Thump. Thump.
Her heart pounded rapidly.
‘She’s… nearly 190 centimeters tall?’
The moment Haeyoung saw the woman in front of her, she instinctively sensed danger. Some people thought of Haeyoung as nothing more than a bright and naive girl, but in reality, she was quite intelligent.
“Am I… pretty?”
The second time the woman asked the question, her tone seemed more pressing. As Haeyoung looked at her, she quickly realized that this woman was the very figure from the creepy tale told by the elderly innkeepers. Though the mask obscured most of her face, the creepy aura in her gaze was undeniable.
Thump. Thump.
What should she say? What was the right answer?
The three corpses she had seen earlier were likely the Japanese administrators. The black suits they wore and the small wooden pins pinned to their chests indicated that they were part of the Wood division.
If they had indeed been killed by this woman, it meant she was capable of taking down at least three Epsilon-class administrators—perhaps even a Delta-class among them. That would make her an even greater threat.
Haeyoung herself was an Epsilon-class administrator. Her actual combat capabilities were close to Delta level, but close wasn’t enough—she wasn’t there yet. Despite her potential, she was still considered a rookie.
‘What would Taeseong do in this situation…?’
Of course, Lee Taeseong was an returnee, so comparing herself to him was meaningless.
“Strange… You’re not mute, so why aren’t you answering? Is it because I’m ugly?”
Her voice grated like nails on a chalkboard. In her hand, she held a pair of scissors, stained with an unknown substance.
“I asked if I’m pretty!”
There was a murderous intent in her raised voice.
“…Pomade?”
The word slipped out of Haeyoung’s mouth unexpectedly.
It was a memory from her childhood. The Red Mask urban legend had gained cult popularity when she was in elementary school. The tale was so terrifying that it sparked various adaptations—Blue Mask, Yellow Mask—turning it into a “Power Rangers”-style urban myth.
Any child who had grown up in that era knew one supposed way to ward off the Red Mask: saying “Pomade.”
— “Haeyoung, if you ever meet the Red Mask, just yell ‘Pomade,’ okay?”
— “Pomade? What’s that?”
— “I don’t know, some foreign cosmetic. They say she hates the smell because she smelled it too much during surgery. So if you say it, she’ll run away!”
“Po… Pomade!”
“…?”
The Red Mask simply stared at Haeyoung. Her lower face was hidden by the mask, but from her eyes alone, she seemed quite beautiful.
‘Did… did it work?’
If the Red Mask was born from an urban legend, it stood to reason that her weakness might lie within the myth itself.
Then, suddenly—
“Pomade! Pomade! Pomade! Pomade! Pomade! Pomade!”
The woman tilted her head, mimicking Haeyoung with a curious expression.
“Is this how you do it?”
“…?”
“Why do all the young ones keep yelling ‘Pomade’ at me?”
It didn’t work. Worse, it seemed to irritate her even more.
‘Lee Youngsook! You liar! You told me it would work!’
But it was too late to regret trusting an old childhood friend.
“Oh, I get it now. It’s some kind of slang, right? You’re mocking me because I’m ugly, aren’t you?”
“N-No! That’s not it!”
“Then what is it?”
Cursing internally, Haeyoung quickly scrambled for an answer, her fingers tightening around the pendant hanging from her neck.
“It’s… It’s French! It means ‘your eyes are beautiful’ in French! I-I studied abroad in France for a long time, haha…”
Even she felt embarrassed by the ridiculous lie, but surprisingly, the Red Mask’s reaction wasn’t bad.
“Really? You’re saying my eyes are pretty?”
“Yes! They’re beautiful, like stars twinkling in the night sky.”
That part was half-true.
At that moment, the tall woman pulled down her mask and smiled widely.
“What about now? Am I still pretty?”
Finally, her full face was revealed.
The instant Haeyoung saw it, she realized the urban legend wasn’t exaggerated in the slightest. With the mask on, only the woman’s eyes were visible, but her entire face was grotesque beyond words.
Her mouth stretched from ear to ear, filled with rows of sharp teeth—easily more than fifty, far from any normal human anatomy. If Haeyoung were an ordinary person, she would have fainted on the spot.
“Am I pretty?”
“Uh… y-you look… normal?”
It was the best response she could muster in that moment.
“Really? Then I’ll make you look just like me!”
As soon as the words left her mouth, the Red Mask lunged forward, scissors aimed at Haeyoung’s face.
“You crazy woman!”
Haeyoung tore off her pendant, summoning her weapon—an axe—to block the attack.
Clang!
A sharp metallic sound rang out as Haeyoung was forced backward, leaving deep skid marks on the ground. Though she was known for having strength on par with Delta-class administrators, she could tell from just one clash—
‘She’s way stronger and faster than me.’
