episode_0037

I came out of Hyehwadang’s warehouse holding a tonpa.

When I went out into the yard, I saw Sarah preparing a spell. There were long wooden sticks and ropes laid out in the yard. I’m not sure, but it looks like they’re preparing a spell to deal with the serpent spirit.

Sera looked at me holding the tonfa and asked with a puzzled expression.

“It’s a tonpa, right? Why did you bring that out?”

“I brought it here to deal with Kwak Jin-cheol. Since they are human too, they can use the tonfa. I’m going to use the Gunwoong knife and the tonfa together. It’s like blocking a sashimi knife with a tonpa and aiming for a mask with a martial arts knife.”

“If you just listen to it, it looks okay… Have you never used a tonfa before?”

Defend with the tonfa and attack with the sword. It was a plan that made sense in theory, but it could go awry in practice. I had no experience using a tonfa in actual combat. Sarah also pointed out that part.

“Aren’t you making a mistake by holding a tonpa for no reason?”

“So, the tonfa will mainly be used for defense. It’s enough to block a sashimi knife.”

“Okay… ? Well, you might be able to do it.”

The tonfa was a weapon that could attack or defend depending on the situation. If you just hold the handle and cover the outside of your arm, you can block the sashimi knife with the iron bar. Sarah nodded after hearing my specific plan.

“But it suits me because I’m holding a tonpa.”

“What suits you?”

Sarah looked at me with a faint smile.

“You’re the detective’s son! If you’re wearing a police uniform, anyone can tell you’re a police officer, right? It seems like if you do something bad, they’ll catch you. Be scared.”

“If you have done something bad, I will take you to my house first.”

“It’s home instead of prison? Then are you going to handcuff me and tie me to your bed?”

“… … What does that mean?”

After making a joke, Sarah came back with a dirty joke. They handcuffed Sarah and tied her to the bed. I almost had a delusion on impulse, but I managed to hold it back.

I asked while looking at the items lying at Sarah’s feet.

“What are the ropes and wooden sticks here? These are the items needed for the snake catching spell, right?”

“If the serpent spirit comes with this, I will singe the snake.”

Singing a snake.

I had a little idea what kind of magic it was. It was a spell used to ward off snakes in the Gyeongsang-do region in the past. I only heard stories, but I didn’t know how to actually use magic.

Serah showed me how to make the castings needed for magic right in front of my eyes.

A fetish was an item used for magic.

“Are you making castings?”

“Yes. Wrap the rope around a stick to create a snake-like shape. The casting is completed by inserting hair into the end of the stick. There are many different types of castings, but this one is the most effective.”

Sarah held a wooden stick and delicately wound the rope. As the rope continued to be wrapped around the wooden stick, it looked like a snake hanging on a tree branch. The rope was cleverly twisted to create the shape of a snake’s head, making it look like a work of art.

“It looks like a real snake.”

“Right? Now get a knife and cut my hair.”

Sarah reached behind her back and grabbed the end of her hair. The flowing silver hair was caught in Sarah’s hand. I did as I was told and took a military knife and cut off a bit of Sarah’s hair.

“Here.”

I handed the cut hair to Sarah.

Sarah put each strand of hair on a wooden stick with a rope wrapped around it. The moment a handful of hair was stuck between the gaps in the rope, the snake-shaped casting was completed.

“The casting is now complete.”

“It looks like a snake. So how do you use it?”

“When the serpent spirit approaches, you can scorch the fetish. If you do that, you can tie down the snake spirit’s movements. I’ll do it myself.”

“That would be better.”

It was decided that Sarah would be in charge of using the spell. My role was to burn the mask, which was a sacred item of the gangster. All I had to do was deal with the assailant while Sera tied up the serpent spirit.

“Should I take a nap now?”

“Let’s take turns sleeping.”

We couldn’t sleep a wink last night because we had to deal with a monster. After completing the casting, we took turns sleeping. When Sarah was sleeping, I was in charge of security, and when I was sleeping, Sarah was in charge of security. By the time we both got enough sleep and woke up, some time had passed.

7:00 pm.

It was slowly getting dark.

I practiced fighting enemies in the yard with a sword and a tonpa. It was a practice of blocking attacks with the tonfa held in the right hand and cutting and stabbing with the military sword held in the left hand. At first, my movements were slow because I had a lot to think about, but I gradually got a feel for how to use the tonfa. I got used to the weight of the things I was holding in my hands, so I was able to move them with ease.

“How about Tonpa? Do you think you can use it?”

“I tried it and it’s okay.”

