Chapter 20

Chapter 20 – Manifestation of the Black Spirit Demonic Spear

What the hell? This is a Ghost Realm, so why am I hearing a girl’s voice?

I barely managed to open my eyes.

A young girl was looking down at me from above, wearing an expression that looked as though she was about to cry.

“You’re the reincarnation of Human Emperor Envoy Taebaek, right?!”

“Ah! You’re Aiz… Haha. Did I already die or something…?”

The owner of the voice was Aiz of the Seven Fairies—the girl I had planned to meet today.

“Yeah… apparently… I’m Taebaek’s final reincarnation…”

“Waaah! It’s Taebaek! Lord Taebaek! I missed you so much!”

Aiz suddenly threw herself into my arms and burst into tears.

“Argh! Hey! That hurts like hell! Get off me! And I told you, I’m not Taebaek!”

I had blocked Asaekgwi’s sword aura with my chest, leaving my bones shattered.

With Aiz suddenly jumping into my arms, it felt like I was going to die from the pain.

“I'm… I’m sorry. I was just so happy.”

—Human Emperor! This is perfect! Hurry and get up, then shout, “Mija! Come to me!” Hurry!

Arang suddenly shouted urgently inside my head.

Huh…? What the hell are you talking about…? I’m so weak I could die right now… Don’t mess with me.

—Just do what I tell you, you idiot! For once, listen to me in a situation like this!

Arang always tried to act refined and elegant.

If she was using words like that, I figured I should probably listen.

Well, I’m probably going to die anyway.

I might as well grant Arang’s wish before that happens.

I slowly dragged myself upright.

Asaekgwi was still twitching as though his fit had not completely stopped.

Then he suddenly looked in our direction.

Instead of murderous intent, his eyes strangely lit up with excitement.

And those eyes were not focused on me.

They were fixed on Aiz.

That bastard…

He must be happy because he thinks he can eat Aiz.

“Taebaek’s reincarnation, are you all right?”

Aiz supported my body and asked in a worried voice.

“Thanks to you, Aiz, I probably won’t die for the next few moments.”

Just as I expected, Asaekgwi did not fire another sword aura.

Instead, he slowly approached us while dragging his Demon Soul Blade across the floor.

He probably wanted to preserve Aiz’s body because she was both food and entertainment to him.

—Human Emperor, now shout what I told you.

Yeah, yeah. Fine…

I looked at Aiz and shouted.

“Mija! Come to me!”

“Huh?! How does Taebaek’s reincarnation know my True Name?! You shouldn’t know that yet!”

Aiz stared at me in shock.

“What? Mija is your name?”

Then Aiz’s body slowly began to change.

“Uuuugh… My name is Mija. I am Lord Taebaek’s Black Spirit Demonic Spear. But I hate the name Mija!”

The girl’s body shattered into countless pieces of black light.

Then those fragments gathered together again.

Before I knew it, a spear was resting in my hand.

Ancient characters were engraved along the shaft.

Its spearhead was long and razor-sharp.

Four cloud-shaped secondary blades protruded from the sides of the main blade like bolts of lightning.

A black ribbon was tied beneath the blade, fluttering through the air.

Elegant.

Dignified.

And filled with dark ghostly energy.

It was the weapon that only the Human Emperor could use.

The Black Spirit Demonic Spear.

“Aiz… was the Black Spirit Demonic Spear?”

—Yes. She is one of the Supreme Jade Emperor’s most treasured divine treasures and a humanoid weapon known as the Black Spirit Demonic Spear. She was created from the soul power of the Supreme Jade Emperor and his queen, Lady Seonhwa, together with your Black Spirit energy. In this entire world, only you, Human Emperor, can use her.

I see…

But who the hell gave her the name Mija?

She obviously hates it, so there’s no way she named herself.

—The Supreme Jade Emperor…

……

It seemed that whether it was Heaven or Hell, being insane was normal.

Apparently even the Supreme Jade Emperor was no exception.

Fine.

Let’s deal with Asaekgwi first.

I’m seriously exhausted right now…

I looked toward Asaekgwi.

The bastard had begun hesitating from the moment the Black Spirit Demonic Spear appeared.

Apparently, even he could sense the frightening ghostly energy flowing from the spear.

I raised the Black Spirit Demonic Spear and pointed it toward him.

“Black Spirit Demonic Spear Art, First Form!”

Black energy began swirling around the demonic spear.

The power of the Black Spirit slowly rotated around the weapon like a sharp drill.

“Soul-Severing Strike!”

I hurled the demonic spear toward Asaekgwi.

SHWAAAAK!

The spear became a black storm.

It flew toward Asaekgwi at a speed too fast for the eye to follow.

