Dueoksini Exorcism (1)
Dueoksini Exorcism (1)
After wrapping up the embarrassing exorcism of the wooden phallus Goblin, Muk Seo-ah spent a while as a freeloader.
No requests had come in. No one was going to entrust a case to a rookie exorcist whose name wasn't famous yet.
"If only I had my original body..."
Back when she was Mukmyeong, all sorts of powerhouses came crawling to him. Begging for just one exorcism, please.
Requests piled up by the hundreds, even ones that had to wait until next year.
"How the hell did it come to this...?"
Muk Seo-ah felt the drop in fame firsthand. As expected, being a named bigshot and an industry newbie were worlds apart.
The world was stingy. Society wants young newbies but also demands experience. Age 24, experience 30 years. The perfect candidate for today's world.
"I'll split their fucking heads...!"
Muk Seo-ah swung her hand axe.
Kuak ssi hwakma. Adding sound effects with her mouth. Doing this alone in an empty room made her feel like a total lunatic.
"Um, customer?"
Someone knocked on the door. Muk Seo-ah was staying at the Pleasure House. Buying a house was a hassle. If you had enough money, hopping between inns was the best.
A Pleasure House was like a hotel in modern terms. You got food and a bed. The difference? Women came too. Muk Seo-ah had no intention of indulging in the hospitality services.
"Ah, yes. What is it?"
Muk Seo-ah said as she opened the door. The male Employee who met her eyes gave a friendly smile.
"By any chance, are you an exorcist?"
"That's right."
Muk Seo-ah had no intention of hiding it. On the day she smashed the Goblin's head and came to this Pleasure House, covered in green blood, anyone would have pegged her as an exorcist.
"If it's not too rude, customer, could you take on a request? There's a yokai in the Pleasure House right now."
"Minor Demons wouldn't dare show up in a crowded place so boldly. What does it look like?"
"Well, it looks like a filthy little boy... just like a human. But no matter how I think about it, it's definitely a yokai."
Ah.
Muk Seo-ah let out a small sigh.
"Get all the customers out of there and seal off the area. If a yokai looks human, that means it's a powerful one."
"Oh, dear lord...! Our shop..."
"Don't worry. Aren't I here?"
Super exorcist Mukmyeong. Now Muk Seo-ah.
Still a super exorcist.
"Customer! If you solve this, we won't charge you for four months' stay!"
Unexpected luck. She could freeload for free now.
No reason to refuse.
"Keep that promise. I'll smash it quick and come back."
Muk Seo-ah felt motivation bubbling up after a long time. Her longing for freebies, her greed to eat and play without spending, became her drive.
A rich freeloader was invincible. Especially one who didn't have to pay?
She was a god.
Muk Seo-ah was a god.
The place where the yokai had taken root was the restaurant. From inside came the sound of uhgek uhgek chomping food.
The Employees were blocking the entrances so no one could go in.
All the people inside had been evacuated. She could perform a no-holds-barred exorcism. Even if she smashed some shop fixtures, it'd be legal.
"Ahem!"
As Muk Seo-ah reached into her mouth to pull out her axe, someone cleared their throat.
A man in blue robes stood there. He tilted the hat on his head and spoke.
"Hey, hey, hey, a lady should have some decorum. Haven't you heard? It's dangerous here—get lost!"
"I'm an exorcisht."
"Take your hand out of your mouth before you speak!"
When Muk Seo-ah pulled the axe from her mouth, the man's eyes went wide.
"I came here to work."
"No way a woman does exorcisms! Go to the kitchen and stir-fry some pork instead!"
It was the kind of line that would piss off any woman who heard it. For Muk Seo-ah, who used to be a man, it hit twice as hard. She pondered briefly where to send her axe blade on vacation.
"I agree it's dangerous, but thank goodness this is the old era. Your words just now made my heart sink."
They must have called another exorcist to the Pleasure House. She understood. They couldn't trust just Muk Seo-ah alone.