Sarah placed the Five Banners in the yard in advance and took a lump of rock salt. These were the equipment that were effective last time in Mugok Village. The five flags, the five flags, were effective in driving away evil spirits when placed according to the direction. But this time, what we had to deal with was not a ghost, but a spirit. It seemed that the Five Banners would not be able to block the serpent spirit.

Time passed and it was 2 am.

It was getting dark, but we left the lights on in Hyehwadang and placed flashlights in the yard to ensure visibility.

All preparations were completed, but it was too late. Since nothing had happened in the meantime, our tension was slowly fading away.

━━Jijijik

The lights in Hyehwadang flickered. The light that had been blinking ominously went out quickly. It was a sudden power outage. We immediately tensed up and prepared to fight.

There was no wind, but the five flags placed in the yard were shaking loudly. It meant that something more powerful than miscellaneous ghosts had appeared in Hyehwadang. Sarah and I looked around to look for intruders.

“Where is it?”

“The front door didn’t open.”

The large gate of Hyehwadang was tightly closed. I looked around the Hyehwadang building. Before long, there was something leisurely walking out into the yard from the backyard.

“It’s in the back!”

A pure white mask appeared behind us, turning away from the darkness. The masked assailant had climbed over the fence and entered Hyehwadang. The gunman approached the nearby flag. It was part of the five flags that were placed in the yard.

━━Wood!

The gunman stretched out his hand and broke the flag. Judging by the way he touched the flag, the gunman seemed to know what effect the five flags had. He was like a medium who served gods.

One flag was broken, weakening the power of the Five Banners.

The conditions for ghosts to come were met.

A masked man called out the name of a god.

“Teoju.”

At that moment, a serpent spirit appeared behind the monster’s back. A large snake measuring 6 meters jumped forward and wriggled. The snake’s gaze looking at us was filled with greed.

Did you say it seems like the serpent spirit wants us as a sacrifice?

It was Sarah’s guess, but now she was certain. As soon as it saw us, the snake spirit opened its mouth wide and crawled on the ground. The serpent spirit came near us in the blink of an eye. It was the moment when it was about to stick its head towards us with its big mouth open.

“Gotcha!”

Sarah lit the match. Sarah held the burning match, producing smoke, to the snake-shaped casting she had made in advance. It was an action that was completely incomprehensible to common sense. But the moment the match flame touched the snake-shaped casting, something amazing happened.

━━Chizijik

The rope wrapped around the casting became charred. The rope coiled like a snake was scorched by the match flame. Then the serpent spirit that tried to stick out its head jumped out of its place. It was jumping around like an animal being burned to death.

‘Is this witchcraft?’

The name of the spell is snake-singing.

The rope wrapped around it like a snake was burning, and the serpent spirit’s body was also charred in the same way. The serpent spirit was unable to attack us properly because its body was burning. A horrifying howl came from the snake’s mouth.

‘Similar things give rise to similar things’

It was a theory that became the principle of witchcraft. It is literally a theory that similar things influence each other. When the snake-shaped fetish was burned, the serpent spirit was burned into it. Although it made no sense in common sense, it was magically possible.

“It really worked!”

“I will tie up the serpent spirit like this!”

Sarah shouted as she burned the casting. She had a match and a snake-shaped fetish in her hands, so she couldn’t do anything else. It was my role to subdue the gunman.

The assailant pulled out a sashimi knife and ran toward Sarah. It seemed like they also realized that it was Sera’s magic that was burning the serpent spirit. I grabbed the martial arts knife and tonfa and ran toward the assailant.

The gunman couldn’t ignore me. When I stabbed the mask with my sword, the assailant raised his arm and struck it away. The sashimi knife in the gunman’s hand was aimed at me. I bounced the diagonal sashimi knife away with the tonfa.

A collision occurred. It was only a split second, but I could feel it. The assailant’s movements became more agile than when they fought in the hallway of Hyehwadang. The gunman’s knife skills also became sharper, targeting vital points.

‘You filled your stomach with stolen food.’

I was able to immediately notice why the strange man’s movements had changed. The gunman seemed to have filled his stomach with food stolen from Hyehwadang. The last time we met, he was starving. The gunman’s movements were no longer sluggish.

“… … .”

But what changed was the same for me. The assailant swung the sashimi knife at me in succession. I raised my tonfa and blocked several attacks. Thanks to the tonfa, defense became easier. It was also possible to block attacks from the attacker, who was more agile than before.

Because I’m strengthening my guard with the tonfa.

In the end, the gunman’s gap was revealed.