“KWEEEEEEK!”

The Black Spirit Demonic Spear spun violently and drilled straight through Asaekgwi’s body.

His flesh was torn apart and scattered everywhere by the force of the vortex.

BOOOOOOM!

The spinning spear passed straight through Asaekgwi before smashing into the wall behind him.

A huge hole appeared in the wall.

Stone dust and pieces of books exploded throughout the room.

SHWAAAK!

The Black Spirit Demonic Spear flew back through the hole and returned to my hand.

Asaekgwi had nearly beaten me to death.

And yet the Black Spirit Demonic Spear had killed him in a single attack.

Its power really was ridiculous.

“They said it had enough power to pierce even the heavens… Not bad… Ugh…”

I had used up every last bit of strength.

My legs gave out.

I collapsed onto the ground.

“Human Emperor! How are you feeling? Are you okay?”

Before I knew it, Aiz had transformed back from the spear into her human form.

She stared anxiously at my face.

“No. I feel like I’m dying…”

—Human Emperor, quickly use the Supreme Command Tablet of the Four Spirits to summon the Fallen Fairy Ganghae. This is a Ghost Realm rather than the mortal world, so you can summon beings other than Underworld Envoys here.

Why…?

Actually, never mind.

I’ll just do what you say.

After this battle, I had realized one important truth.

When Arang gave me an order, it was probably better to obey.

I summoned the Supreme Command Tablet of the Four Spirits onto my right palm.

Supreme Command Tablet.

Summon Fallen Fairy Ganghae.

The tablet began glowing in response to my command.

Sharararang.

A brilliant radiance suddenly appeared in front of me.

It looked almost like the manifestation of Bodhisattva Guanyin.

Within the light appeared a fairy wearing celestial robes.

“Oh! You’re Ganghae!”

Aiz immediately recognized the fairy who had appeared.

“My, Lady Mija. It has been a while. Hmm… Actually, it’s only been around two years since you left the Heavenly Palace, so I suppose it hasn’t been long at all. It was practically an instant.”

From my perspective, this fairy did not seem completely normal either.

Apparently, whether someone lived in Heaven or Hell, once they lived for too long, leaving the boundaries of normality actually became normal.

“Don’t call me Mija. Call me Aiz.”

“Hohoho. Why are you getting so worked up over something so small, Lady Mijaaaa?”

Ganghae did not seem frightened of Aiz despite the fact that she was the incarnation of the Black Spirit Demonic Spear.

“Ugh… Well, I suppose the only ones in Heaven who can call me Mija are Grandpa Jade Emperor and you…”

Surprisingly, Aiz gave up rather easily.

“But how did you get here?”

“That gentleman summoned me using the Supreme Command Tablet of the Four Spirits. Though Lady Arang had already told me beforehand that I would probably be summoned.”

Ganghae pointed toward me.

“Arang…? No wonder Taebaek’s reincarnation knew my True Name…”

Aiz finally looked like she understood everything.

“Hey… What are you two talking about… without me…? Ugh, I’m seriously dying here…”

I genuinely felt like I might stop breathing any second.

“My! So this gentleman is the famous Human Emperor Envoy’s final reincarnation?”

Ganghae approached me and examined my face.

“You’re badly injured… Does it hurt?”

“Can’t you tell just by looking? Ouch… Now it hurts even more because you mentioned it.”

Why would someone casually ask an injured person whether he was hurting?

I was starting to dislike this fairy.

SLAP!

“ARGH!—Huh?”

Without warning, Ganghae slapped me across the face.

But strangely…

It felt good.

SLAP! SLAP!

Ganghae continued slapping my cheeks.

“U-U-Uhhh!”

It felt amazing.

The more she hit me, the better I felt.

It went beyond feeling good.

I actually started feeling refreshed.

“Your face should be completely healed now, right?”

“What…? Huh? It really is.”

The swelling and injuries Asaekgwi had caused during our fight were completely gone.

My face felt perfectly normal.

“Now we should treat your neck.”

Ganghae smiled brightly.

SLAP! SLAP!

Then she started smacking my neck with her palms.

Waaah… This feels amazing.

“The bleeding and wounds on your neck are healed now… And all the bones in your chest are broken, right? May I hit you there?”

“Yes. Please hit me as much as you want!”

I finally understood.

This fairy was basically a healer who treated injuries by beating people.

I also understood why Aiz did not get angry even when Ganghae called her Mija.

“All right. Then I’ll begin the intensive treatment.”

Ganghae rolled up the sleeves of her celestial robes.

Then she sat directly on top of me with her large, soft hips.

A strange anticipation began rising inside me.

My excitement gauge was practically shooting beyond the red zone.

POW! POW! POW! POW!

