached the room and set down his luggage, Woo Ju checked the time.
“It’s awkward timing.”
It was five o’clock.
He’d eaten lunch around one, so eating now felt premature. But if he lay down to rest, he’d probably fall straight asleep.
‘Might as well go out.’
Since he hadn’t decided what to eat anyway, Woo Ju resolved to go out, look around, and duck into whatever caught his eye.
He organized his luggage to one side and left the room again immediately.
The accommodation was near Umeda Station in Osaka, and there were far more people than he’d expected.
‘Everyone looks busy.’
Woo Ju walked with his hands in his pockets, observing the crowds and scenery passing by.
It wasn’t quite rush hour, but there were plenty of salarymen in suits and students in school uniforms.
And quite a few tourists as well.
‘Should I try heading that way?’
Without any particular destination, Woo Ju simply walked wherever his feet took him.
He didn’t make a habit of seeking out Japanese cuisine, but he wasn’t picky either—he figured he’d just walk in somewhere if anything caught his attention.
He walked like that for quite some time.
“Huh?”
Suddenly the crowd on the street thinned out drastically.
He’d been following along without much thought behind the people ahead of him, but when he came to his senses, they’d vanished without a trace.
There were still a few people visible, but strangely, their complexions all looked pale.
Their eyes seemed unfocused too.
Woo Ju scratched his chin.
“Hmm.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he pulled out his phone.
In situations like this, checking the map on his phone was fastest.
“…?”
But the map app wouldn’t load.
Or rather, it loaded but wouldn’t show his location.
He tried turning on the internet just to be sure, but it wouldn’t connect.
He had no signal at all.
“Hm.”
This felt familiar somehow.
As he thought about why it seemed familiar, something came to mind.
‘Gwimun Street?’
Back there, his phone and internet had stopped working just like this.
‘I must’ve taken a wrong turn.’
He’d just thoughtlessly followed the people ahead and somehow ended up on the wrong path.
Or else, those people might not have been people at all.
After a brief moment of consideration, Woo Ju spotted someone passing nearby and called out.
“Excuse me.”
A middle-aged man who looked like an office worker didn’t turn his head even as Woo Ju called, just stumbled forward with a vacant gait.
But Woo Ju paid it no mind and tried speaking to others.
“Hello? Hello?”
Still, no one answered.
Either they couldn’t hear his voice, or they simply walked on regardless.
‘Are they all not human?’
Or perhaps they were all already under some kind of spell.
“Hmm.”
Woo Ju deliberated again.
If this place operated by rules similar to Gwimun Street, going forward was out of the question.
‘Should I retrace my steps?’
Since he knew nothing about this place yet, Woo Ju decided to search for an exit the way he had on Gwimun Street.
The way to escape Gwimun Street was simple.
You retraced your steps and returned the way you came, and you’d naturally find your way back to the street.
“It’s not working.”
But even after thirty minutes, Woo Ju hadn’t managed to escape this place.
To be precise, no matter how far he walked, the moment he came to his senses, he was back at the same spot where he’d started.
He was circling the same area endlessly.
“This approach isn’t going to work.”
It seemed he’d have to find another way.
So Woo Ju decided to try the method he knew best.
Woo Ju reached naturally toward the empty air.
Thunk!
A solid sensation filled his palm. The Iron Pipe had materialized.
No exit? Then he’d make one.
Woo Ju found a suitable spot and immediately hefted the Iron Pipe.
But just as he was about to bring it down—
“Wait, please!”
A voice called out.
Woo Ju froze mid-swing and turned. There stood a person wearing a large backpack.
Brown hair cut short, round glasses perched on their face—and that person hurried toward Woo Ju with alarm in their voice.
“You can’t destroy the property here!”
“Hm? Why not?”
“Why? Well, because—”
The person faltered at the question, then rushed to add more.
“If you break something, they’ll swarm!”
“They?”
Seeing Woo Ju still didn’t understand, the other person suddenly seemed to grasp something and looked at him closely.
“You haven’t been here long, have you?”
“Eh? Well, no. Why?”
“I thought you’d been here for days with how calmly you’re acting!”
Woo Ju listened to this and tilted his head curiously.
“And you seem quite accustomed to this place?”
“Yes. It’s been over a month for me.”
The other person spoke with a bitter expression.
“I still haven’t found a way out.”
“A month, then.”
Woo Ju looked the person over from head to toe.
Certainly they looked worn down. But they didn’t appear to be someone who’d been wandering through a place like Gwimun Street for a month.
Their clothes seemed relatively intact, and they didn’t look like someone who hadn’t bathed in ages.
But the other person didn’t catch the implication in his gaze and spoke to him instead.
“Come on, follow me. Since you just arrived, I’ll explain what’s going on.”
“You’re quite kind.”
“I’ve never met someone I could actually have a conversation with before. Honestly, when I saw you about to swing that Iron Pipe, I thought you’d completely lost your mind.”
The other person said this while glancing at the Iron Pipe still in Woo Ju’s hand.
Of course, Woo Ju paid no attention to such looks and asked instead.
“So what is this place?”
“Hmm. You already know it’s not a normal place, right? Phones don’t work. Internet doesn’t work.”
“Yes.”
“This place is… well, it’s known as Shisseki Street.”
“Shisseki Street?”
“Yes.”
The person nodded, then hesitated before continuing.
“People have been disappearing frequently in this area.”
“So that’s why it’s called Shisseki?”
“Well, that’s—”
After hesitating a moment, she spoke again.
“There’s one more rumor that circulates.”
“What’s that?”
“This place is…”
She sighed deeply and looked at Woo Ju.
“A place where those harboring a wish to disappear somewhere end up, or so they say.”
Continued in next chapter ▶
Urban Legends and Catastrophe-Class Relics Obsess
Author
Isekai Shachou
Publisher
Kim Seok-hwan, Choi Se-ra
Published by
Pentagraph Publishing
Inquiry Email
[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, and violation of these terms may result in criminal and civil liability.
※ Pentagraph 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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