An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 122

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 121
Part 2. The Baekbaek Church’s Aim (2)
Tick, tick-tick-tick, tick-tick.
The hour crept toward midnight.
Freed at last from the Local Dignitary and Civil Servant, Shin Yoseph drummed his fingers against his phone inside his car.
He sat parked in front of the Motel the Local Dignitary had recommended.
They’d called it the finest establishment in the area, yet a faint stench of mold permeated everything—hardly an endorsement of quality.
“Can you talk?”
The moment Shin Yoseph’s text arrived, Kang Hyung-seok’s call came through.
“Where are you?”
Shin Yoseph reclined deep into the driver’s seat, peering out through the darkened windows of his car as he spoke.
“Inside the car.”
“Nothing happened? Anyone around?”
“No one. No risk of eavesdropping either.”
That’s precisely why I’d chosen to call from the vehicle rather than the Motel room.
“Good to hear.”
“What about you? Found anything?”
“Not easy. They’ve been attacking, and they’ve organized search parties. You doing alright?”
Shin Yoseph muttered a curse under his breath, his brow furrowing as he lit a cigarette.
He lowered his head, shielding the lighter’s flame from view, and drew the smoke in slowly.
“Had a drink with the Local Dignitary and the Civil Servant. They were quite hospitable once money came into the conversation.”
“Is that so…?”
“They’re the type with something to hide—that much is clear.”
But I’d rather not dwell on why they’d attacked Kang Hyung-seok.
Perhaps they’d intended to take him hostage. Perhaps they meant to use him as leverage in negotiations.
Either way, beneath their smiling faces lay the readiness to draw a blade at any moment.
“So what’s the plan? Want to lay low for now and regroup later?”
Shin Yoseph asked with concern, though Kang Hyung-seok’s answer was predictable.
“I have no intention of letting you perform a funeral rite for me.”
“Hah!”
“Listen carefully, Yoseph.”
Kang Hyung-seok’s voice dropped low, and Shin Yoseph instinctively brought the phone closer to his ear.
“If they ask about me, tell them you don’t know. No matter what.”
Shin Yoseph nodded reluctantly, exhaling smoke, as Kang Hyung-seok continued in that same hushed tone.
“I’ll investigate separately. It’s a small Village—whatever they’ve hidden, I’ll find it soon enough.”
“…You sure you’ll be alright alone?”
“Why would I be alone?”
Shin Yoseph’s eyes widened in surprise, and he let out a wry laugh.
Kang Hyung-seok was a Shaman.
And not just any Shaman—one I’d personally discovered.
Though his body was singular, a great deity dwelt within him—so his soul was as two.
Even when he appeared alone, he was always accompanied.
(And you’re here too, after all.)
“Your words move me, truly.”
(Enough sentiment. What’s your plan now?)
Shin Yoseph drew his lips inward and surveyed his surroundings once more.
The car’s lights were off, and the world around him lay silent.
A remote Village, removed from the metropolitan sprawl.
Even the smallest lights were visible here, yet no gaze—no watchful eye—turned toward him from anywhere.
“I’ve been invited to a service.”
An opportunity to meet the Cult Leader directly.
It was an opportunity Shin Yoseph had secured by leveraging his position as an executive at Shinjin Construction.
(During the day or at night?)
“Services are naturally on Sundays, but I’ll meet him briefly tomorrow. Apparently the Church is holding some kind of event.”
(Try to meet alone if possible. If there are others nearby, I won’t be able to manage.)
“I know their methods well enough.”
They always claim to possess spiritual power.
They speak as though they were human yet possessed divine strength.
And they attempt to prove it.
Prophecy, healing, miraculous feats, mind-reading—the list goes on.
Yet it is all illusion.
Since such things cannot truly exist, they typically conspire in numbers to deceive a single target.
Even the Baekbaek Church had used believers to conduct background investigations, then had the Cult Leader “divine” those facts to bewitch their followers.
“No matter what they attempt, I will not be deceived.”
Kang Hyung-seok was not alone—and neither was I.
I, Shin Yoseph, an exorcist priest, also believed in God.
