episode_0011

Cheok Jiyeon’s family had long been renowned for exorcism.

To be precise, they were famed as exorcists who wielded swords.

But great power often came with equally great danger.

“Our sword is strong, but it also harbors evil.”

As a child, she didn’t understand those words.

Not until her brother, possessed by the sword, slaughtered their parents and the entire family.

“Oppa…?”

Her brother, who had lost his soul and mind to the sword, became a murderer.

Perhaps the only reason he spared his little sister was the last shred of his remaining reason.

But being the sole survivor of her family was a curse to Cheok Jiyeon.

“Good heavens. Who would’ve thought the genius heir would massacre his own family?”

“Now that only a child remains, what will become of them?”

“For the famed Cheok family to fall like this—truly, the world is unpredictable.”

“Shh! The child might hear you.”

The words of others meant nothing to her.

All that remained in her heart was hatred and betrayal toward her brother.

She had a duty—to destroy the brother who had doomed their family and been consumed by the sword.

From then on, she lived alone, enduring brutal training until her hands bled.

Thanks to that, Cheok Jiyeon awakened her talent early.

But training alone had its limits.

Finding clues about her brother was also difficult.

So, she decided to join Cheonjihae.

Korea’s top exorcism corporation.

She judged that there, she could grow stronger faster and access more information.

‘I can’t settle for just joining.’

Cheok Jiyeon’s goal was to find and kill her brother as soon as possible.

To do that, she needed to stand out even within Cheonjihae.

Additionally, she needed the weapon rumored to be awarded to the top recruit.

Among them, there was said to be a sword she desired.

‘I’ll take first place in this entrance exam. Then, I’ll climb the ranks faster than anyone else.’

With that resolve, the practical exam began.

While others were visibly tense, Cheok Jiyeon didn’t falter.

She believed fear only came from insufficient training.

‘If you have confidence in your skills, there’s nothing to fear.’

To that extent, she trusted her sword.

“Ah, hello.”

So, even when paired with a seemingly lackluster man for the exam, she didn’t care.

His spiritual energy was below average.

The only thing worth noting was his face.

‘…Actually, this is good. It’ll make me stand out even more.’

She planned to ignore him and take the practical exam alone.

Her sword was more than enough.

‘To secure top placement, I need to hurry!’

She’d heard many formidable talents were participating this time.

From the only daughter of a renowned barrier company’s CEO—

To Go Juyeong, known as the Divine Archer.

Each one was a genius not to be underestimated.

Even for Cheok Jiyeon, she had to move fast.

‘Break through the forest faster than anyone and slay as many monsters as possible.’

From the start, she sprinted at full speed.

As expected, Cheok Jiyeon cut down monsters at an astonishing pace.

She didn’t care that she’d left her teammate behind.

If he couldn’t even keep up, he was useless to begin with.

“I’ll definitely enter as the top recruit and find clues about Oppa.”

By now, the exam no longer mattered to Cheok Jiyeon.

She only recalled her brother, who had become a murderer and killed their parents before her eyes, as she cut down monsters.

…Perhaps losing herself in thought while swinging her sword was the problem.

Or maybe it was pushing too hard and unknowingly venturing deep into the forest, beyond the exam grounds.

-KWAHAAANG!

“Kgh!”

Suddenly, a massive monster appeared beside her and swung its arm.

Its appearance was similar to the monsters she’d slain so far.

The problem was its size.

Its absurd bulk reminded her of a giant.

“What in the…?”

Cheok Jiyeon was confident she wouldn’t lose under normal circumstances.

But faced with this colossal size, she froze.

‘Was this thing part of the exam? No, it can’t be.’

Fighting such a monster was no different from telling examinees to die.

A major corporation like Cheonjihae wouldn’t do something so reckless.

“…My mistake.”

She’d pushed too hard and wandered too deep.

No—before that, she’d been so focused on slaying monsters that she hadn’t noticed this thing approaching.

‘This is dangerous.’

Taking this monster down alone was impossible.

But running would only give it an opening.

-KWAHAAANG!

“Tch!”

While she was still thinking, the monster attacked again.

And despite its size, it was unnervingly fast.

“Haaht!”

Cheok Jiyeon aimed for an opening and swung her sword at the monster’s arm.

-KAANG!

But her proud swordsmanship had no effect.

The difference in basic spiritual power was too vast.

-KUUUOOONG!

“Keugh!”

Instead, the gap left by her attack allowed the monster’s arm to graze her.

Even though she barely avoided a direct hit, the impact was devastating.

Her well-trained body was sent tumbling pathetically across the ground.

‘What do I do…?’

She couldn’t see a way to defeat it.

No—more than that, she couldn’t even escape its grasp.

‘Am I really going to die here? Without even properly starting my family’s revenge?’

The fear of death.

