Chapter 117
Chapter 117
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 117
Chapter Title: Living Ritual Object
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"Yeah, Eun-ji. If that's what you want, then go for it."
"Thank you, Oppa."
Eun-ji smiled brightly. She was about to host a yokai in her own body, yet there wasn't a trace of fear on her face. Then again, hanging around me meant she'd seen all sorts of bizarre creatures, so she must have built up some resistance to things like that.
With gods running rampant already, what was a mere yokai? On top of that, Gang Hwa-young's habitual bragging about her nether regions had Eun-ji riled up enough that she was excited at the thought of taking in the oni right away and jumping into bed with me.
A quick glance around showed no other volunteers. Honestly, if no one had stepped up, I'd been planning to use Hiiro—the stepsister of Nanase Sora—as a sacrificial test subject. But since Eun-ji volunteered, it was only right to give her the chance.
'It has to go off without a hitch...'
Even after giving permission, anxiety gnawed at me. Now that I'd realized my Luck stat of 666 didn't just bring good fortune, I was genuinely terrified something might go wrong with Eun-ji.
'But I can't exactly stop someone who's looking forward to it that much...'
Eun-ji herself was fully resolved. As her master, I needed to steel myself too. I turned to the oni with its glowing red eyes and shouted.
"I accept your proposal."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Good. Step forward, the one willing to bear me.]
At the oni's eerie voice, Eun-ji swallowed hard and took a step forward.
I stayed tense, following right beside her in case that yokai tried to grab her as a hostage or kill her.
If I was close by, I could save her immediately.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[State your name.]
The oni demanded in an intimidating tone. Eun-ji answered in a slightly trembling voice.
"Lee Eun-ji."
The oni, which had been lurking deep in the shadows, stepped right up to the edge of the shrine maiden's light. Its full form still wasn't visible. Even my altered vision couldn't pierce the darkness beyond.
It seemed wrapped in some kind of barrier; skills couldn't dispel the shadows either.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Very well. You shall become my vessel. You will wield my power and commune with me. In exchange, you must forsake your humanity and pledge yourself to the demonic path. Your life will be forever twisted. Any objections?]
The oni asked as if warning her she'd never return to a normal life. But had we ever had a normal life to begin with? The world was already a mess, everyday life turned upside down.
Seemingly thinking the same, Eun-ji grinned and replied.
"None."
The oni extended an arm into the shrine maiden's light. Its palm was covered in bizarre glyphs—the seal itself, apparently.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Then let us begin transferring the seal. Take my hand.]
Its voice was so androgynous that gender was unclear from afar, but up close by the barrier, it became obvious. Contrary to my expectations, the oni was a woman—much smaller than she seemed. She wore a strange mask over her face and a tattered black kimono like a cloak.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Transferring my seal from the shrine to 'human Lee Eun-ji's' body will take about an hour... Hold my hand and meditate during that time... If you let go, the ritual fails. I'll rampage and try to kill you all. Human Lee Eun-ji will lose her mind too.]
The oni's chilling warning came right before the ritual. Furious at the threat to Eun-ji's safety, I glared and snapped.
"If you pull any tricks, you're dead. Do this right—for your own sake."
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Worry not. To me, you're saviors. I'd do anything to escape this rotten place right now. So... please protect us for that hour.]
"Protect you?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Yes. For one hour... Every freak in the forest that's been feeding on my yokai energy... they'll all swarm here. Fortunately, many of you have powers suited to handling vengeful spirits...]
"What do you—"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Guests have arrived already... For the remaining hour... I leave it to you.]
With that, the oni and Eun-ji closed their eyes. No response to calls, no movement at all. Suddenly, my party and I were thrust into an unplanned defense battle.
At least we'd all recovered fully before entering the shrine, so mana wasn't an issue yet.
"Hey!!! Hotaru!! Tell the Japanese!! Defense game! All the forest monsters are heading here!"
"Nani?! Ah..!! Minna!! ？ (Enemies are coming!!)"
Panicked cries from the Japanese echoed through the shrine. I barked orders: fall back from the entrance, cluster inside.
I yelled for Hotaru and Hakubo to erect a barrier around Eun-ji and the oni immediately. If those two got attacked and the ritual failed, it was over.
Just as we finished prepping, someone stepped through the shrine entrance.
"Ahh! There you all are!! I've been looking everywhere!"
He wore a torn suit. An old frayed rope hung around his neck like it'd snapped from age. His face was deathly pale—he was clearly a corpse pretending to be alive. One of the forest's missing persons. He'd rushed here too fast to fully disguise himself.
'Just like the oni said, all the forest freaks are swarming the shrine.'
I rubbed my dry face in despair, then shouted at Ha-rin, who was wagging her tail eagerly.
"Ha-rin! Kill that bastard!!!"
At my call, Ha-rin shot forward, claws out, shredding the intruder trying to crawl in.
At the same moment, the massive shrine doors half-exploded as hordes of beasts and vengeful spirits surged inside.
Too many for Ha-rin alone.
"Raaargh!!!"
Ha-rin bellowed with feral madness, ripping into the front-runners. But she couldn't block the airborne apparitions.
"Uwa!! Kuso!!!"
"Zembu shine!!!"
