Taeseong, walking down the hallway, glanced at the ring on his finger.
“……”
To put it simply, the devouring had been a success. The ring on his index finger was proof of that.
Of course, he’d had to endure three hours of pain unlike anything he’d ever experienced before to obtain it.
Still, he had succeeded in acquiring the “Restraint.”
The ring on his index finger was something Taeseong had created himself. He figured a physical medium would be necessary to manipulate the restraint freely, so he decided to shape it into a ring, just like the original.
“I really almost died…”
He had felt Orochi’s regenerative ability reaching its limit and had barely managed to suppress the final explosion by squeezing out every last bit of energy in his body. Had he made even the slightest mistake in the process, he wouldn’t be walking around in one piece right now.
Taeseong now realized, more than ever, why Alpha-grade entities were classified as such.
“More than I expected…”
Still, he was satisfied.
The restraint he had placed on himself was simple.
Half of the power he possessed.
In other words, he sealed away 50% of his strength.
Taeseong lightly thrust his fist forward.
Boom!
With a sound that tore through the air, the entire hallway vibrated. He then tried drawing up his inner energy. Unlike usual, it felt blocked—tightened. The restraint was working perfectly.
‘My total usable power, including physical capabilities, has been reduced to exactly half.’
Unless he took the ring off, he would only be able to use half of his original power. Even so, Taeseong was confident he could still take on Beta-grade entities with ease.
That was partly due to how overwhelming his original power had been, but more than that, Taeseong’s understanding of martial combat had reached the level of mastery.
Though his physical power had been halved, his innate combat skills and intuition remained unchanged.
When it came to the concept of ‘battle’ or ‘killing,’ Taeseong continued to grow, even without the power of Devour. He had possessed this talent since his days in the military.
His record spoke for itself.
Step. Step.
Even now, he could feel the ring on his finger greedily draining his life force.
But that was fine—he could simply replenish it through devouring. As time went on, the power stored in the ring would increase exponentially, and Taeseong was fully confident that the restriction he had placed on himself would shine brightest in critical moments.
‘If I grow stronger, I might consider placing an even stricter restriction next time.’
The stricter the restriction conditions, the more power the ring would accumulate.
If he had sealed away 90% of his power instead of 50%, the ring would have gathered an incomparably greater amount of energy.
‘High risk, high return, indeed.’
It was like gambling.
You had to take great risks and bet big to win big.
Of course, Taeseong didn’t particularly like gambling.
Money should be earned honestly.
Taeseong pulled out his phone from his pocket and made a call.
—Hello?
“Choi Harin.”
—Yes, Team Leader.
“You knew I was a Sigma-grade, didn’t you?”
—……
“Answer me.”
—Yes. I’m sorry. I didn’t keep it from you on purpose. It was an order from above, so I had no choi—
Taeseong cut her off.
“Choi Harin.”
—…Yes.
“I won’t hold you accountable for everything that’s happened so far. I’m sure you had your own reasons.”
—…Thank you.
“But if you ever lie to me again, even a little…”
—……
“I’ll handle it in my own way.”
—……I understand.
With that, Taeseong ended the call.
The place Taeseong arrived at was Building G.
This was where Gamma-grade entities were kept in isolation. Originally, the entity Eight Footed Ghost had been classified as Delta, but she’d recently regained her strength and was upgraded to Gamma-grade.
Given that she was never just a lowly yokai but once a guardian deity of a village, it was understandable… but—
“She regained her power through the faith of the administrators? What the hell kind of bullshit is that?”
The report was absurd.
The administrators assigned to manage the Eight Footed Ghost hadn’t been doing their jobs. Instead, they’d become obsessed with her and even formed a fan club in the end.
Fortunately, she was classified as a protective-grade entity, so it didn’t pose a huge problem. But Taeseong still couldn’t wrap his head around it.
He shifted his gaze to the observation records at the bottom of the Eight Footed Ghost’s management report.
…
[Observation Log #012]
The Eight-Spanned Ghost is a god. I am her believer.
Her cuteness will save the world.
Ah! Hojokami forever! Long live the Eight Footed Ghost!
[Observation Log #014]
Hearing her story brought tears to my eyes.
I lost my mother at a young age and never truly experienced maternal love…
But through her, I finally understand what a mother’s love is.
From now on, I shall serve the Eight Footed Ghost as my mother!
I love you, Mother.
[Observation Log #016]
Those punks at the Japan branch!
You were going to eliminate such an adorable entity!?
That’s a national—no, global—loss!
This entity needs the highest level of protective measures!
If you disagree, I’ll consider you an Epsilon-grade administrator!
[Observation Log #022]
Po. Po. Po. Po. Po.
(Means: I love the Eight Footed Ghost.)
[Observation Log #023]
Po. Po. Po.
(Means: The Eight Footed Ghost is too cute.)
