Godsent Top Star [EN]: Chapter 80

Releasing the Curse (1)

080. Releasing the Curse (1)

2022.01.19.

That makes sense. “Instead of being connected to the main body, they set up a proxy to take the hits…” This is a curse trying to devour a person completely. Since it’s no ordinary curse, there’s a good chance they prepared for it. “So, this isn’t tangled in all directions, but each one might be connected to a proxy?” [That’s right!] “Okay. Then, we have no choice but to search them one by one.” After that, it was smooth sailing. Now that they knew the threads weren’t tangled but connected individually, there was no reason to wander around. There was no need to rack their brains trying to unravel it; they just had to follow each one tenaciously. And.

“I’m afraid you can’t just enter the chairman’s office without permission…”

“Let him in,” Woo Do-gyeom said in a low voice, stopping the secretary who was trying to block him. In the meantime, Yeon-woo nonchalantly burst into the room. Even inside the company building, the room felt desolate and bleak. Without even looking around, Yeon-woo’s steps headed towards one place. “Is this important?” Yeon-woo held up a framed photo. It showed a younger-looking Woo Do-gyeom and a man who resembled him slightly, along with a stern-looking middle-aged man. “Not at all.”

“It might get damaged.”

“I don’t care. I’d welcome it, actually.”

“It looks like a family photo, though?”

“So what if it is?”

“Yes, well…” Well, family histories vary. Yeon-woo didn’t think much of it and picked up the frame. An ominous energy was abnormally concentrated there. He felt a cloying, slimy, and unpleasant sensation. One thread of the curse was drawn out from that sticky, cloying mass of malice. Resolving it was simple. Clang! He just had to throw the frame down and break it without hesitation. A bizarre thing happened then. Squeak- A strange noise, and, “Eek! Dad! Blood!” “The frame is bleeding!” The broken frame was stained with blood. Strangely, the stain cleverly avoided Woo Do-gyeom’s face in the photo, covering his brother’s face instead. Woo Do-gyeom picked up the broken frame and muttered, “How curious.”

“Turn it over and open the back. There’s definitely something inside.” Woo Do-gyeom silently opened the back of the frame. Where there should have only been the back of the stained photo, there were small, curved pieces. “Fingernails. Charred black.” More than ten blackened fingernail fragments were inside. “Is this the end?” “No.” [Yeon-woo! I found another one!] Just then, Dongja-ryeong flapped his wings and flew over. It was the moment he found another proxy.

***

Finding the proxies proceeded quite quickly. The reason was simple. [Why are they all inside the house? It’s a relief for us, but… it’s strange, you know. Usually, they don’t put them in such easily discoverable places.] He didn’t have to wander far and wide to find the proxies. [It would have been really hard to find if they had hidden them deep in a safe place. Whoever it is, they’re a real piece of work, right?] Holding the last proxy, a teddy bear, Yeon-woo muttered, “That’s true, but this is a really nasty guy.” Whoever it is, they’re more thorough than he thought. And more low-class and vile than he thought. Placing proxies in the target’s own house, of all places? That’s the same as saying this: [Wander around in a daze without knowing the solution is right in front of you, and meet a painful death.] ‘Whoever it is, they have a terrible sense of humor.’ The twins, seeing the doll Yeon-woo was holding, exclaimed. Thanks to destroying the first proxy, they were now clearly visible up to their shoulders, unlike before. They had neat features resembling Woo Do-gyeom, promising a bright future. “Oh? That’s my doll!” “We got that teddy bear as a birthday present!” There was no need to tell them that the teddy bear was filled with chicken feathers matted with dried blood. “You destroyed the first one right away, but why are you just collecting the rest?” “They’re unlucky.” “……Huh?” “Having them displayed like this is unlucky, so I wanted to find them all first and then think about it.” “So, now that you’ve found them all?” “I wonder.” Seeing the smile on Yeon-woo’s face, Woo Do-gyeom curved his eyes. “I don’t know what it is, but I like that expression.” It was definitely true that proxies were set up as substitutes to reduce the backlash against the curse caster. He probably dealt some damage to the opponent by breaking the first frame. In that case. If he were to eliminate all these proxies at once. ‘I wonder how much backlash would return?’ Wouldn’t it be more effective to drop a bomb in one lump sum than to pay in installments? ‘Let’s see.’ A crooked smile appeared on Yeon-woo’s lips. *** [I know what you’re thinking, but shouldn’t you reconsider, Yeon-woo? Isn’t it better to eliminate them one by one? It might be dangerous to touch them all at once.] The number of proxies Yeon-woo found was nine in total. He destroyed one as soon as he found it, so there were eight left. It was a number that Dongja-ryeong was worried about. [Detonating eight of them at the same time is too dangerous!] It would be dangerous. ‘For the person who cast the curse, that is.’ Yeon-woo shrugged his shoulders. [Isn’t the reason Yeon-hwa doesn’t get involved with curses recklessly! Does he really not know anything, so he’s so brave?] If he wasn’t someone who reacted to Dongja-ryeong’s nagging. Yeon-woo’s plan would have proceeded more smoothly. “Is it that dangerous, Dongja-ssi?” Kwon Seong-hyeon, who had been forcibly separated because he was an outsider while Yeon-woo freely roamed around the large house, approached and examined the proxies after they were all gathered and brought out. He stiffened his face upon hearing Dongja-ryeong’s words. “It’s just cutting off the connection, so it probably won’t be that dangerous…” He could have made a great excuse if the talkative sparrow hadn’t chimed in. But. [Ah, of course! An ordinary person would have already collapsed from exhaustion with just one, but Yeon-woo is fine because it’s him.] “Then, of course, we have to stop him.” [Actor-nim, please stop him! He never listens to me.] “Yeon-woo-ssi.”