As mentioned earlier, the world was brutally stingy to newbies.
Comically, even Muk Seo-ah herself sought out pros when she was in a bind. That was human nature.
"Urgh. Don't get in my way. Since we're in the same line of work, a courtesy greeting is in order. I'm called Cheong-ui Gongja."
The man in blue robes said.
"I'm Muk... I'm Muk Seo-ah."
The nickname Cheong-ui Gongja was obviously self-given. No extreme narcissist would utter a name like that otherwise.
Mukmyeong had the grand epithet "Ghost-Slaying Sovereign," but he never went around announcing it. And that was bestowed by the world's acclaim. Cheong-ui Gongja seemed oblivious to the shame.
"Leave the exorcism entirely to me. You just assist from the side. Got it?"
Cheong-ui Gongja was quite the talker.
Muk Seo-ah didn't reply and opened the restaurant door.
The Pleasure House restaurant was a vast space. In the center, at a round table, sat a boy gorging himself greedily on food.
"That's...... a Dueoksini."
Muk Seo-ah recognized it first and muttered.
The boy's red pupils flashed beneath his black hair.
==============================
A certain yangban was holding a grand feast at home for some joyous occasion. Family, relatives, and kin gathered, numbering in the dozens.
In the inner room where the feast tables were laid out, a shaggy-haired kid sat. He looked about sixteen, with a very fierce impression.
No one among the gathered knew whose family this kid belonged to. He just seemed like a typical filthy orphan.
"Whose servant is this?"
They asked the relatives—no one knew. Asked the kid—no answer.
The yangban flew into a rage and ordered the rude intruder dragged out. He called servants to haul him away, but even five of them clinging on couldn't budge the kid.
"Master, he won't move."
"What? No way! Call more people!"
Even the guests joined in, pushing and pulling with all their might.
But no matter how hard they tried, it was futile—like an ant trying to stop a cart wheel. The kid didn't budge an inch, like a rock.
He ordered six strong martial artists among the guests to bash him with thick clubs.
They swung with enough force to kill a man, the sound carrying over the walls, until finally the wooden clubs splintered.
Through all the beating, the kid sat quietly without so much as blinking.
Only then did everyone realize this boy wasn't human. Terrified, they knelt and begged. The yangban even brought holy water and apologized desperately.
Only after a long while did the kid stand with a sly grin. The moment he left the house, he vanished into thin air. Everyone trembled in shock, hastily wrapping up the feast to head home.
But the first person stepping out had his head suddenly smashed.
The next screamed and tried to flee—his head went crunch too.
The next, and the next. One by one, their heads burst like crushed under a massive rock.
No one from the feast survived.
Since no one knew where that kid came from, the world called it Dueoksini.
==========================
"Dueok-ah, Kim Dueok-"
Geureuk.
Muk Seo-ah dragged her axe across the wooden table.
The silver axe blade left a gash on the table. The porcelain sake cup it hit toppled with a clear tinkling sound.
"You come to someone else's business, eat without paying—should you, or shouldn't you? Should our friend get a beating?"
"What the hell are you doing...!"
Cheong-ui Gongja freaked out.
Dueoksini was a mid-level yokai. Too much for one exorcist—usually took two or three teaming up.
He rushed over to grab Muk Seo-ah, appalled by her casual attitude facing a mid-level yokai.
"Hey. Your name rang a bell as unfamiliar. You're a total rookie, huh? Acting like that in an exorcism is a sure way to die. Watch and learn how I do it. What makes a newbie act so cocky like royalty?"
Cheong-ui Gongja whipped out a talisman from his bosom.
"No matter how green you are, you've heard of me in this business. I worked with Exorcist Mukmyeong. I'll subdue the yokai first—come in when I signal."
It was news to Muk Seo-ah. Had she ever teamed up with anyone? Absolutely not. She'd gained a partner without knowing.
