Exorcism Specialist Company: Ghost Soul Trading - Chapter 75

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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 75

A few days earlier.
Moon So-ryeong had returned from the Jangdok Training Ground and spoke to Cha Manager.
“The way he swings that sword when cutting down the Jangdok Ghost—it’s no ordinary skill. I’ve never seen how the Founder was in his youth, but judging by his movements, I’d say he might even surpass him.”
“Come on, that’s ridiculous. No matter how talented his grandson is, he can’t match the Founder’s experience.”
“I’m serious. You need to understand this. The Founder had exceptional physical abilities from the start—so good he could fly around without even using Ghost Perception. But Kim Chief here? Without Ghost Perception, he’s just a scrawny engineering student nerd. Looks like a matchstick.”
“A matchstick, huh.”
“But the moment he activates Ghost Perception, he surpasses the Founder’s movements. How many times have you actually seen the Founder unleash a sword aura?”
“A sword aura. Hmm.”
“If you get the chance later, watch for yourself. You won’t believe it until you see it with your own eyes.”
Moon So-ryeong had shaken her head in exasperation as she spoke.
“If you get a chance later, take a look for yourself. You have to see it with your own eyes to believe it.”
Manager Moon So-ryeong shook her head disapprovingly and spoke.

It was true that he displayed the movements befitting a sword-wielding exorcist.
But that speed and precision.
Above all, the sheer power of his blade—severing the ghost’s body into three or four pieces in an instant—was at a level difficult to believe from a new employee.
It was a display of skill that even department heads specializing in sword exorcism couldn’t match.
Kim Tae-woo stood in his finishing stance, wreathed in black smoke.
His blade still gleamed brilliantly in the moonlight.
Thud—
That was when it happened.
A dull sound came from the direction of the Management Office where Ji-seok was.
When Tae-woo turned his head sharply that way, he saw multiple groups of ghosts pressing their faces against the windows and entrance, trying to get inside.
But they weren’t getting in. Each time they tried to force their bodies and heads through, they were repelled like opposite poles of a magnet.
It seemed they were being blocked by talismans.
“Don’t worry about Bang, Director. We’re moving forward.”
Cha Manager grabbed his rifle and rushed ahead.
“Yes, yes!”
Tae-woo followed right behind him, charging forward.
“Yes, yes!”
Kyaaaaaaaa—

Kyaaaaaaah!
Nooooo—

As I rushed toward the Cemetery, ghosts sporadically burst forth from the overgrown weeds.
However, every ghost that emerged at close range was annihilated by a single slash of my sword.
Cha Jun-ho found himself only dealing with ghosts that appeared from a distance.
‘It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this comfortable being deployed in the field with someone.’
He watched my abilities from beside me, marveling continuously.
Since I, the newcomer, was handling half of the emerging ghosts, Cha Jun-ho could significantly reduce his concerns about friendly fire accidents or ammunition shortages.
As we entered the Cemetery, the two of us surveyed our surroundings during a lull in the approaching ghosts.

[Zzzzzzzt— ding ding-ding-ding— zzt— zzt— ding— d-ding—]

Beethoven’s piano composition continued to pour from the speakers, distorted by static, while the orange glow of the streetlights flickered erratically and uneasily.
And spread before us in terraced rows were dozens of burial mounds of the Cemetery, laid out in a vast expanse.
Of course, all the mounds were overgrown with weeds and trees.
Some of the tombstones had toppled over.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—
That was the moment.
Among the ghosts that continued to emerge, an extraordinarily grotesque specter crawled forth.
The ghost that rose from the grave where a large tree had grown was wrapped tightly with tree roots around its neck and arms.
The tombstone of the grave from which it emerged had toppled forward, and the mound itself was half-collapsed, making its form difficult to discern at first glance.
Creak-creak-creak—
Every time the Tree Root Ghost moved its neck, an eerie sound emanated.
It resembled the sound of ancient trees rubbing against one another.
I and Cha Jun-ho aimed our weapons toward it.

Crack-crack-crack—

The ghost contorted its body into an unnatural angle and descended slowly from the mound.
Only then did the ghost’s face become clearly visible.
The ghost, appearing male, had eyes as black as pitch, and tree roots protruded from its nose and mouth, clinging to its cheeks.
“A ghost like that forms when tree roots penetrate the grave and overgrow the corpse.”
Cha Manager explained from beside me.
“Then what rank is a ghost like that?”
Kim Tae-woo asked with a tense expression.
“It varies depending on the situation.”
The moment Cha Manager answered, the ghost suddenly lunged forward.
He immediately aimed his gun at the ghost.
Just then, another ghost appeared from the side and seized Cha Manager’s gun barrel, twisting it sideways.
Pap-pap-pap-pap-pap-pap—
As the barrel twisted, bullets scattered in different directions.
Cha Manager immediately struck the ghost’s face beside him with his elbow.
Crack—
As the ghost staggered backward, Cha Manager swiftly turned his gun toward it and pulled the trigger.
Thud—
The bullet fired, blowing through the ghost’s back of the head.
Simultaneously, it scattered backward as black smoke.
But in that moment, the Tree Root Ghost was already upon him.
Screech-screech-screech-screech—
Crack-crack-crack-crack—
The ghost suddenly unleashed the tree roots clinging to both its arms like tentacles.
Crackle-crackle-crackle—
Those tentacles coiled around Cha Manager’s gun, arm, and neck respectively, hoisting him into the air.
“Ugh! You damned bastard!”
Cha Manager cursed in fury.
With his remaining free hand, he tried to draw his pistol.
But another tree root tentacle that approached restrained that hand as well.
Suddenly suspended in midair, his breathing grew increasingly constricted.
“I— ugh! Do you think I’d fall to the likes of you!”
Even in agony, Cha Manager gritted his teeth and smiled.
Then he bent his middle finger once before snapping it straight, and a metal rod slid out with a click from inside his sleeve.
Yellow talismans were wrapped around the rod like insulation tape, and a button protruded from its side.

Click—

I pressed the button slightly, and a short blade sprang out.
It was a double-action OTF knife modified to attack ghosts with talismans.
Using the knife, I immediately stabbed the wooden tentacle that was binding my arm.
Black smoke erupted, and the tentacle released me.
And just as I was about to free the tentacle wrapped around my neck—

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat—

In a split second, Kim Tae-woo brushed past Cha Jun-ho and rushed forward.
Whoooosh—
Tae-woo came charging at incredible speed, planted his feet to brake, and dove between the wooden tentacles.
Then, tracing a wide circle, he swung his sword in a grand, sweeping arc.
Slice-slice-slice—
Moonlight reflected off the blade in brilliant white, creating the illusion of a full moon hanging before us.
At the same moment, three or four wooden tentacles that had been restraining Cha Jun-ho were severed cleanly and fell to the ground.
Thud—
Thump-thump-thump—
Clatter—
Cha Jun-ho, his gun, and the severed tentacles crashed to the ground.

Hisssss—

The severed tentacles dissolved into black smoke and vanished.
But countless wooden roots still clung to the ghost.

Slice-slice-slice-slice—

The ghost, targeting me, extended sharp wooden roots from its back like a spider.
Then it lunged at me as if to pierce me through.
Snap—
But I didn’t think of dodging to the side or backward—I charged straight ahead.

Whoooooosh—

Pointed wooden tentacles swarmed toward me.
I threw my body forward with all my strength.
At the same time, I extended my sword ahead and spun my body.

Whoooooosh—

In that instant, my body spun like a drill, my blade thrust forward at tremendous speed.
The wooden tentacles also coiled around me, as if trying to ensnare my body.
“Danger—!”
Cha Manager shouted as he raised his gun.
But I was faster.
Whoooosh—
My Guichal Blade, extended through the spiraling wooden tentacles, pierced through the Tree Root Ghost’s solar plexus and passed through.
At the same moment, the wooden tentacles that had been coiling froze as if encased in ice.
Thud—
I landed before the ghost with my blade embedded in its solar plexus, then grasped the sword hilt and unleashed a devastating attack.
With the blade still lodged in the ghost’s solar plexus, I kicked the hilt upward with my foot.
Crack—crack—crack—crack—
Whoooosh—
The Guichal Blade shot upward as it received tremendous force.
Along with it, the Tree Root Ghost’s upper body and head split vertically in two.
Hissssss—
Black smoke erupted into the air.
The Tree Root Ghost suddenly became Y-shaped and staggered.
I twisted my body to the side and simultaneously swung my blade with full force.
Whoooosh—
The ghost, cleaved down to the pelvis, toppled sideways and crumbled into black dust.
Fzzzzzzzzz—
Soon the black dust transformed into smoke and scattered into the sky.
Witnessing this spectacle, Cha Manager was astonished once more.
The fact that physical force could be exerted through the gun meant this Tree Root Ghost was at least a Grade 4 Jangdo Ghost.
I had effortlessly cut down another Grade 4 ghost.
‘Is this guy a monster? Has the Guichal Blade grown stronger?’
It seemed that when receiving the will of the Guichal Blade, fear itself would vanish.
Though it was uncommon to see a ghost tangled within a tree, I had rushed forward and cut it down in merely three exchanges.
But I myself was thinking differently.
Even when receiving the will of the Guichal Blade, fear did not disappear.
Rather, despite being terrified and reluctant to fight, I felt as though the blade was controlling my body.
After experiencing this sensation several times, I came to believe that surrendering completely to the blade was safer than remaining paralyzed by fear.
So I simply moved forward with only one conviction: ‘The Guichal Blade will not kill me.’
After my movements began, whenever I recalled various sword techniques in my mind, I would engage the ghost based on those techniques.
That was the case just moments ago.
When I saw Cha Manager under attack, my charge forward was the will of the Guichal Blade.
But the method to break through the advancing wooden tentacles head-on, and the method to sever the Tree Root Ghost’s upper body with several times greater force while it was tangled in wood—those were ideas I conceived in my mind.
And the Guichal Blade realized them with superhuman physical abilities.
In other words, my sword technique ideas, the Guichal Blade’s will, and the superhuman abilities it generated were combining to produce these remarkable results.
Of course, no one understood this.
Though the others knew the will of the Guichaldo, they couldn’t honor it, and thus they failed to comprehend Tae-woo’s feelings.
Tae-woo himself still lacked sufficient understanding of the Guichaldo, so he had no idea how to explain it.
And so now—everyone could only marvel at Tae-woo’s ability, one that defied explanation, one that could not be explained.
Leave— return— leave— return—
Then, from a distance away, a woman’s voice echoed through the air.
It was the very ghost’s voice they had heard before.
Cha Jun-ho sheathed the knife he had drawn earlier back into his sleeve, then retrieved his rifle and turned his head in that direction.
A Female Ghost dressed in blue jeans and a white shirt stood quietly at the edge of the Cemetery, watching the two of them.

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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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