An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 234
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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 233
Part 2. This Much Proves Something’s There at Daejeong Materials (4)
The visible world dissolves into darkness, swallowed whole.
The surroundings transform back into the sealed room, and I observe the ring encircling Kim Sang-deok’s finger in silence.
‘So that’s why it was bound to him.’
The ring wasn’t something that couldn’t be removed.
The ring had fused with his flesh.
The ring Kim Sang-deok had surrendered to the junk shop had already melted into scrap metal, making this the only remnant of it left in this world.
Clang, clang, clang!
Shaking the Shaman’s Bell, I gazed at Kim Sang-deok’s ring-bound finger and opened my mouth.
“I’m going to break this curse now.”
Shin Yoseph’s eyes fixed upon me.
“Help me with this.”
Shin Yoseph pressed her lips firmly together.
Then she answered with a heavy nod.
She couldn’t fully comprehend my words, but saving the person before her mattered far more than understanding.
“Spirit of God, Spirit of the Lord, most holy Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
The curse-breaking ritual began with Shin Yoseph’s prayer.
A prayer against all evil, a prayer to shatter malevolent hexes.
“Immaculate Virgin, angels and archangels, all saints of heaven, descend upon me. Dissolve me and make me anew, fill me with yourself, and use me as your instrument.”
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
I shook the Shaman’s Bell so as not to disturb the prayer, then raised the ritual blade.
“By the Eastern Purification Spirit, by the Southern Purification Spirit, by the Western Purification Spirit, by the Northern Purification Spirit.”
A sacred incantation to annihilate all defilement—the Purification Sutra.
“From me, remove evil and sin, jealousy and envy, the shamanic practices that breed malicious intent, the influence of demons, the ravages of wickedness, and hexes born of malice.”
“By the White General of Purification, by the Black General of Purification, by the Yellow General of Purification, by the General of the First Heavenly Stem of Purification.”
“Black masses, demonic incantations, bindings of malice, curses cast through the gaze. Drive away demonic obsession and possession by demons.”
I drew the ritual blade toward the ring encircling Kim Sang-deok’s finger.
Then I brought the blade closer, sliding its tip into the ring’s interior.
“Drive away the demon that is the source of physical and mental illness, ethical and spiritual disease.”
Throughout all this, Shin Yoseph’s prayer continued unbroken.
I concentrated my focus, my gaze locked upon the ritual blade.
This is Hong Kyung-soo’s curse—a binding spell.
I know well that he is a formidable shaman.
But can moonlight, however deep, overcome the sun?
Can a lake, however deep, contain the sea?
‘I beseech you, Guardian Spirit.’
Clink.
The ritual blade struck something solid and could advance no further.
But that’s all right.
“Cast all these evils into the fiery pit of hell, and let them never touch me or any of creation again.”
With his mind focused, Shin Yoseph’s prayer sounded intimate and reverent.
I pressed my lips thin and tightened my grip on the ritual blade.
‘I have to break it.’
Hong Kyung-soo’s curse.
And since the Guardian Spirit stands with me, no matter how powerful Hong Kyung-soo’s curse is, I can shatter it.
Click!
The ritual blade slipped completely into the gap between the ring and the finger.
I concentrated harder and twisted the blade.
Then I scraped at the characters inscribed inside the ring with the blade’s tip.
Scritch, scritch, scritch.
The characters were being scratched away and erased.
“Through the Immaculate Virgin Mary, in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior, I command in the name of Almighty God: all evil spirits tormenting me, depart at once.”
As Shin Yoseph’s prayer reached its end, I scraped away the characters inside the ring with my ritual blade.
I didn’t need to erase every single character.
Just enough to break the curse, just enough for it to slip from Kim Sang-deok’s finger.
That would be sufficient.
Scritch, scritch, scritch, scritch.
As I erased the characters inside the ring, I unconsciously released the breath I’d been holding.
The ring was loosening.
“All evil spirits tormenting me, depart at once.”
Shin Yoseph’s prayer echoed, and I pulled the ring from Kim Sang-deok’s finger.
Clang!
The ring fell to the floor, spinning like a coin before coming to rest.
“…Amen.”
Shin Yoseph finished his prayer and turned his gaze toward me.
Now time was the critical factor.
“We have to complete the soul’s ascension before Kim Sang-deok regains consciousness.”
Whoosh!
I shook the seven-star altar I’d fashioned from cloth.
Then I recited the sutra for guiding the soul.
“We have prayed for the Victim Spirit and wandering souls to reach paradise, yet they cannot reach that blessed realm and drift through the void of heaven.”
The knots tied in the long cloth are called the binding, and the binding is the soul itself.
So let them be released.
“Perhaps they lack the coin for passage to paradise, or grow hungry on the journey and cannot proceed, or their throats grow parched on the long road and they cannot reach their destination.”
Whoosh!
With just a shake of the cloth, the knots came undone.
From the nearest knot to my hand to those progressively farther away.
The knots continued to unravel.
“Resentment binds into hatred, and hatred binds into resentment, the path to release is too long, they cannot reach the Mountains of the North, they wish to ascend to heaven but are entangled by heaven’s bindings and cannot open heaven’s gate.”
What was bound was the Victim Spirit.
What prevented its release was sorcery.
The sorcery is severed, so the Victim Spirit must depart without lingering to where it belongs.
“What is bound in the East, release through azure; what is bound in the South, release through crimson; what is bound in the West, release through white.”
