Chapter 490

The fog flapped as it emitted a massive roar.

It blinked eyes so small they were almost invisible, resembling the enormous sound produced by a motorcycle illegally modified, and took flight dragging along legs bristling with sharp, thorn-like hairs. At its end was a spear small but capable of piercing even the most delicate of fabrics. Moreover, it possessed sharp teeth designed to tear into flesh and burrow inside.

Pest (害蟲).

A swarm of pests took to the sky.

Countless pests, appearing as if they were a thick, inky smoke, moved in a coordinated rush towards Lee Jae-soon.

To punish the foolish one who dared provoke him.

And to carry out the command given by his Master, to flourish, to thrive, and to prosper.

These insects were steadfast and driven purely by instinct.

Buaaang-!

“What is this now-!”

Lee Jae-soon fiercely resisted as the black fog tried to engulf him. He twisted his waist with all his might and thrashed his arms about fiercely.

Buooong-!

And that wasn’t enough; with all his effort, he began to wildly swing his arms in circles, attempting to keep the fog at bay, to ensure it wouldn’t advance any closer to him.

Buaaang-!

However, what approached him wasn’t ordinary fog. It wasn’t made of tiny droplets nor was it smoke that could be blown away with a puff of air.

These were pests.

A swarm of pests.

Creatures by no means stoppable by a mere fan breeze.

No, even if the breeze were stronger than a fan’s, preventing their advance would have been impossible. They approached him more densely packed than a swarm of locusts that could devastate an entire country when unleashed. Even if he tried to blow them away, these creatures could easily penetrate the wind.

Following their instincts, or perhaps the orders of Jinseong, they changed their movements and forms.

And that’s how they would penetrate.

That’s why Lee Jae-soon had no choice but to endure.

“Kuaaaak-!”

The black fog ignored his desperate resistance and clung to his body. It painted his whip-like arms black and adhered to every part of him left uncovered by clothing. Not content with that, it even ventured beneath his garments.

“Bu-ep, pheu-ep!”

Still, the pests were not satisfied. Due to their overwhelming numbers, even after they completely covered his body, they continued to seek any way to attach themselves to Lee Jae-soon.

And the way was through holes.

They were places a person inevitably possessed.

Nose holes.

Ear holes.

Mouth.

Though his eyes were tightly shut, making intrusions there difficult, the others were different. His nose was wide open—any pest could simply enter. His ears too were uncovered, so they posed no obstacle. His mouth, essential for breathing now that his nose was blocked, had to remain slightly ajar, allowing them passage.

Thus, the pests frantically tried to infiltrate Lee Jae-soon’s insides through every orifice. They would enter via the nostrils and throat to devour his internal organs from within. They would penetrate his ears, tearing his eardrums and burrowing onward. They’d gnaw at his skin with their mandibles in an effort to break through, and repeatedly inject their venom to suck his blood while laying eggs.

Prey.

Indeed, Lee Jae-soon was now nothing more than prey. He was being devoured alive by countless pests.

And yet for all that, he couldn’t even scream.

“Our ancestors said that fairies are bizarre and strange entities. They warned that those who get too close to them risk being enchanted,” his thoughts rang out.

Because the moment he opened his mouth to scream, numerous pests would surely invade, flooding in incomparably greater numbers to ravage his insides.

“Fairies play tricks without remorse. They drown people in water, swap newborns with their own offspring, and even abuse the ones they’ve taken. They may also entice men who lust after beautiful women into the dens of beasts.”

Thus, Lee Jae-soon silently screamed as he twisted his body, trying to rid himself of the pests pricking his skin.

With sheer determination to eject the horrifying bugs that dared to gnaw through his skin and invade him.

“Fairies have been known to transform pebbles or animal dung into precious objects to sell to merchants. They twist human legs backward and reshape heads into bizarre forms. They mimic demons to mock the pious and transform houses into their playgrounds, frightening and driving people away.”

Kwangdangtang!

But ridding himself of the pests proved difficult. They seemed to have embedded themselves halfway into his skin and showed no signs of falling off.

