The Talent Bestowed by Heaven
Deep in the night, past midnight, a man in black clothes stood before a house, looking down at it as he muttered to himself.
“Kraaaah! So this is where the Heavenly Sword lives?”
The Heavenly Sword, a title bestowed by heaven itself, was the name given to Nam Chaeyoung, the younger sister of Nam Dohyeong.
Even though it was a title too grand for a mere student, the exorcists who had witnessed her talent had no choice but to acknowledge it.
That was truly the talent of the sword bestowed by heaven.
“But such exceptional talent can also bring about calamity.”
The man was one of the exorcists who operated in the shadows, far removed from those who used spiritual powers to protect people.
They were beings who exploited ghosts and spirits solely for their own selfish desires.
In fact, these people were not called exorcists. Rather, the term ‘sorcerer’ would have been more fitting.
Even at such a young age, she possesses such skill. The easiest way to catch a tiger is to kill it before it grows.
The man’s purpose in coming here was to kill Nam Chaeyoung before she could become a full-fledged exorcist.
It was wise to eliminate dangerous sprouts early on.
“It’s a shame to waste such a promising talent, but if left alone, that sword would surely cut us down. This too is fate. Do not blame me.”
The man extended his hand upward, and black energy surged forth.
Soon, a disaster-like yokai revealed itself from the darkness.
No matter how skilled an exorcist may be, they would be helpless before this yokai!
****
“Ah~ I want to get a job!”
Lying quietly in bed, I muttered unconsciously.
After finishing my homework, there was nothing much to do.
Actually, I had to prepare for the practical exam, though...
My body was too tired to do anything.
There have been too many things in my life. It’s really tough.
Since managing my condition was important, I decided to rest today.
And yet, I couldn’t sleep at night because of anxiety.
“Aigoo. If I had been a proper protagonist or something, I would have grabbed the game points, trained, or whatever.”
Unfortunately, since the original work was a horror game, it was hard to obtain the points.
Everything was ghosts and yokai, so I had to risk my life to enter them.
If I tried to train, it was also ambiguous.
My ability was ‘Instant Death.’
There was only the restriction of once a day, and no room for growth, so training wouldn’t make me stronger.
“Hey, where did the transmigrator bonus go? At this point, I should have grown explosively and had at least one heroine or something, right?”
Well, complaining with my mouth wouldn’t change anything.
It was when I was trying to watch some self-defense video on the internet.
-Knock knock
Suddenly, a sound of knocking on the window came.
I turned my head and saw a woman’s face appear.
...This is the third floor?
Without a wire, it was impossible to appear at that angle.
Moreover, even without that, I could tell at a glance that it was a ghost because of that pale face.
Aigoo! Coming all the way to the house is unfair!
I hurriedly checked the window.
Fortunately, it was properly locked.
I even pulled down the blind.
Ghosts don’t come in through closed doors and windows, right?
“You are the brother of that child.”
Swoosh!
The ghost’s body passed through the window and entered inside.
...Wait, how can a ghost enter even though it’s locked? Isn’t that too much?
Since it’s a ghost, passing through walls is natural, right?
I don’t know. There are so many kinds of ghosts here.
How much more before the official term ‘anomaly’ is used because it’s hard to classify them.
It’s not just simple ghosts or yokai.
There are anomalies where space or phenomena themselves change.
With so many kinds, they use the term ‘anomaly’ that encompasses all of them.
Anyway, the problem is that this anomaly is standing right in front of me.
It’s not like that’s a Japanese-style Santa Claus in kimono giving gifts.
“Surprisingly ordinary child. It’s hard to believe we share the same bloodline?”
The thing that appeared before my eyes was a woman with long white hair in a kimono.
A woman, or rather a yokai, was staring at me while muttering incomprehensible words.
...This seems like a real big problem.
By the way, ordinary anomalies don’t speak.
Even the restrictive speech like the red mask last time is extremely rare.
If they can converse like this, it’s a fairly high-grade anomaly.
So it’s a stronger yokai than the red mask I saw during the day.
Even with my almost non-existent spiritual power, I could see how strong this yokai was.
“...What business do you have here?”
“Hoo ho! Did you think I would ask you questions? You have courage, huh?”
