No Dark Secrets In This Book

Episode 132

“…Reconstructing the past into a scary story. Hmm. This is quite an exciting thing. Even I have never disclosed this secret even once. Now, where should I start? That I was once called by the name Jeong Ian?”

There is power in names. There is power in the names people call. Whether God decided it or people decided it, the only truth that doesn’t change is this one. That there is power in names.

“The point that I couldn’t decide that name myself, that’s right. I suppose I can wrap it up to that extent. Of course, many people can’t come up with their own names. That’s usually the case. It’s not to say that’s wrong either. It’s just that sometimes there are places where something strange happens. Perhaps it’s not the place. It might be that the person is strange…”

Cassice Demillang curved his violet eyes softly to a chilling degree. And he said,

“My name belongs to a dead person.”

At that moment, Cassice Demillang cut the tip of his finger. And a single drop of blood that he dropped swelled up like a huge dewdrop and filled the room of the mansion.

Of course, that’s not what actually happened. Both the goblin originating from folklore and Cassice Demillang knew that the ability Cassice Demillang demonstrated was simply magic that induced hallucinations.

The goblin just didn’t try to break the magic because it wanted to hear the story Cassice Demillang would tell. Therefore, the only human properly standing in this space where the cadets trapped in blood magic were flailing was Cassice Demillang.

Since the goblin is, after all, not a person but a being closer to a spirit or a divine beast.

“…..”

In the middle of the room where all the other flailing people fell asleep, Cassice Demillang casually spoke to the goblin.

“Your eyes are really unpleasant. Like a pervert.”

“Is there a problem?”

Right now, the goblin had eyes shining white like moonlight. As if the story Cassice Demillang was about to present gave off the aroma of premium Hanwoo beef, it was like a cat lifting its butt and purring in preparation for hunting. Is it because it’s happy to discover Cassice Demillang’s weakness for the first time? Or is it acting this way simply because tasting the story is that delightful? Well, it doesn’t matter either way. If it’s already licking its lips like this, it’s rather good. Cassice Demillang is ready to immerse you in this story. If you are ready to listen.

“Now let’s drown together. With me.”

“What…”

“Since I will reveal my truth for the first time, please enjoy it.”

Cassice Demillang snatched the goblin’s wrist. And he thoroughly soaked his and the goblin’s mind into the hallucination the goblin had been putting off entering. This time, the hallucination didn’t have a soft and squishy texture like slime or pudding. It was unpleasantly tangled and sticky like clay mud.

The goblin, who seemed unlikely to exist in this world with blue skin, furrowed its brows while scattering its purple hair. Then it widened its eyes. The hallucination the cadets and the goblin fell into was a movie theater. Sitting in the premium seat made of red velvet, the goblin took off its 3D glasses and looked back and forth. Among the cadets who fell into the hallucination, some were already crying.

‘What kind of production is this to show something?’

The goblin became not only intrigued but also creeped out. Without wearing the 3D glasses, the movie theater in the hallucination only projects a screen with black static and noise. That wasn’t very good. Either aesthetically or psychologically. So the goblin put on the glasses with great determination. Then the playback started from the first scene.

If there was one strange thing, it was that a young child was seen, but the child had black hair, not silver hair. He was kneeling and smiling brightly. But as soon as two adults approached near the child, suddenly noise appeared on the screen and the child’s expression stopped as if distorted. At the same time, a speech bubble appeared above his head like a comic panel, and the screen zoomed into it, playing a flashback of the past. Was the speaker broken? The sound was so loud that it hurt the ears.

The first thing that was heard was the sound of a shaman’s bells.

It seemed to be a scene of a shamanistic ritual. The 3D glasses provided by Cassice Demillang must have provided various hallucinations because even the fishy smell of chicken blood brushed the tip of the nose. Along with the sound of bells, incomprehensible incantations that sounded like a dialect continued endlessly. As soon as passing the folding screen with numerous yellow talismans, colorful five-colored cloths fluttered brilliantly before the eyes, and behind the main shaman, little girls were pounding on cowhide drums and janggu as if they were about to burst. The goblin swallowed its saliva at the somewhat bizarre atmosphere.

