episode_0072

I shouted loudly, as if squeezing all the air out of my lungs. The 40 would-be murderers and Yoo Hee-jin’s gang gathered inside the factory were shocked to see me. Well, it would be surprising if someone pulled out a knife out of nowhere.

“Aaaah!”

“They are psychos!”

Customers around them, regardless of age or gender, screamed and backed away.

Sera was the same one who took out the military sword. Customers started treating us like psychos, but it was normal for them. Aren’t those who came to buy cursed tools for murder equally psychotic?

There were many customers who heard me but had not yet left the factory.

Sarah warned customers in a calm voice.

“I don’t think you understand the situation yet, but you guys’ auction is ruined. If there’s someone who buys things here, they’ll hit us hard. Where should we dance the sword dance?”

“Sword dance!”

Words alone were not enough to threaten.

Sarah and I started swinging our swords at random. Like a drunken idiot, he danced his sword and approached the customers who had backed away.

“Aaaah!”

“Save people!”

Only then did the customers run out of the factory in a huff. It was like watching a disaster movie as dozens of customers scattered and ran away like a swarm of ants. The auction was clearly a failure.

“Fuck! What are you bastards doing!”

Heejin shouted sharply at us. The two men in Heejin’s gang had already taken out their weapons. One man was holding a pole, and the other was holding a baseball bat studded with sharp nails.

“They ask who you are! Who do they work under?”

“Is that important?”

“Then what do you want? Why are you making such a fuss here?”

Heejin swore at us in a nervous voice. It seemed like Heejin’s gang wanted to know who we were and what our purpose was.

Let me give you a simple answer.

It would be a good idea to try talking first.

“Give me the item. When you say something nice.”

I pointed to the curse tools displayed around Heejin with the martial arts knife.

Our goal was to retrieve and dispose of those dangerous items.

“Ask for something? When I asked what they were doing, they said they were businessmen? Are you trying to steal our stuff and sell it? You bastards with no morals!”

Heejin’s gang had a misunderstanding.

When he saw us, he thought we were just another businessman trying to steal curse tools and sell them.

They say you can only see something with your eyes.

Sarah clicked her tongue and answered Heejin.

“You are the ones without business ethics. Are you selling curses to make some money? Do you want to get beaten up and die?”

“You guys came here to make money too!”

“I don’t need that dirty money. The items will be disposed of after a purification ceremony.”

“They said they would dispose of it… ? Aren’t you here to make money?”

When the purpose was revealed, Heejin reacted in confusion. Our words seemed unfamiliar to that woman, who was a business person to her core.

Heejin nodded as if she understood.

“Ah. I have a rough idea of what type it is. Do you think they are exorcists and not merchants? You are very precious people. They are doing good work.”

“If you understand, just quietly hand over the item and disappear.”

“I can’t just go, right? Do you know how much this all costs?”

I warned him, but it seems he has no intention of quietly backing down.

“Chansu! Jeongho! Exorcists, please take care of yourselves! Since they are doing a good job, I will send them to you with sick limbs!”

“Yes!”

The peaceful conversation ended neatly.

Chansu and Jeongho from Heejin’s gang approached us with weapons. They were both quite calm, probably accustomed to such unexpected situations, and their posture while holding weapons was not awkward. They are the businessmen who host the curse auction in the first place. It goes without saying that he has experience fighting people who disrupt auctions.

‘What do we do?’

I thought for a moment as I looked at the two armed adult men. The opponent was not a ghost or monster, but a person holding a weapon. You might think that they are easier opponents than ghosts or monsters, but that is not necessarily true.

When hunting the supernatural, I can use weapons without hesitation. There was no problem with cutting with a sword or shooting lightning with a sword. However, if the opponent was a pure human being, things were different.

I have no intention of committing murder.

My father also avoided killing people when performing exorcism. If you go around cutting people down to save them, there will come a day when you won’t be able to tell whether you’re an exorcist or a murderer. Not only my father, but Sarah and I also had an implicit taboo on murder.

What was that thing that was dancing like a crazy person among the customers earlier?

Of course, I really had no intention of killing anyone.

It was just a realistic threat.

It reminded me of a time when I had to fight a gunman wearing a traditional mask.

At that time, the gunman had incredible regenerative powers, so even if he was cut with a knife, he would not die.

But the men in Heejin’s gang who were now in the factory were different. These were men who only held weapons but had no magical abilities. If you recklessly engage in a melee with a military sword, something dangerous could happen.

‘Is there a way to cleanly subdue him without cutting him?’

As I looked around, a good idea occurred to me.

Coincidentally, there were several drums lying inside the abandoned factory. They were the only things that stood out in the empty, abandoned factory. If I use that drum, I think I can take down Heejin’s gang.

“Sera. Wait a moment.”

“What is it?”

“Just stay there.”

I sheathed my military sword and approached the drum nearby. It was a rusty iron drum. The industrial drum, which can hold approximately 400 liters of liquid, was filled with firewood. It looked like firewood gathered to be used as kindling.

