Chapter 11: The Supernatural Affliction(4)

"Do what you mentioned earlier," Mok Gyeong-un said calmly.

"What do you mean?" the shaman Myosin replied, caught off guard.

"You said you could control the supernatural entity to get what we want from the clan leader's mouth."

Myosin was stunned. Given the tense atmosphere, he had expected to be ordered to save the clan leader's life. He never imagined such a cold-blooded request.

Even Go-chan, the bodyguard, was taken aback. He had assumed they would try to save the clan leader to avoid angering the matriarch. But now the young master was making the same ruthless demand as her.

Go-chan leaned in close to Mok Gyeong-un and whispered, "Young master, what exactly are you planning?"

"You heard me," Mok Gyeong-un replied flatly.

"But..." Go-chan trailed off, furrowing his brow. 

He knew what the young master meant, but that wasn't the issue. "I understand that, but what do you intend to do with that information once you have it?"

Mok Gyeong-un let out a soft, humorless laugh. "What do you intend to do by questioning me?"

Go-chan was momentarily struck speechless. The meaning behind those words was clear - don't question or object to my actions.

"This madman," Go-chan thought to himself. "What on earth is he trying to accomplish?" He couldn't fathom why the young master would want to steal the very thing the matriarch was after. Go-chan started to say something more but thought better of it. There was no point in offering his opinion - the young master clearly wouldn't listen.

Still, he worried this reckless course of action could lead to disaster. But Mok Gyeong-un paid no heed to Go-chan's concerns as he urged the shaman, "Hurry up and do it."

Myosin hesitated briefly but realized he had no choice. If he refused, there was no telling what this dangerous young man might do to him. 

The shaman retrieved a small wooden figurine from a nearby chest. It was smaller than a fist, intricately carved.

Mok Gyeong-un eyed it curiously. "What's that for?"

"This wooden doll will serve as a medium," Myosin explained.

"A medium?"

"If we allow the clan leader to directly contact the supernatural entity again, it could be life-threatening, let alone allowing us to control it. This doll will act as an intermediary."

Mok Gyeong-un nodded impassively. "I see. Proceed."

Myosin inwardly clicked his tongue at the young master's cold indifference. It seemed no one in this household cared whether the clan leader lived or died. 

"This is incredibly dangerous," the shaman thought anxiously as he glanced at the clan leader's severed arm on the floor. Though restrained by talismans, it was still pulsing with malevolent energy. One small mistake could put both the clan leader and himself in grave peril.

Swallowing hard, Myosin pulled out a talisman and affixed it to his own chest for protection. Then he carefully wrote another talisman in red ink. After finishing, he attached one part to the wooden doll and wrapped red thread around its head. He placed the other half on the unconscious clan leader's forehead, connecting them with the remaining thread.

Myosin produced one final, longer talisman - one used for manipulating spirits through proxy dolls. "Please step back," he warned. "This could be dangerous."

As Mok Gyeong-un and Go-chan retreated to the far side of the room, the shaman began chanting an incantation while forming mystical hand signs. At first, nothing happened. But when he directed his gestures toward the clan leader, the man's body began to convulse violently.

Slowly, Myosin shifted his focus to the wooden doll. The talisman affixed to it began to emit an eerie glow as if the figurine had come to life. Go-chan shuddered at the unnatural sight.

With great care, Myo-shin grasped the doll and moved it near the clan leader's severed arm. As soon as he placed it down, the arm reacted, its veins bulging grotesquely beneath the restraining talisman. 

In a swift motion, Myosin tore off the restraining talisman. Instantly, tendrils of blood and sinew erupted from the severed limb, writhing like living things as they latched onto the wooden doll.

A pained groan escaped the clan leader's lips as the supernatural force gripped the doll. When the ghostly tendrils tightened their hold, he let out an agonized cry.

Go-chan shot a worried glance at Mok Gyeong-un, but the young master's face remained impassive as he intently observed the macabre scene.

A dark, malevolent energy began seeping from the severed arm into the wooden doll. Myo-shin continued his chant, beads of sweat forming on his brow. 

"Spirit, answer my summons!" he commanded.

A raspy voice emanated from the clan leader's mouth: "Who... dares... call me?"

Tiny cracks appeared in the wooden doll's surface. Myosin's eyes widened in alarm, but he pressed on. 

"Spirit, you will answer my questions!"

"What... do you... ask?"

"Where are the clan leader's secret manual and official seal hidden?"

The clan leader's body convulsed violently, his eyelids fluttering erratically. More cracks spread across the doll's surface.

Finally, the clan leader's mouth opened: "Under... pharmacy... stone door..."

Before he could say more, the wooden doll shattered with a sickening crack. The malevolent energy inside surged toward the red thread connecting it to the clan leader.

"Young master! Cut the thread!" Myosin cried out in panic.

Without hesitation, Mok Gyeong-un slashed through the thread with his sword. But to his shock, the dark energy raced up the blade toward his hand.

Mok Gyeong-un tried to release the sword, but it was too late. An icy sensation shot up his arm and into his body. He staggered, shaking as if struck by lightning.

A triumphant smile crossed Myosin's face. Everything had gone according to his plan. The wooden doll was never meant to contain such a powerful supernatural force. He had intentionally lured it into possessing Mok Gyeong-un instead.

Swiftly, the shaman slapped a restraining talisman onto Mok Gyeong-un's forehead as the young master convulsed. 

"Two birds with one stone," Myo-shin thought smugly. He had obtained the information about the secret manual and seal while also transferring the malicious entity to this troublesome young master. After enduring an exorcism attempt and manipulation through the doll, the entity had likely grown too strong to be easily banished. Forcibly removing it now could kill the host or leave him crippled.

But that was no longer Myosin's concern. He had fulfilled the matriarch's request - everything else was inconsequential to him now.

Suddenly, Mok Gyeong-un's eyes snapped open. But instead of his normal gaze, they were completely black, devoid of whites. A pale, otherworldly face stared out from the young master's body.

Inside Mok Gyeong-un's mind, a surreal scene was unfolding. He found himself at a serene mountain spring, collecting water as he did every morning. Everything felt oddly familiar yet slightly off, as if he had forgotten something important.

As he made his way home, he saw smoke rising from the direction of his house. Filled with dread, he raced toward it, only to find the building engulfed in flames. 

Frantically searching the property, Mok Gyeong-un discovered a horrific sight - his grandfather's mutilated body lay in the garden, barely clinging to life. Overwhelmed by grief and rage, he failed to notice the pale figure with black eyes observing him nearby.

Just as Mok Gyeong-un was about to lose himself to despair, the entity snapped its fingers. In an instant, the nightmarish scene vanished. His grandfather appeared, alive and well, tending the garden as if nothing had happened.

Relief washed over Mok Gyeong-un. He vowed never to lose his grandfather again, grateful for this second chance.

But something shifted in Mok Gyeong-un's demeanor. His eyes suddenly locked onto the watching entity, filled with an eerie, deathlike intensity. 

Before the supernatural being could react, Mok Gyeong-un's fingers plunged into its eyes, ripping them from their sockets. As the creature howled in agony, Mok Gyeong-un spoke in a chilling voice:

"I don't know what you are, but you're incredibly annoying. How dare you toy with my deceased grandfather like this?"