Moreover, even if he somehow managed to shake them loose, the swarm would simply fly back with a buzzing sound and cling to him again. Twisting his body was futile.

Thus, Lee Jae-soon chose to roll on the ground, attempting to crush the pests beneath his weight.

“Is that all? They kill livestock without reason, transform ferocious beasts into livestock to have their owners devoured, and even replace a man’s legs with those of a goat. They make goat or sheep sounds come from human throats. Sometimes, they mock the faithful by mimicking demons. They transform normal homes into their playgrounds by scaring people away. This is the wickedness of fairies.”

Kwajik.

Kwaddeok.

Perhaps because there were so many of them and they were sizable, every time Lee Jae-soon rolled on the ground, there was an incessant sound of something breaking. It sounded like stepping on plastic bags, or popping bubble wraps, even akin to the noise made from spilling snacks on the floor and dancing over them.

“The wickedness of fairies begins with enchantment. They lead people into confusion, unable to distinguish truth from falsehood, thus plunging them into peril. That is why humans must guard against fairies and remain perpetually vigilant. For to protect oneself, one must beware of all that rejects divine faith and leans towards wickedness.”

Kwajijik.

Kwaddeok.

Lee Jae-soon rolled and rolled on the ground.

His hair matted with madness, his now excessively long arms preventing him from using his hands properly, he used his forearms to scrub his face repeatedly in an effort to shake off the pests.

At the same time, his limbs convulsed with tremors, and he flailed and pounded them against the ground as though trying to shatter them.

Kwadak!

Kwajik!

Is the crunching sound that of the pests’ bodies bursting?

Or the sound of bones shattering as he thrashes about uncontrollably in despair, trying to rid himself of the pests clinging to him?

No one knows.

It remains unclear.

For Lee Jae-soon had already transformed into something grotesque. The sight of his elongated arms and twisted spine no longer resembled an average person.

“And when one imitates fairies, it remains consistent. For mimicking them reflects their essence. Like how a mirror doesn’t reflect reality itself, but an image thereof, imitating a fairy remains a copy, yet an uncannily close one.”

Thus, only Lee Jae-soon would know what exactly broke. The pain coursing through his body was the only indicator.

Yet the indicator remains too dark.

With his entire body blanketed by pitch-black pests, and the pain from both inside and out becoming unbearable,

Lee Jae-soon has no way of knowing what breaks.

“The moon reflected on the water’s surface is but a phantom. It exists and yet it does not, serving as an omen of reality while simultaneously proving its own nonexistence. A paradox. The mimicry of fairies, too, follows this same logic. It resembles them but is not them, appears real but remains an illusion, a fleeting dream that dissipates with the swipe of a hand or the change of position.”

Kwajik!

Kwajijik!

Bzzzzz—

Multiple sounds echoed in Lee Jae-soon’s ears.

Did several pests crawl out from his ears after he rolled over a few times?

Or is it a hallucination born from immense pain?

No one knows.

It remains unclear.

To Lee Jae-soon—this one wearing Lee Jae-soon’s face—it remains a mystery.

How did he come to this?

When he was so confidently pummeling that martial artist bare-handed, why has he fallen to this state?

He understands nothing.

“Smickling (스미클링). The contagion of experience, the superstition of shoes.”

He understands nothing.

Why.

Why…

Why?

“An illusion of the mind. An aberration of the brain. A dream seeping into a fractured spirit. Do you know what it signifies? Smickling represents not only infectious experiences but also the concept of contagion spread by others. Did you know that?”

“… Haa.”

Lee Jae-soon opened his tightly shut eyes. He hurled thick curses at the strange figure approaching him with a bizarre mask.

As if retching out excessive alcohol consumed.

To quell the turmoil inside with an act of vomiting.

“I don’t care, you old geezer (노인).”

Upon hearing this, Jinseong smirked.

“Then, young man, let me enlighten you now.”

Stretching his hand towards Lee Jae-soon, who was now a mass of insect carcasses, he whispered softly.

“You’ve been infected.”

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