An Office Worker Is Good At Exorcism - Chapter 278

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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 278
Part 3. Three Are Needed (1)
The preparations unfolded with deliberate composure.
Yet there was no room for complacency.
We couldn’t predict when or where flesh might suddenly erupt from the void.
“Shin Yoseph, hold it steady for me.”
“How?”
“Keep the mask from slipping off her face.”
Kang Hyung-seok withdrew a length of cord from his bag and wound it meticulously around Shin Jung-ah’s face.
He bound the cord around her forehead and secured it at the back of her head, then draped white cloth to conceal even her hair before wrapping another loop around it.
Wheeze, exhale, wheeze, exhale.
The mask, fashioned from thin paper, fluttered slightly around the lips with each breath Shin Jung-ah took, yet it showed no sign of coming loose.
Kang Hyung-seok watched the mask tremble faintly and pressed his lips into a firm line.
Clang!
The moment the Shaman’s Bell rang, the air around us began to shift.
Shin Yoseph then bound Shin Jung-ah’s body with white cloth and, standing roughly two meters away, pulled the fabric taut like a game of tug-of-war.
Then he cast a glance toward me.
Everything was ready—time to begin.
I nodded in acknowledgment and, watching Shin Jung-ah’s trembling form, opened my mouth.
“Oso, oso.”
Crack!
Shin Yoseph pulled the white cloth taut.
Shin Jung-ah’s body jolted, and I shook my head to signal it wasn’t time yet, then spoke again.
“Our nation of Korea is inherently a land of enlightenment, where mountains and rivers, sun and moon are separate yet unified.
Clang, clang.
India is named with clarity, and the divine spirits possess miraculous power—thus through this, filial piety toward parents and loyalty toward rulers, the distinction between husband and wife, respect for elders, and trust among friends form the five bonds of humanity.”
As I recited the sacred verses, my mouth felt parched and cracked.
Shin Yoseph and Shin Jung-ah likely felt the same.
To sever the flesh, I had to summon the Goblin—but no one could know how favorably it would emerge.
“The ruler as ruler and subject as subject, husband as husband and wife as wife form the three bonds—thus we see harmony in wind and seasons, year upon year of joy. Calamity retreats, misfortune withdraws, and from ancient times, prosperity has flourished.”
Yet I believed this method was our only solution.
The Goblin had witnessed it.
Everything that transpired here.
All that occurred in this place.
“Without seeking, we obtain; the crane dances freely, and the seasons bloom eternal with spring’s verdant hue. Gold and silver, jade and pearl—all treasures are gathered. The Way is not abandoned, the night is not sealed—thus the mountain knows no adversity.”
I pressed forward with the sacred verses, careful not to let anxiety seep into my voice, while the paper mask Shin Jung-ah wore fluttered rapidly with her ragged breathing.
It was a paper mask with no eye holes.
“Hm, hm, hm, hm.”
As Shin Jung-ah’s vision blurred into murky obscurity, she felt a tension so acute her heart seemed ready to burst from her chest.
“The worthy and the virtuous, the jade gate sealed—thus there is no calamity. The customs of the nation are as they should be, the divine spirits are clear and luminous, beyond all speech. May the mountains and waters bring fortune, and may the bowing of heads in reverence secure blessings.”
Shin Jung-ah’s eyes widened in shock.
“The Supreme Celestial Lord grants blessings for life’s needs and desires, while the Great Deities oversee fortune and misfortune, life and death, protection from calamity and swift recovery from illness, salvation from the four sufferings, and the fulfillment of all wishes.”
Something appeared.
Beyond the thin paper mask, in a place where there should have been only darkness, I saw someone—neither Kang Hyung-seok nor Shin Yoseph.
“Thus do I humbly beseech the Kings and Ministers of Heaven, bowing with utmost respect and reverence.”
As Shin Jung-ah blinked rapidly, questioning whether what she’d seen was real,
“With singular devotion I call upon the Twelve Great Deities, beneath the celestial bodies of sun and moon, descending to this earthly realm—”
Tap, tap, tap.
It began moving toward her rapidly.
The moment Shin Jung-ah opened her mouth wide to scream,
“Descend now and manifest your power.”
Kang Hyung-seok’s incantation ended.
Thwack!
And Shin Jung-ah felt something beyond the paper mask seize her face in a crushing grip.
Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Yoseph both froze.
The factory site was dark—profoundly dark—yet so silent that even the sound of air moving seemed audible.
Shin Jung-ah’s paper mask, which had been heaving with terror moments before, now hung motionless, and no vibration emanated from the white cloth connected to her body.
This made Shin Yoseph, gripping the rope, sense that whatever was attached to this line was no longer human.
Pull?
Unable to speak in such an atmosphere, Shin Yoseph posed his question with only his eyes, and Kang Hyung-seok slowly shook his head.
Then he carefully raised the Shaman’s Bell near his face.
Wa-ring.
As he shook the bell softly, Shin Jung-ah’s body convulsed violently.
“Hsssh, huuuuu—!”
Then Shin Jung-ah exhaled a harsh, guttural breath, and Kang Hyung-seok opened his mouth with deliberate caution.
“Who are you?”
“I told you to get out.”
The voice scraped across vocal cords with a grinding rasp.
Shin Yoseph clenched his teeth, gripping the white cloth in one hand while his other hand clutched the silver cross hanging from his neck.
Then it came.
“Are you a Goblin?”
“Don’t know.”
“Then who are you? Are you a Victim Spirit?”
“Don’t know.”
“Do you retain memories from life? What is your oldest memory?”
That was when it happened.
“Uuuaaaaaaah!”
Shin Jung-ah thrashed her body violently, tearing free the ropes bound around her.
