Chapter 6
Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: All Magic is Equal. But My Magic is a Bit More Equal - 3
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From Secrets of Light and Shadow it is said that salt is the crystal that purifies all things, and lowly harmful entities cannot cross the wall of salt.
Proving that, just by sprinkling salt near the door, that grotesque thing couldn't cross the threshold.
"Wh-what is that?"
"M-monster? Cr-crack opened? Or..."
The healers were trembling in terror.
No, those people were Awakeners and Hunters too—why were they scared of something like this?
"First time seeing something like this?"
"Of course!!"
Not just the healers—Jang Yoon-jeong looked pretty flustered too.
Really their first time seeing something like this?
The crazy goblin I'd met on the tower's first floor had been a similar existence.
So those kinds of things only showed up in Extra grade?
I'd thought similar ones would appear on somewhat higher floors.
-Bang! Bang! Bang!
While I was thinking, the mad pounding on the door grew even louder.
It seemed like it would smash through any second.
"Wh-what do we do?"
"Anyway, it can't cross over."
If it could've crossed in the first place, it would've done so earlier.
-Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang...
The pounding on the door gradually died down.
But this wasn't the moment to relax.
"Sis... it's me..."
Huh? Who was that?
The only person here who might call someone "sis" was...
"...Hyeji?"
"Yes... sis. Please open the door. I miss Dad..."
"Who is it?"
"The guild leader's daughter. She's close to me. A reliable teammate."
"I see."
"Can we open the door? She was supposed to come today."
"Really?"
"Yes."
At Jang Yoon-jeong's words, the healers nodded too.
"Got a phone?"
"Y-yes."
"Mind handing it over? And find this Hyeji person's number while you're at it."
She handed over her phone with a reluctant expression.
The moment I took it, I splashed holy water on top.
"What are you doing?!"
"Ta-da."
The phone number that had been there just moments ago was gone.
Jang Yoon-jeong's expression twisted in a strange way.
"Yangsaeng Gui tampers with the memories of its host's guardians to drain yang energy more easily, they say."
"...W-wait a sec. Then Hyeji's memory...?"
"Yes. High chance it's a memory that doesn't exist."
"Aaaah...!"
Jang Yoon-jeong sank to the floor.
Her memories must be all jumbled up.
For now, just leave her be.
"Sis! Yoon-jeong sis! Open the door! It's Hyeji!"
Hmm. What to do with this.
Ah. This oughta work.
I grabbed the radio they used for the healers and set it out front.
Then I nicked my finger to draw blood and traced a formation from Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio.
"If you're really Hyeji, you can join this quiz show."
"...Okay! Anything!"
Anything? Alright then!
The moment the formation was complete, my voice boomed from the radio.
"Welcome!! Midnight SingleBungle Speed Quiz Show! Let's warmly welcome today's guest!! Hyeji!!"
-Clap clap clap clap clap!
"Hyeji! How're you feeling?!"
The Hyeji beyond the door replied in an excited voice.
"I'm so happy! To participate in such a great quiz show! It's the honor of my family!"
"Good! What a fantastic attitude! Then let's get started! Today's first quiz is...!! Yoon-jeong's three sizes?!"
"33. 25. 33!"
33 inches?!
Bigger than I'd thought...
"Excellent!! Next, second one! The guild leader's name?"
"Gil Jeon-hwan!"
"Awesome!! Third! Quiz!! The guild's name?!"
"Blue Guild!"
"Great! Good! Now the final question! Get this right and you can come into the room! Hyeji! Ready?!"
"Yes!!"
"Then the moment we've all been waiting for, the final question!!! What's your name?!"
"......"
Tch.
Didn't work, huh.
"Bzzzt! Time's up! Sorry, but you failed, so we can't open the door!"
What a shame.
If I'd gotten its name, things would've gone a lot smoother.
I'd tried luring it in with a late-night radio quiz show via the radio as medium, but it failed.
Well, that can happen.
"Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door. Open door."
"No."
"Don't you want to know what'll happen if you don't open the door?"
"I don't."
"I'll chop off your limbs and chew them up, then hand your lower half over to the demons of the three thousand worlds for a taste."
Forced three-thousand-worlds fellatio, huh.
Damn, that's scary.
"OPEN DOOR!!! OPEN DOOR!!! OPEN DOOR!!! OPEN DOOR!!! OPEN DOOR!!! OPEN DOOR!!! OPEN DOOR!!! OPEN DOOR!!! OPEN DOOR!!!"
-Bang bang bang bang bang!!
The pounding on the door intensified.
With screams like it was unleashing pure malice, the healers had their ears plugged and were huddled on the floor.
But I just kept staring at the door.
This was it?
That all it had?
Seemed too easy...
-Thud!!
"Knew it."
I shifted my gaze to the window.
Something was slamming into it.
Looking closer, it was crows.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"What do we do?!"
-Thud! Thud! Crack! Thud! Craaack!!
Every time the crows flew in and crashed against the window, blood burst out.
Crows with entrails and bones exposed fell away, and cracks began spiderwebbing across the glass with each hit.
The blood trickling through the cracks started soiling the salt.
"Time to get ready."
"Wh-what do we prepare...?"
"Everyone, gather around the guild leader. See the formation I drew? Yeah, right there."
"L-like this?"
"Yes. That's the last bastion. Though it'll end before you need it."
I'd laid down plenty of countermeasures, after all.
Something like a Yangsaeng Gui should be easy to catch.