“Yes. I’m going to do it.”

“I haven’t said anything yet.”

“I know. I’m going to do it anyway. A person doesn’t go back on their word. We have to be professional.” Hmm. Something pricks at him. But it’s not a complete lie. He was bothered by the fact that young children were being cursed, but. Also, there was one more thing that bothered Yeon-woo. It was this [‘Intent Identification’ is not possible for the target.] system message. And, [There is a new feature available.] He was also curious about this. ‘It seems like something is about to be upgraded.’ It was too late to back out now. So, it would be more profitable to finish everything and take the sweet fruit. “You weren’t thinking of handing over a finished meal to someone else, were you?”

“……Did you learn mind reading?”

“You don’t need mind reading to read that.”

“I shouldn’t be that easy to read……” Kwon Seong-hyeon swept his face with a troubled look, as if his mouth was blocked because he was about to advise him to handle the rest on his own after helping this much. In the meantime. Woo Do-gyeom, who was standing behind the subordinates diligently examining the gathered proxies, approached Yeon-woo. “I’ve found all the evidence. I’ll leave the rest to you.”

“Can we start now?”

“Yes.”

“Please bring me some salt and a knife.”

“Salt is one thing… but a knife?”

“Well, the sharper the better. The better if it’s been in contact with blood.”

“I’ll prepare it right away.” As Woo Do-gyeom said, the requested items were prepared immediately. The salt was even sun-dried sea salt, and what was impressive was none other than the prepared knife. “Why? Is it not good enough?”

“……No. The problem is that it’s too good.” The blue aura gleaming from it was no ordinary thing. “You recognize a good thing? It’s a knife that someone who worked as my right-hand man used for a long time. I heard he continued to maintain it even after retirement.” No matter how you look at it, it’s definitely not a knife used normally. It’s not a kitchen knife, not a fruit knife, and not a sashimi knife either. If you had to find something similar, it looked like a cleaver… How often would an ordinary person use a cleaver for a long time? ‘Well, it’s perfect for ceremonial use, so it doesn’t matter.’ Negation with negation. It’s perfect for throwing back the evil energy. “I’m counting on you.” Woo Do-gyeom’s voice lowered. Now that he had found the evidence. His mood was bound to plummet. The atmosphere of the man, who was already overflowing with dangerous energy, had become even more grim. ‘It must be more upsetting because it’s an inside job.’ Deliberately placing the proxies right in front of him, but what that meant was this. It meant that the person could go around every corner of the house. And that they were close enough to Woo Do-gyeom not to be restricted, and even gave birthday presents to the children. It’s honestly hard to understand that someone so close would stab him in the back like this. Woo Do-gyeom’s expression hardened as Yeon-woo found each proxy. Judging by the fact that he was talking less and less, he seemed to be guessing to some extent as well. ‘Whoever it is, they’re in real trouble.’ That gleaming look right before he snaps. That appearance was reminiscent of Woo Do-gyeom’s nickname, ‘Mad Dog.’ “Do I just have to sprinkle it there?” “Yes. Don’t scatter it, pile it up neatly. Don’t forget to put it at every corner outside the door.” “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it for sure.” The men in suits, who received Yeon-woo’s instructions, scattered in all directions with the salt. The salt placed at every corner outside the door was to prepare for any possible backlash with pure energy. As the suits who completed their mission gathered one by one, Yeon-woo took the knife that Woo Do-gyeom handed him. And. Swish- He slashed his arm without hesitation. “What is this? Yeon-woo-ssi?” [Oh dear. He’s finally starting. Actor-nim. Shh! We have to be quiet now. He needs to concentrate!] The knife was so sharp. His skin split and blood dripped just by touching it. But what really horrified people was something else. “……!” “Oh my god, the blood……!” “No, what is that……?” Yeon-woo looked like he was about to be covered in blood. But the blood, unbelievably, disappeared as soon as it touched the knife. It was as if the blade was absorbing it. “Everyone, be quiet.” The commotion was immediately silenced by Woo Do-gyeom’s heavy words. Nevertheless, the restless atmosphere was unavoidable. ‘Good. I’ve prepared the tool to cut it off.’ He filled the blade, which contained a lot of blood, with Yeon-woo’s special divine power. He drew a talisman [a mystical or symbolic diagram believed to have magical properties], burned it, and boosted the energy. Yeon-woo dragged the knife and began to swing it around the area silently. Swish! Swish! A chilling wind sound was heard in the air, and bizarre things happened every time. “Uh, uh?” “It’s moving……?” When you see something bizarre, you can’t help but be horrified. The sight of inanimate objects twitching every time he swung the knife filled the eyes of the people with horror once again. ‘Make sure you get it all back.’ Swoosh! Every time he moved the knife. Clatter! Clatter! The threads wrapped around the children faded and disappeared little by little. This was because the disgusting dark red threads were cut by the blade and bounced off somewhere, disappearing. Whoever it is, they must be in a frenzy right now. Since the energy of the blade containing the blood was added, it would probably be doubly painful. ‘This should be enough.’ How much did he swing the knife wildly in all directions? Now, almost no curse threads remained on the twins.

Now that the finishing touches were almost done. There was only one thing left to do. “Do you have a fire?” That was to finish it off neatly. Click! As soon as he asked, hands with lighters turned on were extended from all directions. “If possible, it would be nice to have something like oil to make it easier to catch fire.” Someone quickly ran off and came back with thinner. ……No matter how he thought about it, it was definitely not something that would be in an ordinary home, but it didn’t matter. “Please soak it all as much as possible.” The suits poured thinner over the piled-up objects with disciplined movements. “Fire, please.” Woo Do-gyeom directly took the lighter he offered without saying a word and lit the paper. And he threw it as it was towards the piled-up objects.