The ghost started laughing with a creepy voice.
Honestly, I wanted to run away right then, but...
In such cases, turning your back means instant death.
After all, this is my house, where would I run to?
“Your face is half and half, so it’s a shame to kill you. Unfortunately, for the plan, I can’t let you live.”
“Kill me? Why...?”
I pride myself on living a good life.
Even during the day, I saved kids who were about to die.
I may not have received the award for brave citizen, but at least I won’t die from someone’s grudge, right?
“Exactly, the purpose is to kill you and then kill your sister.”
“...Chaeyoung?”
“Yes. In exchange for that, I received dozens of mountain sacrifices, so I must fulfill the contract....”
“That’s not happening.”
Before my head could judge, my mouth moved on its own.
I looked straight at the ghost and said.
“If you touch Chaeyoung, I won’t let you go.”
This pathetic me is being taken care of by this kid.
She even spends her allowance to buy precious amulets for me.
How can I declare that I will kill such a child in front of me?
At least until the knife enters my neck, I can’t let it go.
“O...”
The ghost’s mouth twisted strangely and burst into laughter.
“Oho ho ho ho ho ho!”
“Ugh...”
Just laughing, but my shoulders felt heavy.
How strong must one be to emit such energy?
“Interesting! Very interesting! To say such arrogant words in front of me...!”
...It seems my words really pissed it off.
The ghost’s head and face, which were already scary, became even more grotesque.
Earlier, it was at least a woman, but now it was no different from a demon hag.
“This body is the great yokai Osakabehime of Japan! The ruler of Himeji Castle and a great being who governs the Japanese archipelago! Then, would I be stopped by a human like you in this backwater village!”
While rambling, it’s sorry, but even if I say that, I don’t know who you are.
I didn’t look it up because I was scared.
“The love between siblings is truly profound! If I burn my limbs, can I say the same?”
“Die.”
Thud!
I couldn’t hold back any longer and activated Instant Death.
The Osaka something ghost, um... the Busan aunt ghost, fell as is.
You all know the Azuma king? If you don’t, buy it quickly from Aladdin.
...In the end, I used the Instant Death skill.
I wanted to save the Instant Death skill as much as possible for unknown situations.
But I used it before midnight.
“Well, it’s fortunate that I could use it after midnight.”
From what I heard, it seems like a fairly strong anomaly.
If I don’t use it now, it would have killed me and Chaeyoung.
It’s a pity, but it wasn’t an anomaly that I should save.
...So then I have to wait until tomorrow to use it. How am I supposed to go out scared.
There were many other things I wanted to experiment with.
How far is the range of the Instant Death skill.
Up to where can I kill.
Well, I did figure out a bit, right?
First, the reset time of the Instant Death skill is midnight.
That is, it can be used immediately when the ‘next day’ comes.
Meaning, theoretically, use it at 11:59 PM and use it again one minute later. This is some important information.
Additionally, it seems to work even on fairly strong anomalies.
Since it was talking about great yokai or something, it wasn’t a weak one.
Ah, it disappeared.
The body of the fallen anomaly dispersed like mist.
It seems it couldn’t maintain its body because it died from Instant Death.
In the next life, be born as a boss monster in a place without Instant Death.
Anyway, I prayed for the repose of the Busan aunt who suddenly appeared and died.
With this, it seems I survived tonight in this scary game.
****
“No, no way! This can’t be!”
The shaman who summoned Osakabehime was pulling his hair and shouting.
It was the great yokai summoned with mountain sacrifices prepared to kill the Heavenly Sword.
If I use all my power, even the exorcists of Cheonjihae will have a hard time!
But to take it down in a single blow!
This was an act that even a special-grade exorcist could never do.
How did this happen? Is that person that strong?
Perhaps I touched something I shouldn’t have touched.
With a chill, sweat ran down my back.
...Because of that, I made a mistake of not checking my surroundings.
“Hey, who are you?”
“?!”
-Whoosh!
“Kuek...”
Suddenly, Nam Chaeyoung appeared behind me and swung her sword.
The shaman tried to dodge hurriedly, but it was already too late.
The sharp sword cut the man, swallowing the blood.
Kuek... I made such a mistake...!
