Chapter 132: Japan trip (8)

Duoksini (Korean Goblin)?

What is that?

A Korean yokai?

Battle mage gave me a look as if I should know, but I tapped the slave elf on the head, who was looking at me with the same confused expression, and said….

“No, I really don’t know. Isn’t it more common for people not to know? Usually, when you think of ghosts or yokai, Japan is more famous, and if you think of others, it’s mostly Jiangshi, right?”

“The Saint is right. Other than things like Kumiho (Nine-tailed fox), I don’t know much about Korean yokai either.”

Even Cheonma chimed in, and Battle mage shook her head in disbelief before turning to the kimono girl.

“Wait, didn’t she say she knows Duoksini? Didn’t the zashiki-warashi bring out something she knows?”

“Duoksini? It’s simply like a Korean version of a goblin.”

Yoshino explained.

“Oh, Yoshino, who’s usually so quiet, actually knows something?”

I was impressed.

Yoshino, who had been silent earlier, finally stepped forward to prove her knowledge.

“In folklore, Duoksini is a being that torments and harms people, but if you serve it well, it’s said to bring you wealth. You can think of it as similar to Buddhist yaksha or the Japanese oni.”

“I see.”

“But didn’t the zashiki-warashi say she knew about it?”

“I’m not zashiki-warashi! And I don’t know much about Duoksini either. Maybe the real zashiki-warashi knows more than we think.”

That made sense.

“Gyaooooo!”

“Anyway, that seems to be one of the versions of Duoksini, just a goblin-like creature.”

“A creature that harms humans, huh.”

“Yes, that’s what they say. So, isn’t it okay to take it down?”

“Yeah, let’s do it.”

After all, it’s just Duoksini being Duoksini.

[“Do you think it’ll be that easy?”]

“Oh, a Duoksini that speaks? That doesn’t really suit it.”

“It’s probably just speaking through that goblin.”

To maintain this space, the zashiki-warashi likely had to become the dungeon itself.

In such a situation, turning into this Duoksini thing would carry a lot of risk.

Maybe this very Duoksini is its final move.

[“It might have been easy so far, but this is the end.”]

“Oh? Are you planning to do something?”

Boom!

Duoksini struck the ground, causing everything to shake.

The vibrations were strong, and the ground began to split.

“Hmm. This could be a good test.”

Cheonma unleashed her Energy pulse attack.

The Pepero Edition flew toward Duoksini’s body.

Or so I thought.

Unfortunately, Duoksini deflected the attack.

The returning warriors, familiar with the power of Cheonma’s Energy pulse, clapped in awe.

“Oh, that’s impressive.”

“Yeah, even earthquakes, and Energy pulse didn’t work?”

Could this thing be on the same level as that Ryute or whatever it was?

No, that one wasn’t as strong as this.

[“This Duoksini was created by gathering all the power of this space. Unless you have divine power, there’s no way you’ll defeat me.”]

I was briefly stunned by what I heard.

What did that thing just say?

Divine power?

The returners looked equally dumbfounded, smirking at the absurdity of it.

Well, we are followers of the Kanora church, and we have been blessed with divine power.

So, of course, what it said seems laughable.

“What’s it saying?”

“I think it’s saying something like ‘you don’t know the power of god.’”

Even though Ttangchili, who’s practically a fool, mocked the Duoksini.

“Wow, this thing really doesn’t get it. It has no idea who we are.”

“It’s truly ridiculous.”

So, it’s saying we need divine power to defeat it?

I pulled out my scythe and spread my angelic wings.

It was time to beat down this wicked goblin in angel mode.

It said only divine power can defeat it.

So this is the final step—quickly subdue it in angel mode and drag out the core.

“Oh! Saint! What is that?”

“These are wings bestowed upon me by the Kanora Goddess, who treats me like a daughter. I’m an angel, so as an angel, I have a duty to protect our new follower, the kimono girl.”

I stood tall.

I was ready to swing my scythe for the new follower of our goddess.

So, shouldn’t she become a follower now?

I glanced at the kimono girl.

“When did I ever become a follower?”

“Oh, are you saying no? Lately, I’ve taken a liking to collecting souls. Our goddess doesn’t like bad kids, you know?”

“N-no, I’ll do it. I’ll become a follower.”

The kimono girl bowed her head.

“I didn’t really say anything, though. You have the freedom to choose.”

“I-I’ll do it. From today, I’m a follower of the Kanora church.”

That’s right.

She should’ve said that from the start.

“The Japanese Prime Minister also asked us to take good care of the gods.”

“Yes, yes.”

Haha, this kimono girl claimed she wasn’t a zashiki-warashi, but possessing this body makes her one.

Considering the circumstances tied to this dungeon, I’m ultimately bringing zashiki-warashi to the Kanora Church.

I can’t let go of such a fresh existence.

