An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 125

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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 124
Part 3. What to Believe In (2)
Clang-clang-clang!
The Shaman’s Bell rang out to drive away the unclean.
The wicked, the vile, the things that should not exist.
The toxic, the abhorrent, the malevolent.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Beads of sweat formed on Kang Hyung-seok’s brow as he shook the Shaman’s Bell with both hands.
His eyes remained tightly shut, his lips moving fervently as he chanted the incantation.
“By the virtue of the Yellow Emperor General, I expel the unclean. By the virtue of the Jiazi General, I expel the unclean. By the virtue of the Jiaxu General, I expel the unclean. By the virtue of the Jiashen General, I expel the unclean.”
What must it feel like?
For the Buddha statue listening to this incantation.
To be the target of a purification rite despite being a sacred image.
Clang-clang-clang!
As I finished the incantation and opened my eyes, I gazed up at the Buddha statue.
Somehow morning had arrived, and sunlight streaming through the open doorway illuminated the interior of the Temple.
Yet I felt not the slightest trace of sanctity or spiritual power.
I had to flee this place immediately.
My instincts screamed a warning, and goosebumps crawled across my forearms.
Caw! Caw-caw-caw!
A Raven perched at the Temple entrance, fluttering its wings before letting out a bone-chilling cry.
Clang!
As I rang the Shaman’s Bell and turned my head toward the Raven, I glimpsed something grotesque and unreal.
Hehehehehehe!
The head of a flayed human.
Attached to the Raven’s body, it grinned hideously at me.
“Ugh!”
I shook my head violently, and it appeared as a normal Raven once more.
I shook the Shaman’s Bell loudly, and the Raven took flight and vanished.
‘The malice is far too potent.’
An evil spirit.
There was something in this vicinity that could only be described as such.
Feeling the vile energy I had driven away surge back, I clenched my teeth and fled the Temple.
Then I stood at a distance, gazing back at it.
Merely looking at it caused a deep ache behind my eyes, and the metallic stench of blood filled my nostrils.
“Ptui!”
I spat three times before turning my gaze away from the Temple.
‘Temple, Cult, Cult Leader, Buddha statue, Evangelist, Baekbaek Church.’
Everything was tangled together.
It was incomprehensible how such a thing could be.
Crunch.
Heading up the mountain to put greater distance between myself and the Temple, I drew my lower lip inward.
Countless shrubs and trees filled my vision no matter where I looked.
‘To hide a tree, hide it in the forest.’
Perhaps this saying came to mind because I stood upon the mountain.
Leaning my shoulder against a thick trunk, I fell into deep contemplation, my lips working silently.
That was when it happened.
Zing.
A text message arrived from Shin Yoseph.
「Call?」
The message was brief—something was wrong.
I pressed the call button immediately, and the connection went through the moment the signal rang.
“What is it?”
(Damn it, things have gone sideways.)
His voice trembled with anxiety.
My already turbulent mind grew hotter, and I pressed my palm to my forehead.
“What happened?”
(I made contact with the Cult Leader. At the Church, with the Pastor. But he knows who I am.)
“What?”
(He figured out who I am.)
A faint engine hum filtered through from behind Shin Yoseph’s voice—he was in a moving vehicle.
Listening to the heavy engine sound, I clicked my tongue softly and spoke.
“Tell me exactly. How much does he know?”
(That I’m… an exorcist priest… he found out…)
Shin Yoseph’s voice wavered, breaking several times before continuing, as if his heart were in turmoil.
(He knows my past too.)
“….”
(How is this possible? How could a mere cult, how could—)
“Shin Yoseph.”
Speaking calmly as if to soothe him, I pulled a canned drink from my bag and cracked it open.
(…Why.)
“We anticipated this. That he wasn’t an ordinary cult leader.”
“….”
“There’s an evil spirit near where I am. Something grotesque. A god, they say.”
(A god…?)
“Not your god. Ours.”
Knowing that Catholicism was a monotheistic faith, I continued carefully.
“You said he knows your past, right? Then there’s only one possibility.”
“….”
“A Shaman who has received a god.”
A faint groan escaped Shin Yoseph’s lips.
It was the kind of sound made when the mind understands something the heart refuses to accept.
But acceptance was necessary.
There was no other explanation if it wasn’t a Shaman.
