Chapter 90
Translator: uly
Chapter: 090
Chapter Title: Longinus's Spear Tip and Behemoth's Fang (1)
Emel, who had come to visit the psychic researcher Hong Sang-in, suddenly told him to pack his bags.
"Hong, just pack lightly and come out. Troublesome things are coming for you. Your car is at home, right?"
"Yes, it's at home. But where am I supposed to go after packing?"
Hong Sang-in asked in a dejected voice, and Emel replied while gazing out the window.
"We need to bolster our numbers a bit. Something controllable would be ideal. I have someone in mind, so let's go together. We're comrades, aren't we?"
It was a proposal that was hard to refuse.
Hong Sang-in grabbed a single trunk, carried it out, and loaded it into the trunk of his car.
Emel was already waiting in the passenger seat of Hong Sang-in's car.
Hong Sang-in sat in the driver's seat and asked Emel in the passenger seat.
"Where to?"
"Head toward Seonreung Station."
* * *
A-gui Yeo Do-hyeop, who had visited Executive Director No at Seol-mi's funeral home and arrived late in the afternoon, was informed by his secretary that a guest was waiting.
There were no meetings scheduled today, so he looked puzzled and said to the secretary.
"I had no appointments today. Who is it? And don't let just anyone into my office when I'm not here!"
Under A-gui's scolding, the secretary replied in a shrinking voice.
"I tried to stop them, but Manager Jang brought them inside."
"What? Manager Jang? Does he think he's the boss?"
A-gui snapped at the secretary and headed to his office, with Executive Director No following behind.
Inside the office, after opening the door, there was a red-haired exotic beauty and a middle-aged man who looked familiar, chatting with Manager Jang.
A-gui's displeased expression turned into a bright smile the moment he saw the red-haired beauty.
Manager Jang hurriedly stood up and greeted A-gui and Executive Director No as they entered.
"Where are these people from?"
A-gui asked Manager Jang in a soft voice.
"They said they had business to discuss with you, President Yeo, so I brought them here. Do you know this gentleman? Mr. Hong Sang-in, who often appears on Mystery Theater. He's a very famous psychic researcher in our country."
Manager Jang stepped forward to introduce them to A-gui.
A-gui, uninterested in the middle-aged man, nodded perfunctorily and fixed his gaze on the red-haired beauty as he spoke.
"You're the one who appears on that ghost show. I'm terrified of scary stuff, so I watch something else at that time..."
The red-haired beauty stood up from her seat in front of A-gui. She was surprisingly quite tall.
A-gui wasn't short himself, but he didn't even reach her shoulder.
"And who might this lady be?"
"I'm Emel. I've only been living in Korea for a few years, so I don't have anyone around to ask for help. That's why I came to you, President Yeo."
Her voice was polite and gentle.
A-gui's heart warmed at Emel's lovely voice, and he smiled as he said.
"You're a foreigner. I can tell right away you're in some trouble. But what brings you to me? We only lend to corporations. Do you need cash urgently?"
Emel waved her hand at A-gui's question.
"It's not about money. There's a small knife being kept by a young girl. It would be great if you could bring it to me."
"No, we're not those kinds of people. We don't snatch things from others; we lend money. You should go to a nearby private investigator. You've come to the wrong place. We're honest folks who make money legitimately."
A-gui refused politely with a smile.
Emel showed no change in demeanor, as if she had anticipated A-gui's reaction.
"If you help me, I'll help you in return by getting rid of the Hairy-Nose gang's boss. Sounds like a good deal, doesn't it?"
"Miss, you seem to be misunderstanding something. Hairy Nose can just be plucked out with clippers. We're honest businesspeople. We don't want to eliminate anyone, and even if we did, we wouldn't ask you for it."
A-gui refused again with a chuckling smile.
"You must think I don't have the ability to take out Hairy Nose. I have more skills than you imagine. I can eliminate him without causing you any harm. Like this."
Emel took a step toward A-gui, then passed right by him and went to the window.
She gave A-gui a brief smile, then opened the window, and four animal ghosts flew in from the sky.
They were calf-sized dogs and cat spirits.
Their fur and eyes glowed blue, looking like a novel spectacle to A-gui's eyes.
"Are you an animal tamer, miss? Oh ho, amazing! Can I touch them?"
A-gui asked as he approached Emel.
He genuinely wanted to pet the animal ghosts.
Emel stopped A-gui as he reached out toward the snarling cat spirit.
"I'm not a tamer; I'm a ghoul. I can handle stray ghosts, animal ghosts, and corpses."
"Pardon? What? Ghoul? Tangerine?"
"Ho ho ho, your ears must be clogged. Be careful with your hands. The kids don't like people. So, how about it? Don't these seem capable of crashing through windows and taking out the Hairy-Nose gang's boss?"
* * *
"Professor Kwon, long time no see."
Emel warmly greeted Kwon Geon, who taught Eastern history at the university.
She had set up a place for herself on the seventh floor, right below an officetel overlooking the Han River.
Kwon Geon was not only taller than Emel but also had an enormously broad chest, making him a massive man.
His sturdy square jaw and fierce eyes evoked a beast, and his thick connected eyebrows gave an overwhelming impression.
Kwon Geon glanced at Hong Sang-in standing behind Emel, snorted, and said.
"Professor Hong, long time no see. What are you doing lurking back there? I sent you to the mountain lodge to find the sword, and did you bring it back?"
His tone, mixed with Chinese intonations, dripped with sarcasm.
Hong Sang-in timidly stepped forward from behind Emel and made excuses.
