Exorcism Specialist Company: Ghost Soul Trading - Chapter 65

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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 65

Rumble—Crack!—
Flash—Flash—
Boom!—
Thunder and lightning pierced the darkened School Corridor, their light and sound overwhelming.
Whoooosh—Rumble rumble rumble—
And between those sounds came an eerie melody.
Mozart’s Requiem played in reverse, echoing through every corner of the corridor—its notes twisted into something far from normal.
It sounded like the incantation of some vast demon.
Yet I charged forward, following that haunting sound.
Fear gripped me, certainly.
But I ran with fierce determination, sustained only by a vague faith that Gui-chal would protect me.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud—
With each stride, the flashlight mounted on my smart glasses swung wildly.
Shadows danced across the corridor’s fixtures and pillars, creating the illusion that someone stood there.
But through my radar, I sensed every ghost within a twenty-meter radius—so I pushed my speed even harder, confident nothing could ambush me.
That was when it happened.
A blue dot appeared on my radar.
Since I was running at full speed, the blue dot rushed toward me just as rapidly.
Right then—
A ghost suddenly burst from the shadow of a pillar against the corridor wall.
It had no eyes, and its mouth stretched from ear to ear.
Without breaking stride, I drew my sword as I ran.
Shing—
Slash!—
The moment my blade cleared its sheath, the ghost’s torso split cleanly in two.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—
The ghost dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
Even as I continued running, the air currents from my swift passage whipped the dissipating smoke into violent spirals.
Thud-thud-thud-thud—
I didn’t stop, racing toward the source of the sound.
Suddenly, I noticed blue dots clustering to my right.
They were near the corridor windows.
As I ran and glanced toward the windows, I saw ghosts standing beyond the rain-streaked glass.
They all had their palms pressed against the panes, their mouths gaping wide open.
Like the horde that had swarmed earlier, they wore clothes of every conceivable style.
Something was calling the ghosts of this area relentlessly into being.
‘As I suspected, it’s because of that LP player.’
Witnessing this phenomenon, I could deduce the truth.
The music from that LP player was luring the ghosts.
Which meant the ghosts were incredibly drawn to the sound of that LP.
This was an enormous advantage for exorcists, shamans, and mediums.
Why did people who dealt with spirits carry bells and fans, or whistle?
It was to summon ghosts.
But if someone were to flee with an LP player like this, and all the ghosts in the vicinity gathered while the music played, it meant this could summon spirits far more effectively than any ritual tool.
The only problem was the excess.
I pressed forward, leaving the ghosts clawing at the windows behind me.
As I reached the end of the Corridor, a Staircase leading to the upper floor appeared.

Screeeech—

Suddenly, a ghost with abnormally long arms hurled itself at me from atop the Staircase.
I swung my sword through the air as if I’d been waiting for this.
Slash—
With a sharp, dull crack, the ghost’s body split in two above my head.

Screeeeeech—
Fzzzzzt—

Black smoke poured down over me.
I paid it no mind and bounded up the Staircase.
As I reached the Second Floor again, the Cloud Bridge leading to the Annex Building came into view.
The LP’s music was drifting from that direction as well.
I immediately turned to cross the Cloud Bridge.
Then—in the middle of the darkened corridor-like Cloud Bridge, I saw a black silhouette standing.
I stopped at the entrance of the Cloud Bridge and adjusted my grip on my sword.

Beep—

My radar confirmed a ghost ahead.
A very powerful one—based on experience, it registered at Grade 4 or higher.

Rumble rumble rumble—

That was when it happened.
Thunder and lightning crackled as white light poured through both windows of the Cloud Bridge.
In that brief flash, I saw not a ghost, but Yoon Taek-jong clutching an LP player and a sword.
The moment I spotted him, I had to slowly lower my blade.
My radar clearly showed a ghost’s presence, yet standing before my eyes was a living, breathing Yoon Taek-jong.
Worse still, his clothes were drenched in blood.
I narrowed my eyes, trying to make sense of the situation.

“Kekeke— kekekekekeke— kekekekekekeke—”

Yoon Taek-jong’s mouth twisted into a grotesque grin as he began laughing in a deeply unsettling manner.
“Teacher, what is this?” I asked.
I posed the question.

“Kekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekekeke!”

Yoon Taek-jong didn’t answer, only continued his grotesque laughter.
That was when I understood.
Yoon Taek-jong was possessed by a ghost.
Kwaaaaang—
Thunder and lightning struck again, white light flooding in once more.
In that brilliant flash, Yoon Taek-jong vanished.
The blue dot on my radar disappeared simultaneously.
I gripped my sword and immediately crossed the Cloud Bridge to examine the spot where he’d been standing.
Water pooled on the floor.
It was clear he’d come here from the Parking Lot.
“There was definitely blood on his clothes.”
The crucial question was: whose blood was it?
It certainly wasn’t Seung-hun’s.
His message had arrived just moments ago.
That meant the blood was either from self-inflicted wounds or from the School Janitor.
“Did the ghost possess him and make him stab the janitor? Or did he hurt himself?”
Regardless, it was clear the ghost intended to harm both the School Janitor and Yoon Taek-jong.
I recalled the Female Student Ghost I’d encountered in the Music Room earlier and rose to my feet.

