Ghosts to Ash

The fire that had started on the first floor of the apartment building raced upward, floor by floor. Acrid black smoke filled the sky, and the air around the building seared with heat.

A siren wailed from inside the apartment complex — the fire alarm. I watched the building blaze for a moment, then stepped back and slipped behind a nearby tree. Students who had been inside came stumbling out in a panic.

People who had spotted the smoke from outside began gathering, one after another. To them, a fire was a rare spectacle — something worth stopping to watch.

A little later, another siren cut through the air. Fire trucks had arrived. Firefighters charged into the building, working to suppress the blaze.

The apartment ghosts had no power left to fight. Ghosts are weak against yang energy — which is to say, they are weak against fire. With the entire building burning, their strength would drain away, and with so many people clustered outside, they couldn't escape either. The more humans gather in one place, the more yang energy they radiate.

The moment dozens of people became aware of them, a ghost would be crushed under the flood of yang energy and die.

From a ghost's perspective, it was a perfect dead end.

At some point I stopped hiding and stood out in the open, watching the fire burn.

"Kyaaaaaaaah!"

A scream tore ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠out of the apartment.

The people nearby flinched.

"Sounds like someone's still trapped in there…"

"Oh no…"

"God. I hope everyone's okay."

They stared at the building with worried eyes. When a firefighter emerged carrying an unconscious person, the crowd erupted in cheers as if greeting a hero.

I tilted my head. That scream I'd just heard — that hadn't been human. That had been a ghost.

I checked the notification windows, then turned around.

Maybe it was the drop in Ghost Qi Degree. My steps on the way home felt light.

Worried about the arson?

Don't be. The cops in this world are incompetent, and I'd already checked for things like CCTV before I made my move. There wouldn't be any evidence. Even if they suspected me, all I had to do was deny everything.

I went back to Ji Dahye's place. After fucking her all night long, I headed to school.

"Keh heh heh. Seong Yujin. You aware that a fire broke out at the dorm apartment yesterday?"

The second I walked into the classroom, Shin Ojeong came at me with the news.

I was the one who'd started that fire. Since I couldn't exactly say that out loud, I played dumb.

"No idea. Don't care either."

"Figured as much. All you care about is exorcism, after all."

I didn't care about exorcism either. The only reason I did any of this was to clear the heroines. Lower the Ghost Qi Degree, and the ghosts possessing them get weaker.

"Got any intel on ghosts?"

"That dorm apartment that burned yesterday. There were rumors of ghosts showing up there. One of the students living in the dorms kept dreaming about jumping to their death every night. Another claimed they saw a ghost standing in the hallway. And one student supposedly fainted after spotting a long-haired ghost in the shower room."

"Building's ash now, so those ghost rumors should die with it."

I said it like it was nothing.

Shin Ojeong stared at me hard.

"…Don't tell me you set that fire. To exorcise the ghosts?"

"Hey, pig. Try making sense for once. What kind of lunatic burns down a building to get rid of ghosts? That's burning down the whole house to catch a flea."

"Hmm… fair enough. I got a tip that there were signs of arson, so I got a little oversensitive. My apologies."

Shin Ojeong bowed his head. I accepted the apology and let my thoughts wander for a second.

Burning down the whole house to catch a flea.

If it kills the flea, what's wrong with burning a little?

"Any other ghost intel?"

"Hmm. Another murder last night."

"The convenience store killer?"

"That's right. Same perpetrator as the convenience store murders. Last night, two taekwondo instructors were butchered at their dojo. And once again — zero leads on the killer. No CCTV footage, nothing on the dashcams either."

"You still think a ghost did it?"

"The killer is committing these crimes out in the open. And yet the police can't even collect a proper clue, let alone find a trail. It doesn't make sense unless a ghost is behind it. This is a hundred and twenty percent a ghost's work."

Shin Ojeong's face was dead serious.

For someone who wasn't even an exorcist, his instincts were pretty sharp. But that was as far as it went. There was nothing Shin Ojeong could actually do. Gathering intel on ghosts and personally exorcising them were two completely different things.

"So, Hell's Six-Section Staff… what are you going to do about it?"

"Don't call me that shit. As for the killer… I've got nothing either. Even if it is a ghost, there's no telling where the hell it'll show up next. Tracking it's a nightmare."

"I see… so to exorcise it, you first have to run into it."

"Which is why we deal with the other ghosts first. You can't exorcise something when you don't even know where it is."

"If we leave that thing alone, the body count will keep climbing."

"Then what do you want me to do? Like I said — we don't know where it is. I can't waste time chasing something with no location. Cleaning up the other ghosts in the meantime is the better play."

"Mmm… so the real problem is that we can't pinpoint the ghost's location…"

I flicked a glance forward.