“I’m confused too. This isn’t Heo-ju’s Shaman. This is a Shaman who’s received a god that shouldn’t exist.”
(Ha….)
“Get somewhere with as few people as possible.”
A Shaman who’d received Heo-ju would possess meager and feeble abilities.
But a Shaman who’d received a proper god?
One who’d received an evil spirit at that?
They’d possess enough divine power to bewitch people and create a cult.
(Where are you?)
“Why?”
(Let’s just meet first. Once we do, we can figure something out.)
I glanced toward the direction of the Temple, then pressed my lips firmly together.
The Temple and Mountain—places an ordinary person would instinctively avoid.
Dangerous, yes, but paradoxically safe because of it.
“I’ll send you the location. Park your car far away and walk here.”
(Should I grab some coffee?)
“No, wait. A vending machine should be fine.”
(Okay, phew-!)
The power of conversation is always formidable.
While people inflict the greatest harm upon one another, ultimately people find solace in other people.
Shin Yoseph’s voice, unstable during that first call, had now regained its composure.
(Thank you. I couldn’t have made it this far without you.)
He truly seemed fine now.
I let out a quiet laugh, said I understood, and hung up.
Silence descended suddenly.
In the quiet mountain, I gazed toward the Temple’s direction.
Then, recalling what Shin Yoseph had told me over the phone, I rolled my tongue inside my mouth.
‘Shaman. God.’
A puzzle piece labeled “Shaman” had suddenly been added to what I’d thought was a complete puzzle.
Lost in deep thought, I suddenly turned my head toward the Village.
Then I looked back at the Temple.
“Shaman and god.”
The puzzle pieces that hadn’t fit suddenly seemed to align into one.
‘The Cult Leader.’
The Leader masquerading as a Pastor is a Shaman.
Then the Church is a disguised Shamanic Temple.
If there’s a Shamanic Temple, there must also be a Spirit Shrine.
That was the Temple.
“No, no. There’s still one missing.”
Murmuring as though entranced, I began moving toward the Temple.
A vicious miasma blocked my path, yet I pressed forward, shaking the Shaman’s Bell with each step.
I could sense the presence of a deity, yet that deity remained invisible.
“A Spirit Shrine must have a deity within it.”
The deity was hidden.
Like a tree concealed deep within the Forest, the deity was hidden somewhere here among the Temple and the Buddha statue.
I had to find that deity.
I had to force the Shaman to summon it forth.
The object of faith had to be destroyed.
Only that would completely eradicate the Cult and the Cult Leader.
Beep beep beep!
I hastily grabbed my phone and called Shin Yoseph.
***
“Sigh.”
Shin Jung-ah exhaled a long, weary breath.
She stood in the Courtyard before Lee Geum-kyung’s Shamanic Temple, a broom of brushwood in her hands.
‘Why did she pull out these clothes…?’
She glanced down at the white mourning garment she wore.
The clothes Lee Geum-kyung had provided felt somewhat short on her tall frame.
The sleeves and the hem of the skirt both sat a hand’s breadth higher than they should have.
“Haah!”
It was right after she’d let out a hearty sigh, her expression suggesting she’d love nothing more than to light a cigarette.
“Sighing like that at your age!”
“Eek!”
Startled enough to nearly drop the broom, Shin Jung-ah turned to face Lee Geum-kyung.
“Oh, ah, you’ve arrived.”
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.”
Lee Geum-kyung stood before Shin Jung-ah with a pitying expression and took the broom.
“It’s hard, isn’t it? You’ve probably never lived in the Mountains before.”
“Ha, yes, that’s right.”
Shin Jung-ah spoke with an awkward smile, and Lee Geum-kyung nodded with a bitter laugh.
“You’ve been raised so delicately. This is a rare experience, so don’t think too poorly of it.”
“Um, well, please speak comfortably with me.”
Shin Jung-ah was already treating Lee Geum-kyung with ease.
She was unlike any Shaman she’d encountered before.
There was no garish makeup, no harsh scolding or attempts to suppress her energy.
Yet despite this, her presence differed from ordinary people—within it lay a grandmother’s gentleness and warmth.
“It’s fine. I’m comfortable this way too.”
“You don’t have to be so formal with me.”
Lee Geum-kyung chuckled and shook her head.
“It’s fine. And there’s something I’d like to ask you this afternoon—would that be alright?”
