The Sealed Rakshasa

Shin Ojeong: Do you know about Nuri Hospital?

Of course I did.

Nuri Hospital was a massive medical complex famous throughout the region. Of course, the reason I knew about it was a little different from everyone else's.

Nuri Hospital appeared in the original story. More precisely, it was tied to Seol Jiyoung.

Seol Jiyoung had a terminal illness. As a kid, she lived at Nuri Hospital instead of going to school.

I drove to the hospital.

Nine in the evening. The sun had already set, but the night was still young.

For an abandoned hospital, Nuri Hospital was clean. Only three months since it shut down — that was why. The mismatched cleanliness made the place even more unsettling.

I tossed a can of gasoline into the hospital and threw a lit match after it.

Might as well start with fire.

The oil caught — flames roared up for a second — then snuffed out with a soft pfft.

"……."

Ghost qi. Definitely a ghost's doing.

"Interesting."

I rolled my right shoulder, exorcism staff in hand, and walked into the abandoned hospital.

The moment I stepped inside, the floor shuddered and everything inside rattled and clattered.

Poltergeist activity.

The low-tier trash were trying to scare me without knowing their place. I grabbed a nearby flowerpot and hurled it straight ahead. It shattered with a loud crash, dirt spraying everywhere.

"Come out, you bastards! Today's your death anniversary!"

Bang! Bang!

I swung the exorcism staff at the walls in irritation.

"Heheheh."

"He's here. He's here."

"Stupid fool… do you even know where you are…"

"A newborn pup that doesn't know to fear the tiger."

"Arrogant. So arrogant."

Ghosts appeared.

From every direction. Ordinary spirits, and here and there even ghosts that had reached the level of yokai.

…Shit. That's a lot.

Individually, none of them matched the Red Mask. But the numbers were the problem. Just the ones surrounding me already topped twenty.

Looks like I'm fucked…. Should I start thinking about a restart? Damn it. Then everything I spent today exorcising ghosts would be a total waste.

That said, I had no intention of running. I didn't even think running was possible. I raised the exorcism staff.

I already knew, from countless creative works, the mindset a regressor was supposed to have.

Even if you die, you don't just die. You pry out at least a little information before you go.

For example — the weaknesses of the ghosts here.

"Come on! Come at me!"

I beckoned them forward.

But the ghosts only surrounded me and didn't move. Their numbers had already passed forty.

Something was off.

Ghosts didn't usually gather like this. They did whatever they wanted.

…The Hyakki Yagyō Shin Ojeong mentioned?! ……These are pretty pathetic ghosts to call a Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

I was frowning at the incomprehensible situation when I heard footsteps. Footsteps you didn't hear from ghosts. Human ones.

The ghosts parted cleanly to either side. Walking down that path was Seol Jiyoung.

"Jiyoung-sunbae…?"

"Hi, Yujin. Fancy meeting you here."

"Why are you here, sunbae?"

"Why am I here…. Because this is our home, of course."

"What?"

Seol Jiyoung smiled and came closer. Cold washed over me. Goosebumps rose on my skin. Even after exorcising countless ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠ghosts from morning to evening, her power didn't seem weakened at all.

…Maybe I picked the wrong direction from the start.

The ghosts had already cut off every escape route. There was nothing I could do. All that was left was to crack Seol Jiyoung's skull open….

"Jiyoung-sunbae. Did you know I was coming?"

"Mm. Unnie told me. Unnie's words are always right. I just have to listen to unnie."

"That Seolnyeo bitch. What a total whore. How about you ditch that snow bitch and elope with me instead?"

Seol Jiyoung's face went rigid. The corners of her brows lifted.

"Yujin. You shouldn't say mean things like that. Unnie is the one who saved my life."

"You like that bitch more than me?"

"I like you and unnie the same. So… just like unnie said, I'm going to freeze you forever. Then we can be together for the rest of our lives."

"Hah. This isn't going to work, sunbae. Forgive me for cracking your skull open today. Maybe this is the answer. It's fine if I die. I've got a next time."

"I don't understand a single thing you're saying. Unnie says you're crazy."

"Aaaaaaaah! The one that's crazy is this whole damn world!"

I charged Seol Jiyoung. She stretched out a hand. Cold shot toward me. Too fast to dodge. The cold hit my torso and froze it solid.

