‘… … I think we’re almost at the mineral spring.’
I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it.
The overwhelming power of water felt in the dry air.
‘I thought it wasn’t ordinary water since it could grow such flowers.’
But I didn’t expect to feel the magic even at this distance.
Seo Kang-rim looked in the direction where he felt the magic.
Inside a forest filled with countless trees.
The destination was right in front of him, but he couldn’t move easily.
‘There are more demons around here.’
The forest he was looking at was moving.
It wasn’t just the leaves swaying in the wind, it was the trees that were really walking.
All the things I thought were trees were actually demons in the form of trees.
‘If what you said earlier is true, then there’s a high chance that the clown group is in the Gwangcheon Pond area.’
Although the gnashing teeth were useful in many ways, the downside was that they made a lot of noise.
If the clown heard the sound and came, it was obvious that it would be a nuisance in many ways.
Even if you use a hermit, there’s no guarantee that you’ll stay undetected for a long time.
‘I can’t help it. I didn’t really want to eat this.’
Seo Kang-rim took something out of his pocket.
It’s a severed finger of a wooden man.
He bit into it without hesitation.
* * *
An eerie sound was coming from around.
It was the sound of the wind blowing past the skinny arms of the shepherds, and the cries of the demons.
Seo Kang-rim was slowly moving forward at the same pace as them.
-Strange… … .
As they turned into wooden figures, they just walked without even looking at Seo Kang-rim.
Instead, we aimed for something else.
-Kuaaaak!
A horse-shaped demon with protruding fangs was struggling.
He was spitting out rough words along with blood.
The woodcutter grabbed the beast by the neck and quickly snapped it.
-Ugh!
Then, picking up the dead demon, he started walking again.
The other shepherds were also hunting whenever they saw animal-shaped demons.
Seo Kang-rim also caught a demon and slung it over his shoulder so as not to look suspicious.
‘Are the demons trying to eat each other?’
But no one ever put their mouths on the corpse.
Seo Kang-rim quietly followed the men in while observing his surroundings.
‘The atmosphere here is definitely different. Is this because of the mineral spring?’
From the moment I entered the forest, the surrounding scenery had a distinctly different color.
Strange, nameless yin plants.
Trees of a burnt-out color.
Meanwhile, only the wooden people were walking as if possessed by something.
Like a believer offering a sacrifice to a god.
-Kuung, kuung… … .
At that moment, when the magic of the water was growing stronger, I saw the water sparkling in the distance.
An extraordinary magical power and turbid energy flowed from the small pond.
“Ah, you’re finally here.”
And in the midst of that heterogeneous landscape, someone was standing.
Clown.
It was impossible to tell who he was because his face was covered by a mask.
He was sitting comfortably near the spring as if he were on a picnic.
Even when the demons rushed towards him, he showed no sign of fear.
‘The demons aren’t attacking… Is it the influence of a supernatural ability?’
Although the four pillars of destiny are not visible, it seems that he may have some ability or item that allows him to control demons.
Otherwise, there would be no way that so many demons would remain calm when seeing humans.
But there was one strange thing.
‘How can you control so many numbers?’
There are dozens of wooden figures surrounding us now.
To control this many demons, a large amount of magical power would be needed.
‘Is the clown in front of me really that skilled?’
Then suddenly, the clown’s arm caught my eye.
He had an IV drip in his arm, as if he were a patient.
The ringer was connected to a complex device, which was connected to the mineral pond.
‘I never thought I’d be injected with mineral water into my body.’
That water would have been more than enough to make up for the lack of magical power.
But if it were Seo Kang-rim, he wouldn’t have consumed that water.
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That would be the case, because the turbid air felt from the mineral spring was unusual.
[The mineral spring is being polluted!]
[Contamination level: 72%]
“Haa, I wonder when I’ll be able to return. The flower garden in Seocheon is really tough.”
The clown said this and got up from his seat.
At the same time, the demons began to put down the corpses they were carrying near the pond.
The clown pulled out a sharp dagger as if he was annoyed.
“I need to hurry up and take care of this. I hope this will be enough.”
-Phew!
As I stabbed the sword into the demon’s neck, blood gushed out in an instant.
Blood flowed into the mineral spring.
The water, which would have been clear at first, was dyed red because it was mixed with so much blood.
That’s why all the flowers died when they were just watered.
‘If we just deal with that clown, the pollution of the mineral spring will stop… … .’
But Seo Kang-rim had no time to worry about Gwangcheon Pond right now.
There was something behind the clown.
It was like a fetus surrounded by a membrane, a giant egg whose outer layer had melted away.
It was rooted in the mineral pond and sending down water pipes.