If it was the original me, I wouldn’t have been ambushed so easily.
But I panicked too much over the death of Osakabehime and showed a gap.
Damn it! The wound is big...!
One arm was cut off and flew away.
An incredibly fierce sword strike.
It was a sword swung with the intention to kill.
What kind of killing intent from the body and sword of a young girl...?
Not even an adult, a little kid, or even a normal exorcist, the ‘killing intent’ felt unbelievable.
Big trouble. If I get such a big wound from the start, even if I fight, I won’t have a chance...?
In a frontal confrontation, I could have done something, but I lost the main Osakabehime and took significant damage.
On top of that, the wound didn’t heal well, as if mysterious power was embedded in the sword.
“Hey. I asked you. Who are you. Why are you secretly looking at my brother’s face. Are you a homo?”
Nam Chaeyoung glared at the shaman with eyes full of killing intent.
The shaman’s hands trembled as if facing a beast.
“Hoo ho! If I tell the truth, will you let me live?”
“No, even if so, I have to die.”
The man laughed mockingly while looking at the energy coming from Nam Chaeyoung.
The judgment to kill in advance was clearly correct.
It was just that the siblings’ level was already incredibly high.
The siblings are both monsters. If the younger sister is this strong, it makes sense that the older brother is also that strong.
I heard that the older brother was hiding at home and didn’t come out, and had no talent in spiritual power.
It was all a lie!
Is there a person who can kill a great yokai in one hit who has no talent?
It was the opposite.
Because he was born with such amazing talent, he hid his true identity.
Such talent would surely call for disaster!
If I had known the older brother would be this strong, I would have been more cautious...?
The plan was to target the older brother first from the beginning.
No matter how strong an exorcist is, if their loved ones die, they lose rationality.
If the opponent is a user of Heavenly Sword and loses composure, there’s nothing to fear.
With Osakabehime beside him, I thought I could win easily.
That plan was completely shattered from the beginning, and instead I was ambushed and started...!
The problem was this mysterious older brother.
I never thought he was a strong warrior who overwhelmingly defeated Osakabehime.
Because of this, the plan went wrong from the beginning.
Similarly, hiding his power under the shadow of his younger sister who was born with talent. Even at a young age, how terrifying is this mind...?
The real opponent I should have been wary of was the older brother, not the younger sister.
And the price of the misunderstanding was death.
“Cheongong. Sky Slash.”
Nam Chaeyoung raised her sword.
It looked like a simple straight cut, but the spiritual power contained in it was incredibly pure and high.
“Kuek!”
The man hurriedly spread his spiritual power, but realized it was useless.
He no longer had the leeway to block such an attack.
“Nam Dohyeong. If it weren’t for that monster, I wouldn’t have been killed so easily...!”
The man’s last words were not heard by Chaeyoung’s ears, who was swinging the sword with full power.
Soon, Chaeyoung’s sword cut the shaman in two as its name suggested, together with the sky.
****
The next morning.
“Oppa, there was no big deal yesterday, right?”
As morning came, Chaeyoung asked me out of the blue.
Yesterday’s incident?
“...There was a virgin ghost who passed by looking at me.”
“Hmm... Really? I didn’t see it. Maybe because it was too weak a ghost, the energy was weak?”
I thought it might be a much more amazing yokai, but I didn’t say it.
No need to talk about a finished matter and worry.
...Last time, it was threatening to imprison me at home saying it was dangerous.
“Sigh... I did process it properly. I’m worried that it didn’t do any curse or strange things.”
My younger sister muttered words I couldn’t understand.
She said she would be an exorcist. There seem to be many things in school too.
“Anyway, I slept well.”
“Yeah. I checked when I entered your room last night.”
When?
Did Chaeyoung enter my room?
I clearly didn’t feel anything.
Maybe because I slept too deeply.
It was a bit suspicious, but I decided to ignore it.
“Then I’ll go to school. Just in case, don’t go out of the house today? I made kimchi fried rice for lunch, so eat it.”
“Yeah, don’t worry and go comfortably.”
After all, I was going to stay at home today.
I was going to investigate for the practical exam.
Chaeyoung is really worrying.
Today’s morning started peacefully without any incidents.