Seol Jiyoung pulled my frozen body into her arms and smiled softly. Then her lips came close.

I came back to morning.

I immediately clung to Yu Semi, who was lying right beside me. To forget the sensation of my heart freezing solid, I burrowed into her arms. Feeling her warm body heat made me feel better.

"Aaahn, Yujin…?"

I spent time having sex with Yu Semi. She left for school, and I lay on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling.

Lowering Ghost Qi Degree by exorcising ghosts was the wrong approach. There are too many ghosts in that hospital… handling them alone is impossible.

It looked like there was no way forward.

In times like these, you asked someone else. Asking Yuria would be ideal… but for now I asked Shin Ojeong. The guy seemed to have a decent head on his shoulders.

I put it into action immediately. I checked my family's location on my phone, took a car from Ji Dahye's house, and headed for the main house.

An hour later, I arrived at a mountain village.

"Seong Yujin! What brings you here all of a sudden? And what's with that car?"

A stern-looking old man greeted me with a walking stick in hand. My grandfather in this world.

"I left something in the storehouse."

"I heard ghosts have been gathering a lot in your neighborhood lately…. So you've come for the Ghost-Slaying Blade. Tch. Looking at your face, they've been hounding you pretty hard."

"Hounding me? Me? By those damn ghosts?"

"Do you not know? Your face is twisted like a ghost's. I've told you again and again… keep your composure. Always stay on guard so you don't become a ghost yourself. Ghosts dig into a person's weak points. Your current state is perfect for them to burrow into."

"……."

I touched my face.

It did feel a little stiff.

Normally it wouldn't have bothered me at all.

…Because I don't have Absolute Mind?

The old man tossed something to me. A key.

"Storehouse key. Take the Ghost-Slaying Blade. It was meant for you originally, so don't refuse it."

"……."

I nodded and headed for the storehouse.

Truth was, I only just learned a sword called the Ghost-Slaying Blade even existed.

I'd come to the main house not for the Ghost-Slaying Blade, but for something else.

Might as well grab the Ghost-Slaying Blade while I'm at it.

I opened the storehouse door.

Dust, and with it a suppressed ghost qi. Looking around the storehouse, there were talismans everywhere.

In the original story, there's a brief mention of the protagonist's main house. His grandfather was a famous exorcist who traveled the whole country sealing dangerous ghosts. And the ones he couldn't exorcise, he sealed and put in the storehouse.

If I requested support from the Exorcist Association like Shin Ojeong said, the ghosts at the abandoned hospital would be easy to clear. The problem was that Seol Jiyoung would be one hundred percent exorcised along with them. For a normal person that would be fine — the ghost possessing their body would just get purged.

But if Seolnyeo dies, Seol Jiyoung dies with her. The only reason terminally ill Seol Jiyoung is still alive is Seolnyeo's power.

So I couldn't request Association support.

Then there's only one method left.

I become the ghost!

Fight Seol Jiyoung with a ghost's power.

Inside the storehouse, I moved to the deepest point. Important things were always placed deepest in.

Then a single sword caught my eye. Hung on the wall without even a scabbard. No handguard — just hilt and blade. I knew the moment I saw it. This was the Ghost-Slaying Blade.

…Ghost qi coming off the sword. Does it cut ghosts using ghost qi? Whatever else, the edge rivals Hwaryeonbido. I like it.

I took the Ghost-Slaying Blade in my right hand and went further in.

There was a white jar plastered with talismans. I knew by instinct. A powerful ghost was sealed inside this jar.

So the sealed ghost was a Rakshasa….

I didn't know the details about Rakshasas. But I knew they were high-ranking even among ghosts.

I'd come this far. I couldn't back down. I chose option 1.

The hand holding the Ghost-Slaying Blade moved on its own and sliced through the talismans.

A Rakshasa's voice thundered inside my head.

Something pitch-black rose from the unsealed jar and latched onto my body.

"Kh—! Kgh…."

I deliberately stopped resisting. I felt my consciousness growing distant. Something was shoving my mind aside.

At the same time, ghost qi flooded through my body.

Crunch.

Bones shattered inside me. Muscles swelled and tore. The pain was severe. I wanted to just let go of my mind then and there, but that wasn't something I could decide.

I drove the Ghost-Slaying Blade into the ground and leaned my body against the hilt. An instinctive act to endure the pain.