Shin Jung-ah accepted the broom Lee Geum-kyung offered, her lips trembling slightly before she spoke with caution.
“Um, there’s something I wanted to ask you about.”
“Yes?”
Lee Geum-kyung nodded as if she already knew what the question would be, and Shin Jung-ah continued with even greater hesitation.
“What exactly are you planning to do tonight?”
Both Chung-geum and Lee Geum-kyung had been hinting at tonight’s events.
Since Shin Jung-ah, the one directly involved, remained in the dark, her anxiety only grew with each passing moment.
“What am I planning to do tonight?”
“Yes!”
“I was hoping you could lend me your strength.”
“I’m sorry?”
Shin Jung-ah’s mind involuntarily recalled a certain experience.
The memory of when Kang Hyung-seok had once asked, “Please, just one possession.”
“Um, what do you mean by… strength?”
“It’s difficult to explain.”
“Even a brief explanation would help!”
Shin Jung-ah, desperate not to be entangled in another unknown situation, pressed urgently, and Lee Geum-kyung blinked slowly before smiling faintly.
“Are you afraid?”
“Yes!”
“Then refuse. I’ll find someone else instead.”
“No, you have to tell me what this is about!”
“It’s to help Hyung-seok.”
“What? Manager Kang?”
Lee Geum-kyung nodded, and the corners of her eyes were heavy with emotion.
Compassion for Kang Hyung-seok.
And an apology toward Shin Jung-ah.
“You know what that boy does, don’t you?”
“Of course. He’s involved with a cult…”
“Exactly. Since it concerns matters of the divine, many hands are needed.”
“How… exactly?”
“What can people like us do? All we can offer is prayer.”
As Shin Jung-ah’s eyes grew more bewildered, Lee Geum-kyung patted her shoulder.
“So I’m telling you now. When a dangerous situation might arise, I’d like you to help ease that burden.”
Something that would be difficult for a human to bear alone.
Something she might have to face.
But if someone lent their strength, perhaps it would be different.
What would be difficult for one or two might become possible with three.
“So answer carefully, will you? Can you do it?”
Shin Jung-ah’s expression was uncertain.
It was difficult for her to fully understand what Lee Geum-kyung was saying.
Yet she grasped the general meaning well enough.
“It’s something like possession, then?”
“That’s right.”
“Um, it’s not dangerous, is it?”
“I’ll be right beside you.”
Shin Jung-ah suddenly noticed that Lee Geum-kyung and Kang Hyung-seok shared a peculiar resemblance.
“Hmm.”
“The choice is yours. It’s your matter, after all.”
Shin Jung-ah squeezed her eyes shut as she deliberated, then nodded.
“Yes, I’ll do it.”
“It will be difficult.”
“That’s fine! You said you’d be right there with me.”
“It may be painful.”
“Oh, it’s okay! I’ve trained in combat sports, so I’m used to pain! Besides, it’s not like it’s someone else’s problem.”
Shin Jung-ah spoke with bravado, though her expression betrayed her true feelings.
“…Thank you.”
Lee Geum-kyung squeezed Shin Jung-ah’s hand firmly.
That was when it happened.
A low rumble echoed through the air.
A refrigerator-white insulated truck rolled into the front courtyard.
Shin Jung-ah startled and stepped back, while the man who descended from the truck bowed respectfully to Lee Geum-kyung.
“Hello, Master!”
“Ah, you’ve arrived. Please unload it over there.”
“Yes! Looks like you’re performing a ritual today.”
“Mm.”
A pig wrapped in plastic began to be unloaded from the truck.
Watching this, Shin Jung-ah blinked in surprise and glanced at Lee Geum-kyung, but she remained focused on settling the payment.
‘Wait, this is more serious than I thought…?’
An ominous feeling crept over her.
Like when preparing to summon the Great Goblin during that Goblin incident, a nameless dread began to settle in—something beyond words.
***
At that same moment.
Vroom.
A car wound along a serpentine road, its engine humming through the curves.
The man behind the wheel had a broad jaw and a compact, muscular frame.
‘I never thought I’d find myself returning to this place.’
It was Shin’s Aide.
He was the man Shin Yoseph had planted as an informant in the village where the cult operated—the same man who had once fled with a woman in tow.
Now he was driving back toward the village.
Shin Yoseph had summoned him after receiving a call from Kang Hyung-seok.

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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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