“Uwah~! Uwah~! Uwaaaaaah~!”

Ganghae mercilessly punched my chest and abdomen.

But with every punch, I felt better.

It felt so incredible that I thought I was beginning to see paradise itself.

Ah…

So that’s why she’s called the Fallen Fairy.

The more she hits you, the better it feels.

And her name is Ganghae too…

“Phew… The treatment is complete.”

Ganghae wiped the sweat from her forehead.

I stood up and examined my body.

The injuries had disappeared as though they had never existed.

“Fairy Ganghae, thank you very much. You saved my life. From now on, I’ll dedicate this life you saved entirely to you.”

I used every bit of flattery I possessed.

Keeping this fairy close would probably make my entire life incredibly enjoyable.

“Hohoho. Hearing those words from the Human Emperor means I’ll finally be able to brag in front of the other fairies.”

“Even if you have to use my name, please use it as much as you want if it makes you happy.”

“Hohoho. Thank you, Human Emperor. Unfortunately, I cannot remain away from the Heavenly Realm for very long, so I must say goodbye now.”

“If possible, could I at least get your address or contact information…”

—That is quite enough. This is becoming embarrassing to watch.

Arang interrupted.

Please stop interfering with other people’s business, Lady Arang.

—……

“Ganghae, if you’re done, hurry up and leave.”

“My~ Lady Mija is jealous too. Don’t worry. I have to leave anyway.”

Ganghae gave Aiz a teasing smile.

“Human Emperor, would you like one final slap as a special service?”

“Yes! Please!”

SLAP!

“Uwaaaaaah~!”

My voice came out a little loud.

But that was because it felt so damn good.

With one final magnificent slap, Ganghae vanished.

She looked like the heroine of some old Hong Kong noir movie who shot the villain once and then disappeared dramatically.

“Taebaek, you’ve been talking with Arang this whole time, haven’t you?”

“Me, Taebaek, no. Hyunwoo, yes.”

“……”

Her name was Aiz, so for some reason I instinctively assumed she was a foreigner and accidentally answered in broken English.

Aiz stared at me strangely for several seconds.

“You feel very different from the Taebaek I remember.”

“Do you hate it?”

“No. Lord Taebaek was difficult to seduce because of Unnie Hwaryeong, but his reincarnation looks much easier, so I like it.”

“Aiz, you’re being way too direct. And I’m not that easy of a man. Wait…”

I froze.

“What did you just say?”

“What?”

—Chiiiiiiik…

A strange static sound appeared.

“Huh? Arang Unnie? Did you change the frequency? What? Yeah, yeah… Got it.”

Aiz seemed to be talking to Arang.

—Chiiiiik… I have now synchronized both of your frequencies, so from now on, all of us can communicate together.

Apparently, communication with the Underworld worked like a radio.

You only needed to adjust the frequency.

More importantly…

Those two had clearly just plotted something behind my back.

Aiz had definitely mentioned something that bothered me.

The problem was that my memory was nowhere near good enough to remember exactly what she had said.

—Anyway, Human Emperor, you worked very hard defeating Asaekgwi. Let us release the Ghost Realm and return to the mortal world.

Arang quickly urged me to leave the Ghost Realm, almost as if she was deliberately refusing to give me time to ask questions.

There was probably no point interrogating her in this situation anyway.

Fine.

And Arang, seriously… thanks for everything this time.

I honestly thought I was going to die.

—Rather than me, you should thank Mija and Ganghae. I barely did anything.

Arang Unnie! You too! Stop calling me Mija! Call me Aiz!

Since Aiz had joined the conversation, it seemed our frequencies really had synchronized properly.

—Hohoho. This humble consort, Hwang Jinhee, greets the Human Emperor for the first time.

Huh? You’re Hwang Jinhee?

Apparently, now that Aiz’s frequency had been synchronized, I could also communicate with Hwang Jinhee, the spirit who was possessing Aiz’s body.

Ahem. Jinhee, from now on, don’t come out without my permission. Understand?

—Yes, Unnie…

That short exchange was enough for me to understand the relationship between Aiz and Hwang Jinhee.

All right.

Should we release the Ghost Realm now?

I had finally defeated Asaekgwi, my destined nemesis.

All I wanted now was to return to the mortal world, collapse onto my bed, and sleep.

Release Ghost Realm.

“Human Emperor, wait. Bring your ear closer for a moment.”

Just then, Aiz spoke while slightly blushing.

I wondered if she was finally going to tell me what I had failed to hear earlier, so I leaned my face toward her.

At the same time, the black curtain surrounding the Ghost Realm slowly began to disappear.

Huh…?!

Along with the sweet warmth of a young girl’s breath—

Aiz kissed me on the cheek.