Now that I’ve gained justification, I’ve decided to capture that wicked Duokshini and save our kimono girl.

“It seems you must fall here.”

[“What… What is this energy? Where is it coming from?”]

Oh, it seems you’ve sensed the aura of our Demon god.

Even a trifling troublemaker like you can feel this level of power, huh?

“We’re using the power of the gods.”

[“The power of the gods?”]

“Deflecting the Energy pulse was impressive, but can you block this?”

Cheonma struck the Duokshini.

Cheonma was faster than me.

It seems the Energy pulse getting deflected hurt her pride quite a bit.

“Guyaooooooo!”

[“This is completely different from before! What is this foreign energy? Why does something like this exist in Japan?”]

“There’s no helping it. Our goddess is strong.”

[“Goddess? That’s a god? No way. Something like that descending upon this land… surely the many gods of Japan—”]

Baaaam!

Before it could spout more nonsense, I hit it with my scythe.

It was tougher than I expected, but the Duokshini only had its horns broken and was still standing.

It seems to know how to wield power better than the Demon King.

This zashiki-warashi, for whatever reason, gained power from the Great War and pulled out a card stronger than the Demon King.

Though, the Demon King being provoked played a part as well.

“Shut up. How dare you run your mouth?”

“Guyaaaaaaaa!”

As I clamped its mouth shut, the foolish Duokshini finally came at me with full force.

By now, our team had better teamwork than expected.

If we had the orc, it would have exchanged grand blows with the Duokshini with punches that sliced through the air, but unfortunately, the orc wasn’t here.

Instead, Ttaengchilli’s rocket punch stepped in to handle it.

Shoooo—crack!

The charging Duokshini was pushed back by the rocket punch.

But after being pushed back for a while, the Duokshini held its ground.

It seems Ttaengchilli’s punch wasn’t effective enough.

“Dang, that’s tough. What’s it made of?”

“What do you think?”

“Feels stronger than the Demon King. This one’s no ordinary being.”

Yeah, it doesn’t seem ordinary.

Unlike the Demon King, it even has a physical body.

Who would’ve thought that an enemy strong enough to boost my ego would appear here?

And now, the thought strikes me—how delicious must the creator of something like that be?

“I bet its soul would taste great.”

“Are you sure you’re not more of a witch than a saint?”

To an angel, the titles of saint and witch are probably meaningless now.

Offering souls to the goddess is all the explanation needed.

“You’re all in the same boat, so don’t think you can back out now. Let’s just take this thing down.”

“If it can withstand Ttaengchilli’s punch, I’ll need to throw a big spear at it too.”

Battle mage hurled the spear with all their might, and a black flash streaked through the air.

The Duokshini, momentarily staggered, couldn’t even counterattack and had to face the black spear.

Since Battle mage threw it with full intent, it was ready to pierce through.

This time, the Duokshini tried to defend by crossing its arms.

Crunch, crunch

It blocked it, but its arms were almost twisted out of shape.

The Duokshini looked in disbelief, its face contorted before it stomped the ground again, roaring.

Is it trying to buy time like this?

Should I say it’s clever or just plain foolish?

This zashiki-warashi doesn’t realize it will eventually have to release the kimono girl here.

Either way, this fight started because the zashiki-warashi threw a tantrum.

[“Duokshini! Hurry up and kill them! Smash them into the ground!”]

Crackle!

It seems they’ve changed tactics. It’s now trying to shatter the ground.

As it kept stomping, it caused continuous earthquakes.

Because of that, we had to pull back from our attacks.

It’s even smarter than the Demon King.

To be fair, the Demon King tried hard too, but when he lost all his cards at the end, he just fought recklessly.

“You speak crudely for a young one.”

“She might be older than she looks.”

She’s a being of divine or spirit status after all.

So, this zashiki-warashi must be quite old.

The Great War breaking out made things worse.

“So what? She can’t even get close to us, and neither can we to her.”

“We can get close, though.”

The returnees’ eyes turned to me.

I could just watch this, but since I want to enjoy taking down the Duokshini, I’ll let it exhaust itself.

But, if I just watch like this, who knows when its strength will wear out?

After all, it’s a god.

It might keep stomping until this eerie land crumbles or sinks into a sinkhole.

We’ve already spent a lot of time in this dungeon, and if we don’t get out, who knows what that Prime Minister will do?

I spread my wings and flew quickly toward the Duokshini.

I couldn’t afford to give it a chance to resist.

“There’s no other choice. I’ll have to capture it.”

[“Damn it. Duokshini! Capture that strange being!”]

They must be desperate too.

If they lose the kimono girl, the gods of this land will lose their place to the goddess Kanora.

And not just any goddess—if it’s the ominous Demon Goddess, they’d be even more anxious.

I raised my scythe and carefully aimed for its head.