Despite such loud noises, the pregnant woman with a very swollen belly who was lying in the middle like a sacrifice was unconscious, and the person presumed to be her husband, trapped outside the door and unable to enter, was screaming at the top of his lungs as if it was desperate that he couldn’t come in. But even that sound was part of the ritual. At least these people thought so, to the extent that even the goblin could feel it.

The shaman, who had an intoxicated smile as if possessed, took off her shoes and walked on the blade. Heui-cha! The sharp butcher’s blade shone fiercely under her bare feet, not even socks. The god is coming, the god is coming. Coming from far away. There is a call, they say. Come quickly, come quickly. The god is coming. Heui-cha. The little girls sang and sang again. It was a song that had never been heard anywhere. It didn’t feel like any mana or inner force to be a spell. So the goblin thought it was a song.

‘…But this is Cassice Demillang’s trauma?’

It was unbelievable. No, it was even hard to think about. Cassice Demillang’s features were different from the black-haired boy seen earlier. Why is a person with a completely different face recalling this memory? No, more than that, for what reason is this happening?

Splash! Chicken blood poured over the pregnant woman’s full-term belly. It seemed that an old woman who came to assist had put it in a basin and poured it, and even the chicken’s neck that was in it spilled over the unconscious pregnant woman’s belly without fail. A few drops of blood splattered on the pregnant woman’s face. Seeing that sight, the little girls sang and played the drum, sang and played the janggu, and sang. What the fxxk… They seemed out of their minds. Everyone gathered here was like that. The goblin slowly began to suspect that it was the one experiencing the horror, not the cadets. But soon, all sounds ceased.

‘…?’

I thought the cut was over now and it would return to the previous scene with the kneeling boy, but it wasn’t. It was just that nothing happened because everyone was making no sound. It was an awkward silence as if someone had pressed the pause button. And that silence was broken the next moment by a fountain of blood gushing out from between the pregnant woman’s legs. Everyone turned their heads in unison in silence. At that moment, the wind blew and the talismans tangled in the candlelight began to burn. Strangely, the flames only devoured the talismans. The folding screen with glue applied on Korean paper was not damaged at all. The old woman hurriedly buried her hand in her skirt and wiped away the chicken blood, then pulled back the folding screen. There was an old man inside, and the old woman who bowed her head and approached him on her knees finally untied the blackout cloth covering the old man’s eyes and took out the red cloth and cotton that had been stuffed into his mouth and ears.

“The ritual?”

As soon as light entered his eyes, the old man with a dry impression frowned and asked about it first in a dry voice as soon as his mouth opened. The old woman repeatedly bowed her head as if apologetic, but unable to contain the corners of her mouth going up, she politely pointed to one spot with her hands clasped. There, the pregnant woman, spewing a fountain of blood from between her legs, was looking at the old man with desperate and admirable eyes and reaching out her hand as if asking for help. Was it a miscarriage? If not that, then?

“Hahaha!”

“Hahahahaha!”

It seemed like the baby was about to come out. Seeing that, everyone gathered here was laughing as if possessed. The pregnant woman, who tried to ask her father-in-law for help in the excruciating pain that seemed like she would die, turned pale and began to scream while trembling.

Even that sound was part of the laughter. And then everything faded to black…

“…Urgh!”

As soon as the goblin opened its eyes, it saw a shadow puppet show. A tall shadow holding something like a long stick lowered the stick over a small shadow and raised it. What was that? The moment it narrowed its eyes and tried to focus, another screen appeared next to the theater at the same time, and a sweet voice was heard.

“That’s Nab. Jeong Ian. The newborn born in chicken blood.”

The goblin widened its eyes. And it even felt fear at the clearly heard voice.

It was Cassice Demillang’s voice.