I closed my eyes. Pain aside, I felt my memories flowing somewhere else.

My consciousness was pushed back.

Crunch, crack, grind, snap.

Bones shattered and muscles tore. The bones grew harder and settled into their original frame; the torn muscles regenerated and compressed.

Old teeth clattered out and new ones grew in. Short hair lengthened until it fell to my waist. My height increased. Nails grew and fell out over and over. Skin peeled away, and soft pink new skin rose in its place.

That process repeated three times. In other words, I underwent three rounds of body reconstruction.

"Good. I can feel that I'm alive. Never had a body that fit me this well."

Rakshasa Ghost Dojin, having seized Seong Yujin's body, rose to his feet. His upper clothes were torn, fully exposing the compressed muscle of his torso, and his lower clothes were in tatters. Dojin paid clothes no mind whatsoever as he took the Ghost-Slaying Blade in hand.

Originally a sword no ghost could hold — but right now he was a Rakshasa with a human body. The Ghost-Slaying Blade sat quietly in his grip.

Dojin strode boldly out of the storehouse.

Some old man appeared and blocked his path.

"I came because I felt a mighty ghost qi… you bastard Dojin! Get the hell out of my grandson's body this instant!"

"Haha. Seong Biwol, is it? You've grown old. Originally I intended to tear you into a thousand pieces, ten thousand pieces… but as you can see, I've obtained your grandson's flesh. Impossible without you. I'll kill you cleanly, without pain."

"You bastard…!"

Seong Biwol hastily raised his stone staff. It was useless. The Ghost-Slaying Blade Dojin swung cut deep through both the staff and Seong Biwol's body.

"Do— Dojin! You fiend…!"

Seong Biwol collapsed, bleeding.

"Hahahahahaha!"

Dojin laughed until his mouth split.

— Are you an idiot? Can't even kill one old man cleanly?

Seong Yujin's voice rang inside Dojin's head. Dojin's laughter cut off cold.

"…You're still maintaining your mind? That grit alone is impressive. However, there is nothing you can do. This flesh is mine now. Watch in silence… and see how I use this body."

— I am watching. You dumb bastard. I was going to keep my mouth shut if I could… but your sword work was so pathetic I had to open it.

"This insolent little—! Your grandfather is dying and that's all you have to say?!"

— Whether that old man dies or not is none of my business. I'm lending you the body because it's a pain — so do it properly.

Irritation surging, Dojin looked at Seong Biwol.

"Seong Biwol! Your grandson is… tch. Already dead?"

Clicking his tongue at how easily he'd killed him, Dojin whipped his head around.

An irritating presence.

"You dare spy on this body."

Perfect for venting.

Dojin kicked off the ground and leapt into the forest. A speed that far surpassed human leaping power. He swung his sword toward the undergrowth. Ghost qi turned into sword energy and cleaved the brush apart.

It was a fur-ball of a creature. The fur-ball, cut by the sword energy, looked up at the sky and screamed with everything it had.

"Kyaaaaaaaaaaaak!"

And the fur-ball died.

"A low ghost, was it. Looks like a scout."

The sky was suddenly darkening. Not a natural phenomenon.

A massive ghost qi could be felt.

Dojin grinned. He knew what this phenomenon meant.

"Hyakki Yagyō…! The trash from the eastern islands have come calling. Their target… was this brat, it seems. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The perfect opponents to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠test the power sealed for sixty years."

An oni with a sword dropped from the sky toward Dojin. He didn't dodge — he met the oni's attack head-on. Blade crashed against blade, sparks flying in every direction.

The oni was overpowered and fell to the side. Dojin didn't miss the opening and swung at it. He'd meant to finish it in one stroke… but the oni's body was considerably tough. He swung three more times.

— That's not how you use a sword.

"…Shut up for a moment. The reason I failed to kill it in one blow… is that I am not yet accustomed to this blade. Do you know who I am? I am Rakshasa Ghost Dojin, who has cut down thousands!"

— If you've cut thousands, I've cut tens of thousands.

"Not yielding a single word, this insolent thing…! Please just shut up!"

— Your sword work is clumsy, that's why. Hand the body over to me. I'll show you what real sword work looks like.

"Don't make me laugh! This body is mine now. You just watch quietly! This body will smash that Hyakki Yagyō to pieces!"