I cut off the assailant’s mask with a military knife. As the gunman tilted his head back, the sharp tip of the knife grazed his mask. The monster’s body shook greatly. I quickly caught up with the stranger who was trying to retreat.

He quickly stabbed the tonpa and drove the end of the iron bar into the assailant’s head.

━━Peook!

The tonfa hit the mark. A dull sound rang out. The gunman who was hit by the tonfa’s stab was pushed back significantly. But unfortunately, the mask was not broken. The moment I stabbed the tonfa, the gunman lifted his head up. What was hit by the tonfa was not the mask, but the assailant’s chin.

“… … !”

Blood flowed from the gunman’s mask.

It wasn’t a hit, it was a hit on the chin, but it was a blow.

The gunman appeared to be staggering in his seat.

‘Is it a concussion?’

Since we were born as humans, if there was an impact to our head, our brain was bound to shake. When I got a concussion, I couldn’t control my body properly. The gunman recovered from the knife wound, but was unable to survive the concussion. The gunman’s limbs were shaking and he looked like he was going to collapse at any moment.

It was time to end it.

I blocked the front with the tonfa and approached the assailant.

Then the stumbling stranger did something strange. He had cut his own palm with the sashimi knife he was holding. Blood spurted out from the palm of his hand, as if he had been cut quite deeply. I was puzzled when I suddenly saw the assailant’s self-harm.

‘Why did you cut your palm? Are you trying to commit suicide now?’

Blood pooled on the gunman’s palms. A large amount of blood gathered in an instant, as if washing the face with the palm of one’s hand. However, what the gunman was doing was not suicidal.

━━Good luck

The masked man swung his palm at me. The accumulated blood scattered into the air. The blood that flew straight into my face obscured my vision.

“Qu.”

The monster’s blood spattered in my eyes.

Something extraordinary happened. The gunman cut himself and splattered blood, blocking his vision. I quickly wiped my eyes. I forced my stinging eyes open and looked ahead.

The assailant bent down like a snake, ran towards me, and stabbed me with a sashimi knife. A sharp knife shot out from below, aiming for my neck. It was a strike aimed at the blind spot of vision. The scene of the sashimi knife approaching flowed into my head as if a flash of lightning had passed by.

I almost got stabbed in the neck.

If I hadn’t blocked the front with the tonfa.

━━Chaeng!

My hand moved reflexively. The hand holding the tonfa responded with a feeling of muscle tightening. I swung the tonfa towards the sashimi knife flying towards my neck. As the tonpa and the sashimi knife collided, a metallic sound echoed through the yard.

“Wow… .”

That was the gunman’s final blow.

The moment the surprise attack failed, the gunman could no longer control himself. The gunman, who was forcing himself to move even though he had a concussion, passed me by and took a few steps before falling down.

“Hu.”

A sigh of relief flowed.

I approached the assailant and took off his mask.

With the mask in my hand, I took out a Zippo lighter from my pocket. This was the end. If the traditional wooden mask was burned, the assailant lost all his strength.

“It’s over! Jinwoo.”

“Yes.”

Sarah spoke to me from nearby. The snake-shaped fetish that Sarah was holding in her hand was still burning brightly. The serpent spirit that had been running wild was seen lying limp, burnt black. While I was fighting, Sera was binding the serpent spirit with a spell.

It was right then.

A voice came out from the mouth of the gunman who fell to the ground.

“Why… ?”

I lifted the mask and looked at the assailant.

The gunman opened his mouth with his face exposed.

It was the face of Kwak Jin-cheol, whom I had only seen in pictures.

“This… That’s unreasonable… .”

The gunman pronounced with a clenched jaw.

I’m not sure what’s unreasonable.

“For me… God gave me strength… . But for you… I can’t feel the spirit… .”

Who are you talking about?

When I looked closely, I saw that the gunman was looking at me.

“It’s unreasonable… I have a spirit… .”

Now I know what you’re talking about.

The gunman thought it was unreasonable that he had attacked me. He seemed displeased with what had happened to him who had received power from the serpent spirit. Because I was just a high school student. I had no divine power.

I asked the gunman back.

“Is this unreasonable?”

“That’s right… .”

The gunman answered.

When I heard the answer, I remembered the people who had been killed by the gunman.

12 people murdered at a campsite, police officers killed in an attack while on the job.

The dead people must have thought the same thing.

This is unreasonable.

I said, thinking of them.

“The people you killed probably thought so too.”

The monster’s face was distorted in an ugly way.

There was no answer.

I turned on the light with a Zippo lighter.

The blazing fire burned down the pure white mask.