[Observation Log #042]
Hey. You f**king bastards.
Is this how you do your job? What team are you even from?
If you keep this up, I’ll report you to your team leader, I swea—
Po. Po. Po. Po.
(Means: The Eight Footed Ghost is the best.)
…
Taeseong folded the report and scowled.
“What the hell…”
They were complete fanatics.
Apparently, their fanatical love had been treated as a form of “faith,” allowing her to recover her lost divinity. The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. He let out a scoff.
As he walked down the hallway, the administrators greeted him politely.
“Ah, hello! Team Leader Lee Taeseong!”
“It’s an honor to meet you, Team Leader! Someday, I’d love to join your Zero Management Team. Oh—my name’s Kim Cheolmin!”
“Thank you for your hard work, Team Leader!”
Taeseong simply nodded in acknowledgment instead of responding.
Before long, he arrived in front of Isolation Room G-44.
Taeseong opened the door to the Isolation Room and stepped inside.
Whoooosh!
A cool breeze blew past him.
He stood still for a moment, taking in the breathtaking scenery before his eyes.
A vast green plain stretched endlessly into the horizon. Each time the wind blew, the tall blades of grass swayed in a gentle, soothing dance.
“I didn’t expect it to be like this.”
He hadn’t thought they would go to such lengths for a specimen from Japan.
In the distance stood a grand shrine—far more refined than the old, worn-down one he had seen in her memories.
Taeseong began walking toward it.
Step. Step.
“It’s been a while.”
The towering woman who had been sitting on the steps gazing at the sky jumped in surprise.
“Po-po-po!”
“It’s me.”
With her long black hair cascading down to her waist, her pale white skin, pure white dress, and wide-brimmed white hat, the woman was none other than the Hachishaku-sama (Eight-footed Ghost).
Once she realized it was Taeseong, she let out a breath of relief and placed a hand over her chest.
“Po… po…”
The reason she was so startled was simple.
Even with half his power sealed, the energy radiating from Taeseong was so intense that at first, she had mistaken him for a great yokai who had devoured an entire nation—not a mere administrator.
Taeseong sat down beside her on the steps.
“Have you been well?”
The Eight-footed Ghost beamed and nodded repeatedly. It was clear she was quite satisfied with her life here.
“That’s good to hear.”
“……”
Then, she suddenly fell silent.
Her expression uneasy, she struggled to open her mouth. Slowly, with visible effort, she began to speak, each word pronounced with painstaking care.
“Lee… Tae… Seong…”
Her pronunciation was clumsy, like that of a child just learning to speak, but it was obvious how hard she had worked to say those words.
Still smiling brightly, she looked into Taeseong’s eyes and continued.
“Tha…nk… you…”
Startled, Taeseong asked,
“You… learned to speak?”
The Hachishaku-sama nodded proudly, then took his hand and began tracing letters on his palm, just as she had when they first communicated.
Your sister.
Lee Sooah taught me.
She is kind.
You are kind too.
I wanted to say thank you.
I’m clumsy, but…
Just this once…
I wanted to say it properly with my own mouth.
You are my saviour.
Thank you.
Lee Taeseong.
“……”
Even Taeseong was taken aback this time. He hadn’t expected anything like this. She had learned to speak just to express her gratitude to him. And the one who taught her had been none other than his younger sister.
‘Was what I did really worth that much gratitude…?’
Taeseong looked over at her again.
Unlike their first encounter, she was now brimming with life. The energy she gave off was no longer that of a yokai—it was warm, almost divine, like that of a guardian deity.
‘Even the aura she emits feels completely different now.’
When their eyes met, the Eight-footed Ghost smiled brightly.
‘So this is why Sooah insisted I visit her…’
Taeseong spoke calmly.
“I’m glad to see you’re doing well. Are you uncomfortable in any way?”
“Po-po-po!”
No, not at all!
“Sorry I came late. I had a lot of things to take care of.”
“Po. Po. Po.”
It’s okay.
“I’m relieved you’ve adjusted well. I’ll come again soon. Until then, stay out of trouble.”
With that, Taeseong stood up.
At that moment—
The Eight-footed Ghost urgently grabbed the edge of his coat. Taeseong turned his head and asked,
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
She didn’t speak immediately. He noticed her pale white hand trembling slightly.
“It’s alright. You can tell me.”
Instead of leaving, Taeseong sat back down, waiting patiently for her to speak.
The Eight-footed Ghost slowly began tracing letters into his palm once more.
Don’t go.
“You’re telling me to stay here?”
She shook her head.
“Po-po.”
Life here…
Was very nice.
The managers here…
Were all kind.
And sweet.
“……”
But…
I came here because of you.
I chose this because I wanted to be near you.
I…
Lee Taeseong…
I want to be with you.
Please, take me with you.
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