The rest of the party backed her up. Especially the new heretic inquisitor Hayato, swinging his cross wildly, smashing monster heads.
Yet he was sobbing desperately. Tears of terror streamed down, but fear drove him to swing faster.
"Uwaaah!!! You damn convert bastards!!!! Die, all of you!!!"
Lee Ju-ha unleashed flames, incinerating spirits trying to flank around.
She'd shifted to her three-tailed fox form, joining Ha-rin. Wolf and fox tore and burned the grotesque beasts—no more physical monsters got through. But both were burning mana fast.
"J-Jun-ah!! How long do we fight?"
"One hour! Noona, just hold for one hour!"
"What!? An hour!?"
Hee-sun Noona bit her lip, summoning roots to snag and crush missing persons approaching Eun-ji. Her floating spirits clashed with the apparitions too.
'So damn many... Are all the forest monsters crawling here...? Insane... Why do monster waves always hit wherever I am...?'
I joined the fray, killing beasts. Numbers were overwhelming; leaving Ha-rin and Ju-ha out front too long would hurt them. I pulled them back, putting the samurai, Rin, and Hayato forward. That could hold the beasts.
The real issue: apparitions. Non-physical ones required mana to kill, and at this rate, we'd burn through it fast.
'Can I protect everyone alone...?'
Ebony Cockroach and Shadow Moth were dead, unsummonable for a day. Kyseria was single-use too—we'd get overrun.
As I pondered, Lee Eun-ha's body—laid beside Eun-ji—began trembling. The girl who'd slept since the concrete building finally opened her eyes.
"Ah... Ahh... Unnie... Unnie... Where are you..."
An unnaturally chilling voice leaked from Lee Eun-ha's mouth, spreading lowly through the shrine. It raised goosebumps involuntarily. Lee Ju-ha reacted instantly.
"Eun-ha!!! You're awake!!"
Mid-tear through beasts beside Ha-rin, Lee Ju-ha shrieked at the sight of Eun-ha rising.
"Hey!! Lee Ju-ha!! Focus!!!"
"Y-Yes!!! Eun-ha, got it!!"
Lee Ju-ha resumed fighting at my command. I approached the freshly awakened Eun-ha cautiously.
She'd been comatose, so I hadn't enslaved her yet. Her state looked off, unpredictable—I needed to make her a slave fast.
"Hey, snap out of it. Hey, Lee Eun-ha."
No response, no matter how I called.
Her eyes were vacant. She just gaped, mumbling incoherently. Aftereffect of being swallowed by Kotori Bako, maybe.
Maybe brain damage? Rising Flesh did nothing much. Shaking her yielded no reaction. She stared into space, muttering.
'Beat her into submission...? But what the hell is she saying...?'
Maybe clues to snapping her out of it. I pressed my ear to her mouth.
"Not enough. Not enough. Not enough. Not enough. Insufficient. Not enough."
What was insufficient? No solution came, enemies kept coming—I couldn't focus solely on her. But beating her might worsen things.
Maybe leaving her was best? Then suddenly, Eun-ha inhaled deeply.
Very, very deeply.
As if to suck in every apparition in the shrine.
"Huuuuwup!!!!"
The immense suction yanked airborne spirits tormenting us straight into her mouth.
Thus, Eun-ha began devouring the invading vengeful spirits. Like a mad vacuum sucking up black smoke.
"Kiyaaaaah!!!!"
"Uwaaaaaah!!!!"
"Kiiiiisaamaaaaa!!!"
Their death wails filled the shrine. So eerie, incoming spirits fled in panic. Beasts and missing persons too.
'P-Possession Warrior...? No, something way more impressive...'
Human fused with Kotori Bako. Maybe awakened like Lee Hoon as Possession Warrior. Or higher...
"H-Hey, Lee Eun-ha. Y-You okay...?"
Spirits wiped in seconds—all sucked inside her. Most mindless invaders fled in terror.
Was this luck or curse? Felt like carrying a time bomb.
"Urk... Uuurk... Uuup..."
Eun-ha clutched her mouth, like holding back vomit, digesting the thrashing inside. Her body swelled and shrank repeatedly. No longer quite human...
"Buuuurp...."
She released her mouth, burped, and slumped to the floor. Black smoke trickled from her open mouth.
Then Yang Ji-sang, silent till now, spoke.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Master. That one...]
"What? Why? Know what it is?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[That woman... She's less human now... More like a living ritual object...]
"Ritual object...? Curved jade? Bronze mirror?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[No... Not the shrine's seal items... Real ritual objects. Used in sorcery...]
"A person's turned into a ritual object...?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙
[Yes... She's like a living Kotori Bako... For a human body to swallow that many grudge spirits and apparitions... Her insides are a battle royale right now.]
Yang Ji-sang explained her guts were a grudge spirit arena, then mentioned "gudu"—the poison jar: venomous bugs trapped in a jar to kill and eat each other until one survives.
Eun-ha was a human-shaped gudu jar, having just created her own by devouring evil spirits.
Reeked of danger.
I approached the blankly burping Eun-ha.
First things first: Slave Brand.
I flicked her forehead hard as she stared vacantly.
Couldn't hit too hard or spirits might backflow... Just enough to submit her.
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