Then, before anyone could stop her, she moved both hands toward the mask.
Crackle! Crackle-crackle!
Shin Yoseph and Kang Hyung-seok stiffened as they watched Shin Jung-ah tear at the paper covering her eyes.
Every movement she made radiated a wildness that bore no resemblance to the Shin Jung-ah they knew.
Flap.
Two small scraps of paper drifted down like dancers in motion.
Shin Jung-ah withdrew her hands from her face, and through the holes in the mask, her pupils fixed upon Kang Hyung-seok with an unblinking stare.
Though the surroundings were dark and devoid of any light source, both men could see the luminous gaze burning in Shin Jung-ah’s eyes with perfect clarity.
The pupils were not round.
Diamond-shaped pupils were surrounded by whites so bloodshot and crimson that they could not possibly belong to a human.
The possession had succeeded without question.
“Why do you speak so much when all you need do is shut your mouth and leave?”
Kang Hyung-seok swallowed hard and cast a glance toward Shin Yoseph.
I will handle this from here—just wait a moment, he signaled silently.
Whatever dwells within Shin Jung-ah does not appear benevolent, so there is nothing to gain by provoking it.
Nod.
Only after Shin Yoseph nodded did Kang Hyung-seok meet the Goblin’s gaze.
“I am a Shaman, and I am the one who summoned you.”
“Hrrrrgh.”
Shin Jung-ah’s throat rumbled like a beast, and Kang Hyung-seok continued in the calmest voice he could muster.
“I ask you, master of this ground.”
Shin Jung-ah’s eyes, visible through the gaps in the paper mask, narrowed to slits.
“Who is it that has defiled your territory and wrought such calamity?”
“…Hah.”
“Who allowed flesh to take root in the ceiling where deaths once occurred in the past?”
Shin Jung-ah said nothing.
Yet convinced through her eyes that she knew something, Kang Hyung-seok posed his final question with a voice heavy and weighted with power.
“The past seeks to devour the present—help me sever that thread.”
Shhhhh.
As Shin Jung-ah exhaled through her teeth, the paper mask fluttered and swayed.
And for a long moment, a heavy silence hung in the air.
Two people present—or rather, three.
Yet one of them was not human.
Shin Yoseph’s eyes posed the question silently: was this truly a Goblin? Kang Hyung-seok answered with silence.
Silence is affirmation.
The entity dwelling within Shin Jung-ah’s body was indeed a Goblin.
“Why should I?”
“Because you are the master of this ground.”
If his assumption was correct, this Goblin was born during the Odaeyang incident in the 1980s.
Having existed for such a short time, alone and in solitude in a place where few ever ventured, it had endured in isolation.
This being was none other than the master of this Goblin Ground.
“Master, you say.”
The Goblin savored Kang Hyung-seok’s words, repeating them as if tasting them, while Shin Yoseph’s lips trembled.
If the situation took an unfavorable turn, he was ready to intervene at any moment.
“Am I the master of this place?”
“Since you have been guarding this ground, what else would you be but its master?”
….
“I sought to drive away those who approached. That is the instinct of a master.”
Hmm.
“Will the master not carry the weight of the profane acts committed within this house?”
At Kang Hyung-seok’s words, the Goblin clamped its mouth shut.
Then it shifted its diamond-shaped pupils back and forth, sinking into deep contemplation, before finally fixing its gaze on Kang Hyung-seok and speaking.
“You would help me?”
“In the end, yes.”
As the Goblin’s reaction gradually shifted, Kang Hyung-seok desperately suppressed his tension.
Since ancient times, Goblins and humans had exchanged words through wrestling or conversation.
But how could a Goblin barely born and living in solitude all this time know of wrestling?
“Allow me to help the master of this ground.”
So Kang Hyung-seok chose to speak in a way that would stimulate the Goblin’s nature.
Easily swayed, shallow in thought, driven by desire.
“Master of the ground, master of the ground.”
The Goblin’s eyes gleamed as it repeated the words.
“What will you do? If we help, we can root out the wickedness that the uninvited guest has wrought upon this ground.”
Hmm.
The Goblin pondered even more deeply.
Then it fixed its gaze on Kang Hyung-seok, and the mouth of its paper mask fluttered as it spoke.
“What do you want?”
“Pardon?”
“You wouldn’t help me unless you wanted something.”
Kang Hyung-seok nodded finely at the Goblin’s angular pupils.
There was no distrust or wariness in the Goblin’s eyes.
“There are those who have recently tidied this land and erected new buildings.”
Ahhh.
“Allow that person to remain here and watch over them.”
The Goblin’s brow furrowed, and Kang Hyung-seok hurried to continue.
“This person will devoutly offer wine, rice cakes, and meat to the master of the ground. Moreover, they will manage the master’s land, so there is no harm in keeping them close.”
“Wine, rice cakes, and meat?”
“Yes. Precious foods.”
A brief silence fell.
During this moment, both Kang Hyung-seok and Shin Yoseph felt their mouths dry as if they had swallowed sand.
Would it work? Was this enough?
Could they win the Goblin’s heart?
Click.
My desperate resolve tightened around the Shaman’s Bell as I gripped it with all my strength.
“Can you really extract what those creatures did?”
“With your help, absolutely.”
Kang Hyung-seok answered with conviction, and the Goblin inhabiting Shin Jung-ah’s body snorted and turned around.
Without a word of invitation, it began walking ahead.
‘Perfect.’
Kang Hyung-seok gestured urgently for Shin Yoseph to follow as he pursued the Goblin.
Thank goodness. Truly a blessing.
The thread of resolution was now firmly wound in my grasp.
And I wouldn’t need to retrieve the pig’s entrails I’d secretly packed in the trunk.

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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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