The pendant she wore was an item assigned to her by the Wood division, classified as a Delta-grade.
The equipment assigned to Haeyoung was classified even higher than her own Epsilon-grade rank. Moreover, this was just a temporary evaluation.
Normally, such exclusive gear was reserved for team leaders and above. However, exceptions like Haeyoung and Eunha existed—those who possessed personal equipment even before becoming administrators. Eunha’s brush had been brought over from the world she had once been possessed by, while Haeyoung’s axe was…
[Didn’t I keep telling you? You should’ve smashed that lunatic’s head the moment you had the chance! Now you’re losing ground because you’re not strong enough! If you don’t train consistently, you won’t be able to hold your stance in moments like this!]
“Ugh, stop nagging, you old geezer!”
The axe Haeyoung carried was an object imbued with the spirit of a self-proclaimed legendary Viking ruler, Ragnar Lothbrok.
Born with a natural spiritual aptitude, Haeyoung possessed a body highly suited for spirit descent (강신). Unfortunately, her curiosity as a child led her to touch a pendant at a shop, binding her to the Viking ghost. The pendant’s origin was unknown, but it had the ability to transform into any shape she desired.
[To reach Valhalla, we must die honorably in battle!]
“Then why haven’t you gone to Valhalla yourself, Grandpa?”
[If I knew the answer to that, I’d already be in Valhalla! Focus! Swing now!]
Whoosh!
She swung her axe in sync with the timing, but the force was insufficient. Sent flying, Haeyoung tumbled several times before crashing into a nearby tree.
“Ugh!”
The impact likely fractured three or four of her ribs. She spat out blood pooling in her mouth and struggled to get back on her feet.
Before she could fully assess her situation, the Red Mask’s metallic scissors were already flying toward her face.
[Girl! Let me take over your body for just 10 seconds. I’ll split that lunatic’s skull in half!]
To Haeyoung, spirit descent was an absolute last resort. It granted her immense power temporarily but at a steep cost. The backlash from hosting a spirit’s strength often led to physical collapse, and there was always the risk of losing control of her body to the spirit permanently.
Even though she had formed some level of trust with Ragnar over time…
‘Grandma warned me never to use spirit descent, no matter what.’
Her grandmother had emphasized the dangers it posed.
‘But what’s the point of keeping this promise if I die here? The axe grandpa said warriors go to Valhalla when they die in battle, but I don’t think getting killed by that ghost will take me there…’
Just as Haeyoung decided to invoke spirit descent, a deep voice interrupted.
“Po. Po. Po. Po.”
A towering woman, clad in a pure white dress, stepped in front of Haeyoung. Easily over two meters tall, she caught the scissors flying toward Haeyoung’s face with one hand.
“Ugly b****… always blocking my way…”
“Po. Po. Po. Po.”
While the Red Mask was already tall, this woman dwarfed her by at least three heads.
“You old hag… get out of my way.”
“Po. Po…”
The towering woman gestured behind her with a wave of her hand.
‘Is she telling me to run?’
Haeyoung wasn’t sure what was going on, but she wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.
“Th-Thank you!”
She sprinted toward the inn, her legs moving with every ounce of strength she had left.
The Red Mask, with monster-like reflexes, reached out just as Haeyoung dashed away. Had she been a fraction of a second slower, she would have been caught. Fortunately, the towering woman intervened just in time, allowing Haeyoung to escape safely.
Breathing heavily, Haeyoung didn’t stop running until her lungs burned, but the Red Mask’s screams still echoed in her ears.
Eunha woke up with a sudden jolt, glancing around the room.
‘…When did I fall asleep so deeply?’
It was still early morning. Dawn wouldn’t break for another hour or two.
‘Did Haeyoung go to the restroom?’
Noticing the empty spot next to her, Eunha frowned. Something felt off.
Normally, Eunha wasn’t a deep sleeper. Years of work stress had left her with chronic insomnia, making it nearly impossible for her to sleep soundly outside her own room. Yet today, she had fallen asleep without even realizing it.
‘This has never happened before…’
Maybe she had been too exhausted, or perhaps the outdoor bath earlier had relaxed her.
Whatever the reason, Eunha couldn’t ignore the unease. Instead of trying to fall back asleep, she decided to investigate.
‘Let’s check the men’s room first.’
With Haeyoung missing, it was important to account for everyone else.
Sliding the door open cautiously, Eunha walked down the corridor to the men’s room.
Creak.
What she saw left her speechless.
“….”
It was Yu Gi-jun who broke the silence.
“Oh… Deputy, you’re awake?”
Finally snapping out of her daze, Eunha asked, “Gi-jun, what… what is going on here?”
In front of her lay the elderly innkeepers, the owner of the inn they were staying at, bound tightly and unconscious.