While Muk Seo-ah stood dumbfounded, Cheong-ui Gongja waved his hand toward her chest area, signaling her to back off.
Then he crept forward with the talisman. Dueoksini was still eating. Seemed like he was aiming for a backstab.
"Whoa!"
The floor was littered with junk scattered by evacuating customers. Cheong-ui Gongja tripped on a bundle, grabbed the table as he fell.
What he grabbed held a steaming hot soup dish. Fresh noodles, steam billowing.
Cheong-ui Gongja yanked his near-boiled hand from the soup bowl and tumbled.
Udangtang- kungtang-
The table flipped, food and cups crashed. Cheong-ui Gongja, noodles draped over his head, declared nobly.
"First, ambush the yokai stealthily to get the upper hand. Head-on fights are poison."
Dueoksini was too focused on eating to notice. Lucky break. Even a crappy yokai would've glanced back at that pathetic display.
Cheong-ui Gongja circled behind Dueoksini.
He sneaked up, clutching the talisman like pocket change.
Chak.
The moment the talisman stuck to the yokai's back, Cheong-ui Gongja shouted confidently.
"See that? Purification's done. It can't move now. Wait until my talisman sucks up all its demonic aura."
"Hey, you idiot!"
Muk Seo-ah's curse wasn't meant to demean.
Cheong-ui Gongja was too cocky. Even a dead fire can reignite. Test the bridge before crossing. Wise sayings from the ancients.
Sometimes Taoist magic doesn't work. Like when the yokai outclasses the exorcist.
"Uh-oh."
Dueoksini spun around and grabbed Cheong-ui Gongja's head.
He clapped his palms on both ears—jjak—shaking the man's brain like jelly, making him spew blood from his mouth.
"Kuhuk...!"
"Huh, doesn't break?"
Dueoksini had the look of a young boy.
When he first appeared, he looked about sixteen human years. Still small and dainty, like a pretty boy, but now he seemed freshly adult.
That was just appearance. Yokai don't age like humans. But going from sixteen to adult meant he'd grown in the meantime. Just a vibe.
"You're an exorcist, huh?"
Dueoksini grinned.
Cheong-ui Gongja, head rattled into unconsciousness, flopped down. His gaze shifted to Muk Seo-ah.
"This is fun—"
The yokai vanished. Now behind Muk Seo-ah.
His palms slammed the sides of her head.
Muk Seo-ah spun instantly, swinging her axe. Her Status Window showed. Just lost 2 HP. Muk Seo-ah had 50,000 HP. This attack didn't even register.
Dueoksini vanished again, reappearing from above.
Kuwung.
He stomped her head into the shop floor. Good thing it was the first floor. Otherwise, it'd have smashed through to the level below.
Muk Seo-ah ended up face-down, head crushed under a little boy's foot. Less physical hurt, more bruised pride.
"Still doesn't break?"
"What to do with this precious evil spirit...?"
Muk Seo-ah wriggled free from underfoot and turned.
She swung low with a surprise axe strike. Target: legs.
Shuk. Dueoksini vanished again.
Reappeared from above, stomping her lower belly with heavy foot clouds.
"Ugh."
Her belly compressed under the strong pressure. No real damage. Little pain. But a weird sensation heavily spread through her gut.
"Kkuk, heuk."
"Why won't it break? Amazing..."
Dueoksini pressed harder with interest.
Muk Seo-ah felt her lower belly crumple and release repeatedly inside.
"S-stop..."
"Tch. Die."
Kwang-!
Dueoksini stomped hard. His filthy bare yokai foot cratered Muk Seo-ah's lower belly.
"Hueut?!"
A tingling numbness spread through her body. Her hands went slack, dropping the axe. Her mind blanked, but her body remembered quick.
Similar to the Jaungyeokhaeng binding. Like facing the Goblin.
'Torment.'
Muk Seo-ah defined this state as torment.