WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
Chapter 4: Episode 2: Infant-Cry Dragon Horse (1)
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Six years later.
Spring.
Many changes had come to Gwisu Temple over the six times the seasons had turned.
Most of the young dokkaebi had neared adulthood, and during the breeding season that came once every ten years, young dokkaebi had been born again, brimming with life and sharing in the joy of birth.
Ise had been accidentally exposed to the dokkaebi people's breeding season, also called their rut, without any protection and spent some time in shock. It was only a minor commotion.
Later, he said it had shocked him even more than the first time he encountered a demon.
The young dokkaebi around Ise's age could not participate, but the dokkaebi breeding ceremony became their first awakening to desire. Without realizing it, the looks the young dokkaebi gave Gonga carried a quiet, instinctive longing.
Gonga herself was too busy trailing after Ise everywhere.
“Gonga.”
“Yeah?”
“You're in the way.”
“What? That's harsh. I'm resting!”
“Resting properly is part of training too. Besides, break time is almost over.”
Gonga shot him a glare and took a step away from Ise.
“Just because you've grown a little, you're getting cheeky with your big sister...”
Ise sprang to his feet. Training time and break time had to be observed precisely.
Gonga clenched her teeth as she looked up at him. He had grown tall enough that she now had to tilt her head back.
Ise had grown a great deal over the past six years.
Humans might grow twice as fast as dokkaebi, but even considering that... he was tall enough to be mistaken for a grown man. He had not even reached twenty yet.
No. That wasn't right.
...Considering how much he ate, wasn't it only natural that he'd grown this much?
Sometimes Gonga wondered if Ise was a ravenous ghost or a hungry ghost.
She tilted her head.
“You were so kind when you first came here.”
“Doesn't that mean you've grown more comfortable around me?”
“Tch. You've gotten so sly.”
Ise answered Gonga's complaint with a light laugh.
Gonga smacked his chest, telling him not to smile as if he were coaxing her.
“Hey! Ise!”
The three young dokkaebi, who had been glancing at Ise and Gonga from the other side of the training ground, swaggered over.
They still envied Ise for monopolizing Gonga's affection, but they had actually become fairly close.
They had exchanged so many sparring matches during Mongryeon's lessons.
As the saying went, children grew closer by fighting. The once-proud young dokkaebi had calmed down somewhat after Ise beat them senseless several times in sparring matches.
Later, their teacher had assigned them homework, telling them to try playing games suited to their age. Ise joined in their secret-base games, and they grew closer still.
More than anything, six years was enough time to turn resentment into affection.
Their manner was still prickly, but Ise could sense the friendship and goodwill they held beneath it.
At the front stood Gong Ilchwi, the one-horned dokkaebi whose horn grew from the left side of his head. He was the oldest among the young dokkaebi. Perhaps because he had a crush on Gonga for so long, he showed a fierce competitive streak toward Ise.
Behind him was Gong Woljang, whose only horn grew from the right side. He was Gong Ilchwi's twin, and when his twin brother was absent, he acted rather friendly toward Ise.
At the very back stood Goegeol, a young dokkaebi whose horn had only half grown in. He was a curious oddball who liked following the older boys around.
At Gong Woljang's signal, Goegeol waved Gonga away.
“Hey, Gonga. Go over there.”
“What? Why?”
“We're going to talk about manly things.”
“What are you even saying? You lot are trying to bother Ise again, aren't you?”
Seizing the chance, Ise added a word of his own.
“Gonga, you're just as bothersome, so go inside now.”
“...”
With her lips pushed out in a sulk, Gonga grumbled as she headed back.
Gong Ilchwi stared after her regretfully, then shook his head and spoke.
“Brother Goecheon went down to the village and came back. He said a low-ranking demon seems to have appeared nearby.”
“What?”
Ise raised his head sharply and looked at Gong Ilchwi.
The appearance of demons was one of Ise's greatest concerns.
“You're taking the Great Exorcist Order entrance examination this year, right? Why not gain some demon-hunting experience while you can?”
“Let's go catch it together.”
“Sounds fun, right?”
The three young dokkaebi chimed in one after another, like they were singing in rounds.