I believed in the Lord my God, and in His grace that dwelt beneath His glory.
(Yes, send me a message if anything happens.)
“You too.”
Shin Yoseph fell silent for a moment, then took another drag from his cigarette before speaking.
“Stay safe.”
(Hanging up.)
Just before the call ended, Kang Hyung-seok let out a short laugh.
Shin Yoseph followed suit with a brief snort, then gazed into the darkness-shrouded street.
He then looked up at the Motel, its lights scattered and sparse, and stubbed out his cigarette into the empty can of canned coffee Kang Hyung-seok had wedged into the drink holder.
Since the can was empty, smoke curled from its opening for some time.
Shin Yoseph watched the smoke in silence, then folded his hands upon the steering wheel.
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
He continued his prayer with eyes closed.
“Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors, and forgive us our sins.
His prayer was not for himself alone.
It was for both him and Kang Hyung-seok, and so he truly hoped his prayer would reach the heavens.
“…Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.”
Even after the prayer ended, Shin Yoseph kept his eyes closed for a long while.
***
Deep in the night, in a desolate mountain where no soul stirred.
The silence was so profound that the sound of water flowing from the distant Mineral Spring could be heard.
Without any light, surrounded by ancient trees that had stood for decades and blocked the view completely, Kang Hyung-seok carefully stacked stones.
Clack.
After arranging fist-sized stones in four directions—north, south, east, and west—and planting leafy branches like fans atop them, he gazed up at the moon.
Warang—!
Then he shook the Shaman’s Bell, purifying the surroundings as if washing them clean.
‘While Shin Yoseph buys us time, I must find the object of faith.’
That is why I prepared this.
The branches planted in the stones serve as a substitute for flower offerings.
The ritual for the village guardian deity blesses the Village’s peace, while the ritual to guide spirits is similar to a cleansing ceremony.
I summon the deceased for the sake of the Village.
I must call forth the spirit of the deceased and find the source of the heresy rooted in this Village.
Warararang—!
With eyes closed like Shin Yoseph in prayer, I shook the Shaman’s Bell and slowly opened my mouth.
“Though I am lacking in serving the village guardian deity, I humbly ask for your broad understanding through this shaman’s sincerity.”
This was not being performed at a shrine, nor was there even a ritual altar.
Yet because I had to destroy the heresy, my heart for the Village could not be called small.
“Gosul, gosul, gosul, gosul—let them be born, a thousand heavenly maidens and earthly forces unite, ascending to the mountains and rivers, becoming the sun, moon, and stars.”
Kang Hyung-seok shook the Shaman’s Bell among the four stone piles surrounding him and drew the divine blade.
In the form of a Possessed Shaman Tradition practitioner, I chanted the sacred verses and proceeded through the ritual step by step.
“When the middle descent comes down and creates mountains, waters, grass, and trees, the awakened masters and the awakened lords who possess them chose this sincerity on an auspicious day, washing their heads in the upper chamber, bathing in the middle chamber, washing hands and feet in the lower chamber, with utmost devotion and gratitude for divine grace.”
The deity must respond.
Those seeking Kang Hyung-seok fill this Village.
I must evade their eyes and reach the place they have hidden most secretly.
Warararang!
I rang the Shaman’s Bell loudly and swept the divine blade across the four stone piles.
The wind rising from my sleeves made the leaves tremble, and from afar, an unnamed bird cried out in an unfamiliar voice.
“A thousand heavenly maidens and earthly forces unite, ascending above heaven and earth, becoming the sun, moon, and stars—the middle descent has come down.”
The weather was cool.
Yet sweat beaded on Kang Hyung-seok’s forehead and dripped down.
“When mountains, rivers, grass, and trees become manifest, the wood virtue lord prepares the trees, the water virtue lord prepares the water, the fire virtue lord prepares the fire.”
Kang Hyung-seok concentrated with eyes completely closed.
Gradually, I drew closer to the divine, and the air around me transformed.
The movements of shaking the sacred instrument began to fill with power, and the leaves of the branches planted in the stones rustled violently.
That was when it happened.
Clang!