Duuuung— duuuung—

And I listened to the eerie, reversed Mozart Requiem echoing through the darkened Annex Building.
Following the sound, I began to move.

* * *

Walking through the Annex Building Corridor, I sank into deep contemplation.
It was an undeniable fact that I possessed the ability to see and cut ghosts.
And I had learned how to handle objects harboring spirits.
But I still hadn’t learned how to deal with people possessed by ghosts.
Both the Ghostbane Blade and the Blood Severing Sword were sharpened to the point where they could cut through actual flesh.
If I swung my sword as things stood, I could certainly cut down a possessed person.
But—no matter how possessed someone was, cutting them down would inevitably constitute murder.
Meanwhile, possessed individuals wield their blades recklessly without hesitation.
Even if he stabbed me to death and faced murder charges, it would be the possessed person who was punished, not the ghost.
Therefore, a ghost could easily commit murder through possession.
Thinking about it that way, I would be at a disadvantage if I encountered Yoon Taek-jong in combat.
‘How should I fight if we meet? Should I cut his legs or arms?’
I pondered this internally as I followed the sound of music.
‘No. Even cutting his legs or arms would cause injury. I can’t escape legal responsibility.’
No matter how much I thought about it, there was no answer.

Uuuuuung— uuuuuuung—

Then, the Ghostbane Blade at my waist trembled faintly.
It felt as though it was demanding something.
Simultaneously, my radar resonated at my location.
There was a ghost right here.
I drew my sword and immediately became alert to my surroundings.
But no ghost appeared from any direction.
“What is this? A malfunction?”
I tilted my head in confusion and sheathed the blade again.
In that moment, I recalled that the Ghostbane Blade contained the soul of Kim Hwan, the greatest swordsman of Joseon, along with countless fragments of spirits destroyed by this very blade.
“Could it be… that this sword was detected by the radar?”
I lifted the blade and examined it from various angles.
Now nothing registered on my radar.
“….”
If souls dwelled in this blade just as spirits inhabited objects, it made sense that the radar could detect it.
Guuuung duuuuung—
Then the music from the darkness grew louder for a moment before fading.
For now, I needed to continue pursuing the sound.
I walked forward again, quietly stroking the blade.
The faint trembling of the Ghostbane Blade subsided once more.
Continuing to follow the LP player’s sound, I felt myself drawing steadily closer.
I concentrated all my senses on hearing, advancing slowly, one step at a time.
Ever since I began to sense sounds emanating from this vicinity, I’d been slowing my pace.
Thud—thud—thud—
Thump—
Then I stopped before the Classroom.
Music from the LP player was pouring out from inside the Classroom.
I checked the radar.
A deep blue dot was blinking inside the Classroom.
It meant Yoon Taek-jong, possessed by a ghost, was in there.
I approached slowly and slid open the Classroom door.
Screeeech—
The music from the LP player grew louder.
Thud—
As I stepped inside and looked toward the front of the Classroom, I saw Yoon Taek-jong’s back in the corner, crouched down facing the wall.
He was squatting, hugging the LP player while staring at the wall.

Grooooooan—boom boom boooom—

Even so, the reversed Mozart Requiem continued to flow.
I approached slowly, gripping my sword tightly.
Since a strong flashlight beam was shining at his location, he must have sensed my approach.
Yet he remained crouched, unmoving.
No—he was moving slightly.
He was tenderly caressing the LP player he held in his arms.
‘There’s definitely a reaction.’
I could reaffirm what effect the LP player had.
Suddenly, I spotted a knife lying beside Yoon Taek-jong.
It was a kitchen knife stained with blood.
And I could see blood smeared on Yoon Taek-jong’s pants and shoes as well.
Since no blood was pooling around him, it didn’t appear to be self-inflicted.
It looked as though blood had splattered on his clothes while he attacked someone.
Craaaaaack—
Then thunder and lightning flashed, illuminating the Classroom.
“Teacher Yoon?”
I called out softly.
But there was no response.
“Teacher Yoon.”
I called again.
Suddenly, his hand, which had been tenderly caressing the LP player, stopped.
Then Mozart’s Requiem began to play normally again.

Boooom, boom-boom-boooom— boooom—

In the midst of it all, Yoon Taek-jong began to murmur.

“You deserve to die. You deserve to die. Why should I let you live? You killed us.”

The voice reached my ears clearly.
But it wasn’t Yoon Taek-jong’s normal voice.
It was an eerie sound—a man forcing himself to mimic a woman’s voice.
“‘You’ deserve to die? ‘I’ killed ‘us’?”
I asked back.
I couldn’t understand who the “you” and “us” he was referring to were.

“You deserve to die. You killed us. Hehehehe.”

Yoon Taek-jong giggled and slowly turned his head.
Then his face, drenched in rainwater and twisted in laughter, was revealed in the flashlight’s beam.
His lips were shredded from biting them so hard, and blood streamed down from beneath them.
It seemed he had indeed been harming himself.
“You killed us—!!”
Then Yoon Taek-jong glared at me and screamed, his face contorting violently.
At the same time, all the wrinkles on his face crumpled grotesquely, creating a deeply unsettling sight.

Crash—!!

And then he lunged straight at me.
A “living man” with a build of at least eighty kilograms came at me with physical force, forcing me to stumble backward in that instant.

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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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