Dokkaebi were forbidden from hunting demons until they reached adulthood.
Still, they had spent nearly forty years doing nothing but train, so it was only natural that they were restless.
The dokkaebi people showed a fierce curiosity toward even the smallest amusement, so Ise understood.
“What kind of demon is it?”
“We don't know the details. They said it makes the sound of a crying baby. Isn't it a Child Ghost?”
An Child Ghost.
It was a low-ranking demon of Danger Level Nine, the very weakest kind.
Even ordinary people who could not handle spiritual energy could hunt one with a little training.
“Any other information?”
“No.”
“Then no.”
Of course, he did not mean that he would join them.
He was starting to feel keenly that he needed real combat experience, but he did not want to disobey the adults and end up in danger.
“What, are you scared?”
“Something like that. Don't do anything dangerous. You don't have long until you become adult dokkaebi anyway. You'll be sick of seeing demons soon enough, so why bother?”
“Sure, even if you're good at unarmed techniques and weapon arts, you're still human. It's natural you'd be scared. But Ise, the dokkaebi people can hunt low-ranking demons with our eyes closed from the time we're children.”
“Then open your eyes and hunt as many as you like once you're adults.”
“You... coward. If you're that scared, we'll go without you.”
“If you do anything reckless, I'll tell our teacher immediately.”
“Tch, what a cheap bastard!”
The three young dokkaebi stomped off in frustration.
It was strange. Usually they acted as though they wanted to tear him apart, yet whenever they were about to cause trouble, they always tried to drag him into it.
* * *
“Eat slowly.”
As usual, Ise was wolfing down his food.
To him, mealtime was nothing more or less than replenishing nutrients.
Still, he ate as much as he possibly could. As long as there was room in his stomach, his principle was to cram in even one more grain.
The adult dokkaebi praised him for eating so well, saying it was good to see, but even this was more training than pleasure for Ise.
“Why do you always eat so fast? You'll upset your stomach.”
Ise swallowed his food, gulped down some water, then answered.
“Thank you. I've never had an upset stomach.”
“Your stubbornness is impossible. The dokkaebi people are famous for being stubborn, but you're even worse.”
“I'm sorry. By the way, where are the others?”
He had not intended it, but at some point, the young dokkaebi had begun clinging to him and eating with him.
Since none of them were in their usual places, he tilted his head.
“Gonga went to deliver lunch boxes to the guards, but I don't know about the others. Did they go with her?”
“They aren't the type to run errands without being asked.”
Ise scraped up every last grain of mixed rice, tipped it into his mouth, and stood.
“Where is Teacher?”
“Didn't you know? Today is the day of the regular territory patrol.”
“...”
A bad feeling ran down his spine.
The regular territory patrol.
It was a ritual patrol in which most of Gwisu Temple's fighting force escorted the sweep across the dokkaebi's vast territory.
They traveled quite far, and the patrol continued until dawn.
In other words... it was the perfect time for the young dokkaebi to cause trouble.
“Chanmo, could you send a message to Teacher? I think the others may have gone out to cause trouble.”
“What?”
Ise quickly explained what had happened earlier that day, then rushed out of the kitchen.
Something was wrong.
The young dokkaebi had caused trouble before, but it had only been things like startling the adults, breaking spirit objects while playing with them, or getting hurt while sparring.
They had never caused real trouble like this.
Hunting demons was dangerous.
Even seasoned demon hunters moved forward one careful step at a time, risking their lives with every step.
Ise could handle a Child Ghost by himself, but was that the only demon in the world that cried like a baby?
He could name more than fifteen off the top of his head.
“Goecheon!”
Ise ran as though flying to the central main hall and immediately questioned Goecheon, the source of this problem.
“After you returned from the village this afternoon, did you tell the others about a Child Ghost?”
“What nonsense are you talking about? A Child Ghost?”
Just as he thought.
The adults would never deliberately spread exciting news to the young dokkaebi.
It seemed that the young dokkaebi had secretly overheard Goecheon, who was on Gwisu Temple's watch rotation, passing along news of a demon sighting from the village to his companions. Then they had jumped to the conclusion that it was a Child Ghost.
“Damn it, those little brats... We have to go find them at once.”