-Crack! Craaack!!
The more crows that slammed in, the worse the cracks got.
And the amount of blood seeping through those cracks kept increasing.
-Shatter!!
The window finally broke.
The crow corpses flying in crashed into the salt line I'd laid, crumbling the barrier.
"Fog!!"
Fog poured in through the shattered window.
According to Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, it was a tactic ghosts often used.
The counter was simple.
"Hup."
Swing the peach wood branch I was holding.
Maybe because it was thoroughly soaked in holy water, the effect was tremendous.
"The fog's... like that...?!"
Normal fog wouldn't react this way.
But this was just yin energy the Yangsaeng Gui had scattered, so it was easy to dispel.
-Meow...! Meow...!!
Cat noises came from the broken window.
Dozens of stray cats were trying to climb in through it.
"Take this."
Jang Yoon-jeong hurled the catnip she'd gotten.
The cats that had been creeping in with shrill yowls rolled on the floor, intoxicated by the catnip—also known as catmint.
-Crash!!
Whoops. The door got breached too.
Some of the fog that seeped in earlier must've contaminated the salt by the door.
I glanced at the blackened, scorched salt barrier in the corner, then at the figures beyond the shattered door.
"Who are those people?"
"Gu-guards?! Why're you there?! Didn't you clock out?!"
"Uuuugh..."
Private security employees who were supposed to leave before 6 p.m., apparently. Employees in this world who postponed leaving and did overtime? Unbelievable.
"We should give those guys some bonuses."
"How?"
Jang Yoon-jeong finally snapped out of it and asked. How? What d'you mean how.
"Beat 'em up."
"What?!"
"They're just being controlled. Think of it as the death throes of something without a real body and give 'em a good thrashing."
"Won't they get hurt?"
"Psh. Just pay 'em good compensation."
It's not like it's coming out of my pocket. Jang Yoon-jeong looked reluctant but eventually moved. As an Awakener and skilled Hunter, she took down those burly guys with her bare fists like it was nothing.
"Is... is that it?"
"Hope so, but the real deal's still left."
"The real deal, you mean..."
"The main body'll come."
According to Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Yangsaeng Gui were greedy ghosts. They never let go of a target once they'd chosen it, pursuing with obsessive tenacity to the bitter end.
"We've blocked everything it can do. Normal ghosts would slink off since it's too dirty and underhanded, but a Yangsaeng Gui is... well, kinda like a ruiner fetishist..."
"Huh?"
"Regret, ruin, obsession. Yangsaeng Gui obsess over their chosen target. Once that target has all life drained and dies, they wallow in mild regret. They pine and self-destruct in ruin. Then they pick a new target and obsess again."
"...What a bastard."
From the victim's perspective, nothing else to call it.
"Can't argue with that."
"Can we finish it off here?"
"Not impossible."
Beyond the shattered door, the corridor lights flickered and went out. One by one. One by one. Darkness was creeping in slowly. As the healers and Jang Yoon-jeong tensed up...
"Hah."
I flicked the switch on the flashlight hanging from my belt. -Grrrrr...!!! The 500-lumen flashlight blazed to life. The moment its powerful light pierced the darkness and flooded the corridor, Arthur stirred in my shadow.
"Kill." -Grrrrrr!!! The Shadow Knight emerged into the light. The instant his sword cleaved the darkness... -Kyaaaaaaa!! A horrific shriek rang out, and the hospital room shook. Objects inside the vast VIP room floated into the air, and Guild Leader Gil Jeon-hwan started getting dragged toward the corridor from his bed.
"Hold him."
The healers and Jang Yoon-jeong grabbed the levitating guild leader tight. While they kept him from moving, I took one step toward the corridor. -Kyaaaaaaa! Kyaaaaaaa!!
"Where there is light, there is darkness; where there is darkness, there is light. By the Buddha's will, evil ghost—you who deceive life and death—reveal your form here."
I pulled out another flashlight and illuminated the surroundings. The even brighter light drove back the darkness. -Kyaaaaaaa!! In one corner of the darkness crouched something pathetic and crumpled. A massive head, six arms. Like a crawling insect, the thing shrieked in rejection of the light. -Clink. I clipped the flashlight to my belt and took out the rosary I'd bought at the cathedral. I draped it over the thing's head.
"Repent. Repent. There is no evil that cannot enter the embrace of light. The great Lord shall embrace you and bring you to repentance." -Kyaaaaaaa!!!! An even more horrific shriek echoed. I poured holy water over its head.
"Take a shower with this and head to a nice place." -Hiiiiss...!! The thing hit by the holy water began to melt. I watched as the malice that had formed its body twisted and vanished into the air, then picked up the rosary left on the floor.
"All done... Why the long faces?"
Even though it was over, everyone's expressions were still stiff.
"Wh-what exactly are you?"
One of the healers asked. What am I? Can't tell just by looking? A being who uses mysticism to deceive the laws of reality.
"A mage."
"N-no. Magic?! Magic's like... fireball! Or magic missile! Stuff like that..."
The healer's protesting shout got under my skin.
"Why say it like that and hurt us summoning magics' feelings?! So un-PC! It's like saying only whites are human and blacks aren't!"
Don't listen, my grimoires. You're not at fault.
"Huh?! No, this is..."
"Listen up! There are magics like this! And magics like that!"
Yeah. Fireballs exist. Demon-slaying magics exist too.
"All magic is equal!"
Of course, my magic is a bit more equal than the rest.