At Yu Semi — the prime suspect in the murders. Class president Yu Semi was chatting cheerfully with the other students, looking like she didn't have a care in the world.

"Ah, right. Seong Yujin. Ji Dahye — one of our school's Three Great Beauties — was absent both yesterday and today. Anything to do with you? You were out yesterday too."

"No connection."

I cut him off flat.

The Three Great Beauties.

Shorthand for the three heroines. Yu Semi, Ji Dahye, Seol Jiyoung. The most beautiful girls in school — the kind of setup you saw in every dating sim.

"Well, if you say so, I'll take your word for it. So which ghost are you exorcising today? I've got intel that a water ghost is haunting the school pool."

"A water ghost? Easy job. You handle it."

"…What, me?!"

"Simple. Show up when the water ghost appears and dump a shitload of chlorine into the pool."

"You're saying chlorine can exorcise a water ghost? Are you serious?"

"I took out a hungry ghost with deworming meds. What's your point?"

"Hmm. True enough. But I'm not a professional exorcist. Shouldn't this be your job?"

Shin Ojeong was completely rattled. His face had gone stiff, and cold sweat was beading on his forehead.

"You said you wanted to be an exorcist's manager. Stop whining. A water ghost is something you can handle alone."

"But… a ghost is still a ghost. There's no way an ordinary human like me could—"

"Water ghosts can't leave the pool. Standing back and dumping chlorine into the water is something even you can manage, right?"

"…I still have a hard time believing something that simple can exorcise a water ghost… but I watched you take out a hungry ghost with deworming meds with my own eyes, so I can't exactly refuse to believe it. Fine. I'll handle ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the water ghost today, as you say. Still — just in case I fail — I should write my will in advance…"

Pen in hand, Shin Ojeong started scribbling something in his notebook with a deadly serious expression. I ignored him and looked straight ahead. Today, I was going after Yu Semi.

After school, Yu Semi and I left campus together. We weren't heading home — we were heading into the city. In short: a date.

Thanks to the baseline affection she already had for me, reeling her in was easy. All I'd said was that we should hang out outside of school, and she'd accepted on the spot. Not a hint of suspicion.

Walking beside me, Yu Semi was beaming.

"Yujin, I can't even remember the last time we went out like this… Let's have fun today."

"We can hang out next time too. No big deal."

I rested a hand on her shoulder. Yu Semi's body gave a little jolt. She didn't shake my hand off. Instead, her cheeks flushed faintly pink.

"Next time too… Mm. Just say the word, anytime."

"You got the time? You're in the kendo club, and you've got studying to do."

"I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠can't free up a ton of hours, but… after school I can spare three or four."

"Oh yeah? How late can you stay out today?"

She glanced at me, fidgeting.

"W-whatever you want. I've got plenty of time today…"

"So you can stay out till dawn, then. Right?"

Dawn.

Yu Semi flinched at the word, then gave a shy little nod.

"If it's with you, it's fine."

"Won't your parents worry?"

"I'll just say I'm sleeping over at ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a friend's place."

"That so? Then let's go all out today. But first… I want to get you a present. Clothes sound good. You'll take them, right?"

"Clothes? You're picking them out yourself?"

"I'll pick out something pretty."

"I'm looking forward to it. But do you have the money?"

I pulled a card from my wallet. I'd checked the balance at the school store — there was a decent amount on it. Money earned through exorcism work, apparently.

I took her into a clothing shop downtown. More precisely, a women's lingerie store.

"H-here…?!"

Yu Semi panicked. Her black hair, tied up in a ponytail, whipped hard as she turned.

Most guys couldn't walk into a women's lingerie store. Hell, it was basically impossible. But with a girl in tow, the story changed. I grabbed Yu Semi by the waist and strode right up to the female clerk. The clerk smiled at us.

"Welcome. Are you a couple? You two look lovely together."

"Yes. I'd like to buy my girlfriend some lingerie. Got anything sexy?"

We were in school uniforms, but we were adults. Nobody was going to throw us out.

"Ah — the corner over there has plenty of what you're looking for. I'd be happy to help."

"That's alright. I promised I'd pick them out myself."

"In that case… understood. The fitting rooms are over that way."

"Thank you."

I steered the still-frozen Yu Semi over to the sexy lingerie section. There was a solid selection of adult pieces.

I scanned the area and checked for CCTV. For the size of the store, the cameras were sparse. Plenty of blind spots. I smiled, satisfied.

"Semi. Show me your underwear."

"W-what?!"

"I'm curious what you're wearing right now. You can show me, right?"

"I-if it's your request…"

Yu Semi swallowed hard, grabbed the hem of her skirt, and lifted it.