The problem was that, because it was the day of the regular patrol, only three fighting dokkaebi remained.
How could three of them search this vast plateau?
“I'll help.”
Goecheon stared at him for a moment, then nodded as though he had no choice. He handed Ise a ring of keys.
“Before you leave the boundary, stop by the Relic Vault and take some Luminous Signal Flares. You learned how to use them, right? If you find the children or the demon, send a signal. Never fight recklessly.”
“Yes. May I take a few items to protect myself as well?”
Goecheon seemed to consider it briefly, but he soon gave permission.
There were quite valuable items in the Relic Vault. Still, considering Ise's character over the years, Goecheon trusted that he would not touch anything he did not need.
“Fine. I'll report to the leader later. Only touch things you know how to use. There are plenty of dangerous items in there.”
“Understood.”
Goecheon raced away like an arrow, and Ise headed straight for the Relic Vault.
The first things he took were two Luminous Signal Flares, which he tucked into his clothes.
Then, in the deepest part of the Relic Vault, he hesitated before the Restoration Pellets inside a golden wooden box.
They were precious medicinal pellets. Could he really take them without permission?
After thinking it over, Ise put both pellets, the only two there, into his clothes.
Now he needed weapons.
‘What should I take...?’
He did not know what the enemy was to begin with.
There was only one clue.
The sound of a crying child.
More than fifteen kinds of demons came to mind.
He ruled out the weakest ones first. They instinctively avoided dokkaebi territory.
Nine types remained.
Then he ruled out the demons whose habitats were far too distant from this place.
Four types remained.
Of those, he ruled out the high-ranking demon. If it were a high-ranking demon, there was nothing he could do to handle it or survive.
In such an emergency, every dokkaebi of Gwisu Temple except Mongryeon would be slaughtered. Before that could happen, Mongryeon would have rushed out to tear apart any high-ranking demon the moment it appeared.
That left two mid-ranking demons.
Either would be a terrifying opponent, but Ise boldly took five sacred relics and tucked them into his clothes.
After preparing for every possibility, he ran toward the Red Marsh at Gwisu Temple's outer boundary.
* * *
The three young dokkaebi, Goegeol, Gong Ilchwi, and Gong Woljang, sped nimbly down the mountain path as the sunset faded.
Their red eyes gleamed in the dimming surroundings.
They usually looked like innocent boys, but they were dokkaebi after all.
Whenever the three dokkaebi passed by, insects and birds that sensed their ominous aura fluttered away in alarm.
Gong Ilchwi lifted the corner of his mouth.
He felt as though he had become the predator that ruled these mountains, the mountain lord.
His heart pounded.
His first demon hunt.
The dokkaebi were not called demon-hunting demons for nothing.
At the thought of hunting, his blue blood boiled and his fighting spirit blazed.
He would kill the low-ranking demon that had dared set foot near dokkaebi territory, devour its demon core, and surpass Ise, his friend and rival.
Ise was a good guy, but losing to a mere human in a fight had wounded Gong Ilchwi more deeply than he cared to admit.
“Brother, where is it?”
Yet no matter how long they searched, there was not even a trace of the Child Ghost.
The excitement that had made their bodies itch as they searched the vast mountain range was about to cool.
The sun was setting too. By now, someone must have noticed they were gone.
“It looks like we only have an hour or two. Let's look a little longer, then go back.”
“Ah... It'd be a shame to go back just like this.”
The young dokkaebi smacked their lips.
How long had they wandered? Just as they began to think they should give up, they finally heard the sound they had been waiting for.
Waaah... Waaah...
A baby's cry that should not have echoed through the mountains at sunset.
“Get ready. Let's go.”
Gong Ilchwi bared his teeth and tightened his grip around the Gold Chain Staff.
Then he kicked off toward the source of the sound.
The Child Ghost would soon reveal itself, and its head would be smashed open by his Gold Chain Staff.
‘No hard feelings. Don't resent me.’
He pushed aside the brush, revealing an open clearing and the crouched figure of a demon.
‘...?’
The moment the demon rose, the three young dokkaebi instinctively knew something was wrong.
Shhk!
A grotesque cutting sound.
Then came a scream filled with pain.
Footnotes:
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