I rang the Shaman’s Bell loudly, my eyes shut tight as I gasped for breath.
Still keeping my eyes closed, I slowly turned my face in a single direction.
“…So many have come.”
Spiritual energy so potent I couldn’t bear to open my eyes and witness it.
Whoooosh!
The tree trunks surrounding me bent like willows, their leaves drooping downward.
Perched atop them were Victim Spirits.
Thud.
As the pile of stones supporting the branches began to crumble, I opened my mouth with utmost caution.
“The resentment you Victim Spirits carry runs very deep.”
Whoooosh!
The branches wailed as if in agony, and the rushing wind screamed across the Mountain like a death cry.
A stench of blood, decay, and rotting corpses assaulted my nostrils.
No single or handful of Victim Spirits could produce such a reek, no matter how deep their grudge.
A malignant force so overwhelming that even an ordinary shaman would flee while vomiting blood pressed down upon me.
-Please save us. Please save us!
-Grraaagh! Gruuuugh!
-Smash their head in!
-There! They’re escaping! Grab them! Hurry!
-Aaaahhh! Aaaaaaahhh!
-Baekbaek Church’s will.
-Baekbaek Church’s will.
-Baekbaek Church’s will.
These were the Victim Spirits of those who had suffered at the hands of the Baekbaek Church long ago.
Their number reached approximately three hundred.
The sheer magnitude of their hatred and resentment was so overwhelming that I could barely breathe.
Clang-clang-clang!
I shook the Shaman’s Bell to shield myself, forcing words out through my constricted throat.
“Tell me. Who did those who harmed you serve? Where is that being?”
At that moment, a sound reached my ears.
Crumble.
The sound of stones collapsing.
And then the branches placed atop them fell to the ground, tumbling and scattering in the wind.
It was a substitute for the traditional flower-stand arrangement.
Normally, a fan placed on rice symbolizes peace and safety.
Its collapse meant something ominous lay in that direction.
‘North from here?’
Screeeech!
Tree branches swayed to the right as the wind caught them.
‘No, northeast perhaps.’
Warang.
The Shaman’s Bell chimed, affirming his thoughts.
Kang Hyung-seok gave a subtle nod, then opened his lips—pallid and tinged with blue—while keeping his eyes closed.
“Time is not on our side now.”
Shwaaaaa—!
The branches trembled in the wind, emitting an ominous sound, yet Kang Hyung-seok continued speaking in a hushed voice.
“But I swear to you, I will find and destroy whatever harmed you. Please, I beg you, set aside your resentment for just a moment longer.”
Though he spoke with utmost courtesy, the furious wind did not easily subside.
Too much time had passed since they died.
Their wandering resentment had grown vast and deep, nearly indistinguishable from a Malevolent Spirit, and so Kang Hyung-seok silently lowered his head.
Then, opening his eyes, he grasped the Spirit Blade.
“Calm yourselves.”
Warang! Swaat!
Wielding both sacred instruments, he recited a sutra while gazing upon hundreds of Victim Spirits visible even in the profound darkness.
“Eastern Deity Gakan-ryeong, Southern Deity Gakan-ryeong, Western Deity Gakan-ryeong, Northern Deity Gakan-ryeong, Central Deity Gakan-ryeong.”
It was a sutra to pacify the spirits gathered before concluding the ritual.
“Bunggyeol-samo, Jonwi-angang, Ilche-yeojuk, Naejuk-buju, Geoho-muho, Jasun-changseong, Baekgwi-neun jinmyeolhago, Manbok-eun jangwonhago, Sowon-seongchwiro jeomjihago, Bogyou-sanghyang, hasosa.”
Waralalarang!
As he shook the Shaman’s Bell vigorously, the toxic miasma emanating from the Victim Spirits gradually faded.
After wielding the Spirit Blade to sever all remaining toxins, Kang Hyung-seok pressed his lips firmly together.
‘Thank you for your guidance. I understand the suffering you have endured. But please, wait just a little longer.’
Hoping his sincerity would reach them, he gazed down at the branches rolling across the ground.
Then he began walking in the direction the Victim Spirits killed by the Baekbaek Church had indicated.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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