The same suffocating dread she’d felt seeing her brother, now a murderer, holding a sword.

That sticky emotion rose again, weighing down her legs and arms.

“No!”

Cheok Jiyeon forced the fear away.

Gripping her sword tightly, she steadied herself on trembling legs.

“I am Cheok Jiyeon, head of the Cheok family. I won’t run from monsters or death!”

With sheer willpower, she raised her sword against the monster.

Even if she died here, she wouldn’t die as a coward who only ran.

‘At the very least, I have to leave a mark…!’

Just as she gritted her teeth and faced the monster—and her fear—

“Huh? What’s this?”

Her teammate emerged from the bushes, late.

This wasn’t a situation where his arrival brought hope.

Instead, despair and guilt welled up—her arrogance and greed had dragged an innocent person into this.

“Run!”

She immediately shouted at him.

“This happened because of my mistake! You don’t need to throw your life away too! Run and call for backup!”

Dying here would be a meaningless death.

She didn’t know who this man was or if he was even a spiritualist.

But he was definitely not strong enough to defeat this monster.

‘I can’t let him die because of me.’

Unlike her, he likely had a home and family to return to.

She couldn’t let someone else suffer the pain of losing that.

‘At the very least, I’ll buy time for him to escape…!’

Just as Cheok Jiyeon prepared to unleash her family’s ultimate technique—still incomplete from her training—

“Die.”

-KOOONG!

The towering monster, which seemed impossible to defeat, collapsed dead.

“……Huh?”

Cheok Jiyeon blankly stared at the scene before her.

The monster was unmistakably dead.

A corpse with no trace of life left.

There was no doubt about it.

‘How…?’

The man hadn’t done anything extraordinary.

He’d merely muttered a curse toward the monster.

And with just that, a monster of this caliber had fallen.

‘That’s…possible?’

An unbelievable situation.

But denying what she’d just witnessed would be foolish.

‘Is that seemingly ordinary man actually a curse master of that level?’

Now that she thought about it, she’d heard rumors.

That high-level spiritualists could conceal their power to an extreme degree.

It was rare for an examinee to possess such strength.

But in the exorcism world, where talent was everything, it wasn’t impossible.

‘…Was I the pathetic, useless one all along?’

She hadn’t even recognized the skill of the person right beside her.

With that level of ignorance, how could she ever hope to defeat her brother, once called a genius, and avenge her family?

“Huu…”

She felt a strange clarity.

She’d been running toward a single goal all this time.

But now, she realized she’d been sprinting inside a well.

“I’m sorry.”

After organizing her thoughts, Cheok Jiyeon bowed deeply to Nam Dohyeong.

“I was so fixated on my goal that I didn’t see what was around me, leading to this mess.”

The sudden apology made Nam Dohyeong freeze, more stunned than when he’d seen the monster.

“I’ll repay this debt someday. Though it must’ve been nothing to you…”

“Uh…huh? What?”

“I apologize again. And…thank you. Thanks to you, I’ve realized my own limits.”

Cheok Jiyeon sincerely conveyed her regret and gratitude.

This experience—and this man—had made her realize something was fundamentally wrong with her approach.

‘What’s with him? Did the monster hit his head earlier?’

Of course, with her head bowed, she couldn’t see the bewildered expression on Nam Dohyeong’s face.

‘This exam has been quite successful.’

As reports came in one after another, examiner Lee Jaehak nodded in satisfaction.

This time, an exceptional number of talented individuals had gathered—enough to call it a bountiful harvest.

Even their specialized fields were diverse.

For the company, having a variety of talents made them easier to utilize.

In that sense, this batch of recruits had a high chance of being useful long-term.

‘Though there are a few trash mixed in. They’ll naturally be filtered out. Still, it’s a shame all the records are so average.’

The reason for such a complex exam was to occasionally find those who excelled only in real combat.

A kind of dark horse, so to speak.

‘None this time, huh? Well, that’s normal.’

At any rate, it was about time to wrap up the exam.

Just as Lee Jaehak rose from his seat—

“S-Sir! It’s an emergency!”

“What? Did someone die?”

Since the practical exam involved fighting monsters, danger was always a factor.

That’s why waivers were signed in advance.

But deaths still caused headaches.

“N-No! It’s much bigger…no, you need to see this for yourself!”

“Hmm.”

The babbling employee wasn’t making sense.

Seeing it firsthand would be faster.

‘If it’s nothing, I’ll have to reprimand him.’

As he rushed over, something unusual caught Lee Jaehak’s eye.

“Oh?”

A massive monster was being dragged in by the staff.

Beside it, a sword-wielding woman and a man—presumably the ones who’d defeated it—walked awkwardly.

“…Interesting.”

It seemed the dark horse of this exam had been decided.

And not just any talent—a true calamity (天災).