"Well, there were cat spirits left in the sealed room, so I couldn't enter the closet."
"So what?"
"A few days later when I went back, the cat spirits were gone, but some weird guy took it, so things got a bit tricky. I'm searching again with Emel here, so please wait a little longer."
The old dokkaebi had mentioned that Hong Sang-in was the man who visited the mountain lodge before Dong-jin's group and opened the sealed door.
Kwon Geon glared at Hong Sang-in with contempt for a moment, then said to Emel.
"If you're searching with Emel, then it's Emel's. It won't become mine, will it? Right, Emel?"
Emel smiled without a word.
"It seems Professor Hong intended to give that sword to you from the start, Emel. Fine by me. Humans move for profit. But betrayal of trust comes with a price, doesn't it, Professor Hong?"
A beastly growl mixed into Kwon Geon's voice.
Hong Sang-in's face turned pale, and his knees trembled behind Emel.
"Professor Kwon, calm down and have a seat on the sofa here. Let's talk comfortably. Professor Hong has found Beelzebub, the one you're looking for."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Oh, it wasn't intentional, of course, but he found him anyway. Thanks to that, I got to meet him too, and it was quite the ordeal."
"You met him?"
Kwon Geon perked up his ears at Emel's words.
"Your goal was to draw out the demons with that sword and find Beelzebub, right? So isn't it a partial success? Beelzebub will appear on this land again. I guarantee it."
Emel said as she offered Kwon Geon a seat.
Kwon Geon's expression hardened further at Emel's story.
Sitting on the sofa, Kwon Geon asked Emel curtly.
"Where did you see him?"
"More importantly, troublesome folks have the sword we're after. That look on your face is scary. Of course, you were looking for that sword first, Professor Kwon, but now we need to search together. Got it?"
Though spoken in a soft and polite tone, Emel's words carried a strong determination regarding the sword.
Kwon Geon asked back with a displeased expression.
"Where are these troublesome folks?"
Kwon Geon seemed intent on eliminating the obstacles to find the sword as quickly as possible.
Reading his thoughts, Emel smiled gently and said.
"We have someone who'll help us now. He'll bring the sword. In the meantime, Professor Kwon, it seems you and I have some things to discuss."
* * *
Da-hee, who had gone to school without sleep until dawn to remove the evil energy from the sword, was utterly exhausted.
As soon as classes ended, she headed straight home to catch up on sleep.
'It was our family crest, but neither oppa nor Yi-hwa auntie knew about that sword. It's frustrating. Anyway, replacing it with Phama's crest should dispel the evil energy in about a week... But what's with that car?'
A black sedan had been following her since she left school, really getting on her nerves.
It was still too early for sunset, so there were plenty of pedestrians around.
Unni Mi-hee was at the hospital guarding the Jun-su family, Oppa Baekho had messaged that he was running late meeting Father Kim, the famous exorcist priest, to find who bore the sword's crest.
Byung-su was out looking for the motel owner and the psychic researcher Hong Sang-in.
Dong-jin was helping Na-rae guard Seol-mi's funeral home.
As she turned into the straight alley leading home, the black sedan passed by her side and disappeared ahead.
Da-hee, who hadn't let her guard down behind, was ready to draw the shield crest with her fingertips the moment the car passed her.
Phama's crest and sealing crests were effective against spirits, but if the opponent was human, she had no countermeasures other than the shield crest.
The ultimate physical force of the Byeokryeokjang was unfortunately too slow to draw quickly.
"It was just going the same way. I was overreacting. Tonight it's just me for dinner. What should I eat?"
Da-hee muttered to herself as she opened the gate in front of her house.
Da-hee's house was a two-story standalone with a yard, surrounded by a fairly high wall that looked secure.
Once inside, Da-hee changed into comfortable clothes in her first-floor room and headed to the bathroom for a shower.
After showering, Da-hee went up to the second floor and stood in the small living room next to the room where Dong-jin had stayed briefly lately. She pulled the cord hanging from the ceiling.
Clunk.
A square door opened in the ceiling, and a ladder slid down smoothly.
Da-hee climbed up the ladder and pressed the switch on the wall to turn on the light.
It was an attic room with colorful wallpaper prettily pasted on the walls.
This attic was a space Da-hee liked even more than her own room, where she got deep sleep when alone.
There was a round window smaller than Da-hee's face, a small bed, and a low desk.
Da-hee slipped under the bed covers and closed her eyes.
* * *
At the sound coming from downstairs, Da-hee opened her eyes and listened carefully.
"Did Oppa Baekho come back? We can eat dinner together then."
Da-hee murmured as she sat up in bed.
Clack clack.
It was the sound of shoes stepping on the wooden floor.
Da-hee tilted her head and crawled on all fours across the floor toward the square door in the attic, focusing on the sound.
Clack clack.
It was definitely the sound of shoe heels stepping on the first-floor living room floor.
'Who's walking around in shoes? It can't be Oppa Baekho.'
No one living in this house would enter wearing shoes.
She carefully began lifting the ladder to close the attic door.
Creak creak squeak.
As she quietly lifted the ladder, a strange noise sounded.
"The little one's up there, it seems."
A man's thick voice came from the first floor.
"The girl's onto us. No time. Grab her quick!"
Another man's voice followed, and multiple footsteps hurried over.
Bang!
She had just pulled up the ladder and closed the attic door.
'Oh no! I forgot to pull up the attic door cord. This is bad.'
Da-hee opened the attic door again to pull up the cord, and her eyes met those of a large man in a black suit with short hair and slit-like eyes.