Go in peace.
Forget all the resentment, sorrow, injustice, and suffering accumulated in this life, and depart as if freed from every chain.
“Covered by the sevenfold net, return to the paradise of peace for the deceased, the realm of comfort for departed souls.”
All the sutras had been recited.
“It’s all done.”
“You did well.”
Kang Hyung-seok shook his head heavily, and Shin Yoseph added with a bitter smile.
“Go on ahead. I’ll handle the rest.”
Now that everything was finished, Kim Sang-deok would soon regain consciousness.
If he recognized Kang Hyung-seok as someone from the same company, it would become troublesome, so Shin Yoseph would remain to wrap up the situation.
“I’m counting on you.”
Click.
Kang Hyung-seok stepped out of the room and closed the door, his gaze meeting the Nun’s who had been waiting in the corridor.
Are you all right?
The Nun spoke with only her lips, and Kang Hyung-seok answered with a nod.
Then, guided by the Nun, he headed toward the Director’s Office.
It was after Kang Hyung-seok had hidden himself.
“Mmm.”
Kim Sang-deok’s eyelids twitched.
In the meantime, Shin Yoseph picked up a glass from the tray and flicked a few drops onto Kim Sang-deok.
“Huh? Wh-what? What.”
Startled, Kim Sang-deok’s eyes fluttered open, and Shin Yoseph thrust his hand into his pocket while clicking his tongue.
“Are you coming to now?”
“Wh-what? W-who are you…?”
“Don’t you know your business partners? I’m Director Shin from Shinjin Construction.”
“Sh-Shinjin Construction?”
Kim Sang-deok was startled and straightened his posture, looking around nervously.
“W-where am I?”
“That was close. You’re not feeling well, so why did you drink? Alcohol, no less.”
“…What?”
Kim Sang-deok, surprised, sniffed himself, and there did seem to be a smell of alcohol.
“I… I don’t remember anything.”
“Of course you don’t. You took medicine and alcohol together.”
“D-did I?”
“Yes. You were unconscious. If you hadn’t been discovered in time, it could have been serious. If I hadn’t been contacted by Manager Kang and come to visit, what would have happened?”
“…Ah.”
Kim Sang-deok’s face showed complete bewilderment.
Why was Kang Hyung-seok even being mentioned?
And what on earth had happened to him?
“I’ll handle things with Daejeong Materials, so just rest for now.”
“I, I’ll head home.”
“Go to the hospital first. I’ll cover the medical bills.”
“No, no! I couldn’t possibly—”
“Are you going to collapse again?”
Kim Sang-deok’s mouth snapped shut.
His expression turned serious as he deliberated, and Shin Yoseph twisted one corner of his mouth upward.
“Just do as I say for now. Don’t think about anything else for the moment.”
Despite Kim Sang-deok’s confusion, he acquiesced without resistance.
“…Thank you.”
“I’m calling an ambulance now, so lie down.”
Kim Sang-deok bowed his head in embarrassment and gratitude, while Shin Yoseph covered the tray with scattered cloth and stepped out of the room.
Click.
“Sigh.”
After exhaling deeply, I brought the tray to the kitchen.
Then I immediately called Secretary Jo back, explained the situation, and asked him to handle the cleanup discreetly.
“Oh, and what do you think we should do about Kim Sang-deok’s window?”
It was I who had broken the window frame while rescuing Kim Sang-deok.
(I had a good conversation with the House Owner.)
“Is that so?”
(Yes. I explained that Kim Sang-deok had collapsed, and we agreed to replace the damaged window frame with a brand-new one.)
“Replace all the windows in the entire building. We need to do at least that much to avoid any gossip.”
(Understood.)
Beep.
Did I really need to go this far?
Shin Yoseph hung up with that expression on his face.
Rescuing someone in crisis was one thing, but I also had to worry about the aftermath.
By any rational measure, it didn’t make financial sense.
“Heh.”
But since it was unavoidable, I could only let out a hollow laugh.
If I thought about profit margins, it was something I absolutely couldn’t do, and it was truly pathetic that there was another person like Shin Yoseph in this wretched world.
Tap, tap.
Stepping outside the orphanage, I lit a cigarette.
Through the glass window, my gaze met Kang Hyung-seok’s in the Director’s Office, and soon he came outside the building.
“All done?”
“Yeah, more or less.”
“Good work.”
I opened a can of coffee next to Shin Yoseph, who was smoking a cigarette.
The Nun had thoughtfully brought it for me, though it wasn’t my preferred brand.
Still, this was precisely the moment I needed something sweet and sugary.
“Does it taste good?”
“The Nun said this was all she had.”
“That’s actually something I donated….”
I sipped my coffee without responding.
Coffee and cigarettes.
The two of us enjoyed them separately, though they paired well together, savoring the serene silence.
“I should get going.”
When I suddenly rose to leave, Shin Yoseph’s brow furrowed.
“Is it because of the Company?”
“I need to return.”
I hadn’t asked Shin Yoseph for help.
I’d been relying on him far too frequently of late.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Shouldn’t you at least have a Shaman perform a ritual at Daejeong Materials?”
“I’m already troubled enough as it is.”
I climbed into my car, unwilling to discuss it further.
Vroom!
I started the engine and, checking my wristwatch, drove back toward the Company.
This is far from simple in every way.
It even feels cruel at times.
Yet this is my fate, so I forced my lips upward into a bitter smile as I drove.
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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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