When I touch the drum, it looks quite heavy.

It was heavy enough to scare people.

“What is it? Why are you suddenly touching the drum? Are you asking me to dip it in there?”

“Fuck! Did you pick a spot?”

Chansu and Jeongho looked at me while giggling.

I lowered my waist and held the drum near the waist with both hands.

I was planning on lifting the drum like this.

When Heejin saw my actions, she burst into laughter as if she were dumbfounded.

“What are you suddenly going to do with the drum? I can’t listen to that alone! It would be better to quit before your back hurts.”

According to common sense, what Heejin said was correct.

The weight of a 400L drum filled with contents was considerable. I’m not sure how much it weighs, but it’s probably around 200kg. It doesn’t even have a proper handle like a weight machine. It would be reckless to lift this by yourself.

But it wasn’t reckless for me.

I’m working hard because it’s something I’ve been good at since long ago.

“Hu.”

As I put strength into both hands, the iron drum rose into the air. The firewood inside shook and made a loud rattling sound. The two men stopped in a daze when they saw the drum floating in the air like a lie.

“Huh?”

“Did you hear that?”

The corners of Heejin’s mouth, who had been laughing, stiffened.

I lifted 200kg, but my back didn’t hurt.

Heejin opened her eyes wide and shouted at me.

“What is this guy? Are you a monster pretending to be human?”

“A person who pretends to be a person.”

I threw the drum forward.

The heavy drum flew in a parabola and landed in front of Chansu and Jeongho.

━━Boom

When a 200 kg object flew in front of their eyes, Chansu and Jeongho were so confused that they rolled on the floor in an ugly manner. Firewood poured out of the drum with the lid open and splashed in all directions. Heejin, who was quite far away, also squatted on the floor and screamed, probably because she was scared.

“Aaaah!”

I saw Chansu and Jeongho crawling on the floor.

They were two people who intentionally hit the drum and were not seriously injured. However, the experience must have been scary enough for them to be shaking as they looked at me. As I got closer, Chansu collapsed, held out his long sword, and screamed.

“Don’t come! Don’t come!”

However, Chansu, who was already frightened, did not even have the presence of mind to swing the long sword properly.

I climbed on top of the fallen Chansu and lightly punched him.

Chansu, who was punched in the face, fainted.

There is still one more man with a weapon left.

Jeong-ho, holding a nail-studded bat, was trembling after seeing Chan-su faint from a one-punch.

“Ah, ahhh.”

“Hey.”

I asked Jeongho.

“Do you want to get hit too? Shall I let you wear dentures?”

Jeong-ho, who was shaking, soon politely put down the bat and knelt down.

“Oh, no. I’m still young, but I can’t wear dentures.”

“Why do you resist when you ask for something? Does the exorcist look like a dick?”

“Sorry, exorcist.”

He succeeded in subduing two men from Heejin’s gang.

However, Heejin did not surrender even after seeing the men being subdued. Heejin was seen hurriedly gathering the curse tools in the factory and preparing to run away. A devil doll, an African fertility doll, a tiger’s eye ring and a pearl necklace, and finally an old book.

“Fuck! I can never give you this! Fuck the exorcist!”

Heejin tried to run away with the curse tools in her arms.

But it was not easy to escape.

Because at some point, someone quietly approached Heejin.

“Persistent.”

It was Sarah.

While I was subduing the men, Sarah was getting closer to Heejin.

Sarah kicked Heejin’s leg. Heejin, who was holding the curse tools, was unable to keep her balance and fell to the floor.

“Ahh!”

Sarah scolded Heejin for falling.

“Give up a bit. Do you want to make money even by killing people?”

“It doesn’t matter if we’re not killing them! Those who bought the curse are killing them! Is it our responsibility?”

“Those who sell curses and those who buy them are the same.”

Sarah took the curse tools one by one from Heejin, who had fallen. Dolls and accessories containing curses fell to the floor. However, Heejin did not let go of an old book until the very end.

“This, this old book is not allowed! Just look at one book! If you ask me for money, I will give it to you!”

“What is that?”

“It’s nothing special, it’s just an old book!”

“It’s nothing special, but it’s very much like serving Shinjudanji. Don’t lie.”

Heejin said it wasn’t a big deal, but it was noticeable just by looking at her attitude toward old books. All the other things were taken away, but I tried to take the old books by any means necessary.

This clearly means that it is an expensive item.

“Give it to me.”

Se-ra forcibly took the old book from Hee-jin.

But is it because I applied too much force?

The old book she had snatched slipped from Sarah’s hands and floated in the air.

The old book opened wide and fell to the floor.

I couldn’t really see what was written in the old book.

Because I was keeping a distance while watching Chansu, who had fainted, and Jeongho, who was kneeling.

However, Sarah ended up reading the contents of the old book properly.

Sarah, who looked at the open old book, let out a curious voice.

“What is this?”