𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟑𝟕
