Chapter 23
Chapter 23
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 023
Chapter Title: Ghostbuster (7)
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Chomp chomp~
"Gyaa~."
Grizzly happily devoured Mireh's head.
"......"
Then, as it gazed down at the leftover corpse—headless and armless—it suddenly remembered Yohan's carefree words.
'Grizzly, don't eat anything unless I tell you to.'
"Gyaak!"
The weird guy had touched it without permission, so the grimoire Mysteries of Insects had awakened it to attack. It was hungry anyway.
And it wasn't one of those "people" the master had warned against eating casually... so it just went ahead and ate.
"Gya aa..."
Grizzly stared down at Mireh's remains.
...Still, it had eaten way less than it left behind. Maybe it wouldn't get in that much trouble?
No! This had to be the bait the master left behind! ...Right?
Grizzly paced circles around the room.
That's when it spotted the CCTV screens monitoring the underground chambers.
And there—one screen showed the room where Yohan was trapped.
"Gyaah!"
Its panicked thoughts of what if I get scolded... flipped instantly to Master!
It smashed through the locked door.
Bang!
"Haaah..."
Grizzly emerged into the underground corridor. It glanced around,
then headed toward Yohan's energy.
An unfamiliar place... but for finding its master.
Grizzly's adventure had begun!
A cell-like room with barred walls.
Yohan had pretended to pass out until the ranch workers locked him away here. A suitable amount of time had passed,
and the moment he decided to fake waking up...
Terror-stricken voices filled the air.
"Wh-where is this place!?"
"I was definitely eating... then my head started spinning..."
"Anyone have a phone? C-call the police! Police!"
A calm woman's voice cut through.
"I understand you're all confused, but please calm down."
He naturally opened his eyes to look.
A poised beauty with emotions hard to read was soothing the others.
Shin Sion, leader of Special Task Force Team 3.
"......"
Sion hesitated briefly upon seeing Yohan awake.
But to keep the group from panicking further, she flashed her Special Task Force badge and revealed her identity.
"I'm Shin Sion, an agent with a government agency. I can't give details, but... think of me as something like a field operative."
"Huh? Government agency? For real?"
"What the hell is going on here?"
"Who cares about that right now! We're okay, right!? Let us out, quick!"
Sion's steady voice quieted the clamor.
"Everyone, please stay quiet for now. The ones who locked us up might hear."
The chatter died down, and all eyes turned to Sion.
Yohan watched her too, standing a step back from the crowd as he thought.
In times like these, a badge or an armband really does the trick.
If he'd been in her position flashing his Ghostbuster card...
'Ahem! This is who I am!'
...he'd have been dismissed as a lunatic on the spot.
Not that he'd ever planned to, of course.
Still, a government agent...
Probably from the same outfit as the officials who'd shown up at Smith's mansion instead of the police?
A government group handling bizarre incidents.
If that was true, he needed to revise his plan: link up with the hungry Grizzly who'd come sniffing him out, track down the wizard behind this, and squeeze out some intel.
Rushing in greedily for gains could expose him.
That was too risky. Besides, if they had agents investigating...
Sion's low voice reassured the group.
"There are other agents outside. My signal got cut off, so they'll find us soon."
Yohan's eyes narrowed slightly.
...Yeah, no way she came alone.
There had to be other teammates nearby on the ranch grounds.
As Sion calmed the others, she briefly narrowed her eyes at Yohan.
Other Special Task Force members were out there.
It was true, said to ease their fears... but also a warning aimed at Yohan.
If he was the real university killer, it meant he commanded a powerful familiar.
He could summon it to escape—and silence everyone here to cover his tracks.
By revealing backup outside, she aimed to deter any reckless moves.
Of course, it was a bluff with no real enforcement.
Depending on how things unfolded, Yohan could still act unpredictably, so caution was key.
With that in mind, Sion gave them a brief rundown: this was an organ trafficking ring masquerading as a ranch, stay calm and they'd escape safely.
Yohan mentally pieced together her info.
As expected, she glossed over anything about wizards or monsters.
Though the trafficking angle probably wasn't wrong either.
Recalling the ranch workers' chatter earlier, the boss here was a wizard.
Which made this place a wizard's workshop.
Anyway, like he'd thought before.
With a secret government agent on the scene, time to revise the plan.
He'd wanted to meet another wizard personally for intel... but it wasn't worth risking exposure.
A guy pulling off mass kidnappings like this had to be unhinged. Better to skip the meet-and-greet.
Grab his bag with Grizzly and the grimoire, slip out quietly—not a bad option.
The issue was snagging the grimoire without drawing suspicion from that agent...
The captives slumped against the cell floor, mulling over their fear and faint hopes of survival.
Yohan quietly observed Sion amid the lull in questions. Then,
their eyes met as she looked his way.
"......"
Avoiding eye contact suddenly would look suspicious, so Sion approached cautiously.
She sat beside him and spoke softly.
"You're handling this a lot calmer than the others."
Dodging conversation would seem off too, so Yohan played along.
"...I was just too scared to speak up."
Assuming she knew about the Smith mansion incident as a government agent, he added,
"Plus, I get dragged into stuff like this pretty often, so I'm kinda used to it."
Painting himself as someone prone to bizarre mishaps.
"...I see. If you're involved in these so much, what's your job?"
"Ah, I'm an exorcist, for starters."
"An exorcist?"
Her eyes flickered at the unexpected answer—just then.
Bang!
Gunfire echoed from the underground corridor.
Not just one shot.
Bang! Bang! BANG!
The rapid bursts made Yohan and Sion's eyes widen in sync. She furrowed her brow and stood.
"I'll go check the situation. It's dangerous, so everyone stay here."
Sion felt Yohan's gaze but prioritized the captives' safety now.
Time to play her hand.
Humans lacked the occult ties of monsters, but not always. People carried their own mysteries.
Like inexplicable superhuman strength at fire scenes.
Or tales of ordinary folk slaying beasts from legend.
Unlike magic's plundering of energy, power, or mysteries from elsewhere—it was similar yet distinct.
A technique built and unleashed through training.
Sion pressed her palm to the barred door.
"Hoo..."
Deep breath. Legs braced, she exploded her palm against the bars.
Crack!
Clunk! The lock shattered, and the door creaked open.
Sion turned to Yohan.
"Sorry for the deception, Yohan. I already knew who you were—I read the report on the Smith painter's mansion incident."
"Heard you helped the nun exorcise an evil spirit. Could you lend a hand with this? Things have changed, and I need backup."
Yohan stood at her request.
"...Not sure how much help I'll be, but I'll do my best."
A woman who'd just smashed bars barehanded wanted him along?
What choice did he have? Go with her.
And ironically, in this chaos, she seemed like the safest bet to stick by.
Plus, he was curious about that mystical power she'd shown.
...Closest thing that came to mind? Martial arts?
Yeah, he had to admit—it got his blood pumping a little.
Could he learn it too? Maybe shoot sword beams or palm winds?
His eyes narrowed faintly.
Screw magic—he'd switch to martial arts on the spot.
Nah, study both on the side.
Magic wasn't that special anyway.
Doing what ordinary people couldn't—that was magic.
In that sense, they were alike.
Yohan's dark eyes fixed on Sion.
She knew about wizards intellectually... but didn't fully grasp them.
Beings who coveted even the arts humans built themselves.
That was a wizard.
Swordsmanship that cleaved the sky? To them, it wasn't swordsmanship anymore—it was magic. Wizard mindset, through and through.