Seo Kang-rim felt an unbearable urge to swear as he looked at it.
It was because of the gloomy atmosphere and oppressive feeling felt there.
═══════════════
[Name] ???’s egg
[Rating] ???
[Description] If you hold it for a certain amount of time, it will hatch. The form will change depending on what kind of food you feed it. It is still unknown what will come out.
═══════════════
It was an unknown egg.
The egg from which Liny was born.
But it was completely different from what Seo Kang-rim had.
‘Why did it become so deformed? It hasn’t even hatched yet.’
First of all, the size was different.
The original unknown egg was the size of a chicken egg, but the egg there now was the size of a large truck.
Also, the influence of the killing that flowed out from there was terrifying.
‘It is impossible for something that has not even been born yet to harbor such an ugly aura.’
I had a rough idea of what to feed the unknown eggs so that they would hatch.
But what about an unknown egg that has absorbed polluted mineral water?
There is only one thing to know.
‘Something more evil than I expected will be born.’
Just the magical power of the mineral water would have given birth to something stronger than Liny.
But what if that magic power is contaminated?
‘We can’t let it get any more polluted than this. And we have to prevent the unknown eggs from consuming the mineral water.’
While the water pipes are shaking, the unknown eggs are absorbing the mineral water.
The clown spoke in a satisfied voice.
“It won’t be long before it hatches. I’ll be able to go back soon. I think it might need a little more blood… … .”
The clown stared intently at the pond.
Although it had turned red, it had not lost its characteristic shine.
He said rudely.
“Go and catch some more demons. We need more blood.”
After receiving the instructions, the shepherds began to move again.
Seo Kang-rim was also trying to act in the midst of the movement when he saw the men who arrived late carrying a corpse.
No, they weren’t all dead bodies.
“Hey, let go of this! Right now!”
The voice that seemed to be piercing belonged to the boy from Seocheon whom I had just met.
The two boys from Seocheon were both being held captive by a shepherd.
The clown said as if he was glad to see that sight.
“Oh, are you the Seocheon boys?”
The shepherds threw down the children they were carrying as if they were luggage.
The Seocheon boys, whose faces were buried in the mud, hurriedly raised their heads.
Then he saw the clown and screamed.
“You bastard… …! You polluted the mineral spring!”
“Wasn’t it you who broke in and took the Flower of Destruction a while ago?”
At those words, the clown stared at them quietly.
The Seocheon boys were startled by his gaze as he shouted at the top of his lungs.
An ominous glare was leaking out through the eye holes of the mask.
“Yeah. I took it. It was a bit difficult to get it.”
The clown took something out of the water.
It is a single flower kept in a transparent glass ball.
It was a flower with petals as black as pitch.
“It’s just a shame that we had to destroy the lab when we infiltrated.”
“How dare a human… … !”
“Anyway, I’m glad you came.”
The clown approached quickly and grabbed the boy Seocheon by the hair.
With a sharp dagger in one hand.
“Humans are more efficient than demons at polluting the mineral springs. Oh, you guys aren’t exactly human. But you’ll be helpful anyway.”
The dagger was still soaked with the blood of the demons that had not yet dried.
When Seocheon Dongja saw that, his face turned pale and he started to struggle.
Despite that appearance, the clown’s voice was just leisurely.
“Then first of all, your blood… …!”
A sharp dagger touched the neck of the boy Seocheon.
A drop of blood flowed out through the thin skin.
The blood vessels in the egg were writhing, as if they had smelled blood.
At the moment when the clown was about to draw his dagger without hesitation.
-Bang!
Just before the attack came, the clown hurriedly jumped up from his spot.
After stepping back and ensuring safety, the clown frowned as he confirmed who had attacked him.
“Huh? Why are you doing that?”
It was one of the men who attacked him.
The spot where the clown had just been was now hollowed out, as if a bomb had been dropped.
And the boy Seocheon was nowhere to be seen.
“Why, why is the devil doing this to us… …?!”
The boy Seocheon was held in both hands of the wooden man.
The Seocheon boys also looked bewildered by the sudden appearance of the devil.
The wooden man threw the children he was holding behind him and stepped forward.
“What, is the power released? This is annoying. If only those two were here, we could have polluted the mineral spring pond faster… … .”
The clown said with regret.
Then he looked at the wooden man while swinging the dagger he was holding in his hand.
“Hmm. But looking at the fact that you saved the children of Seocheon, it doesn’t seem like your powers were released or anything. Is that the guy sent by the Flower Sense Officer?”
After catching the dagger that was spinning in the air, the corners of the clown’s mouth went up.
“It would be better if it wasn’t a real demon. If it were three people’s worth of blood, the pond would become even more murky, right?”
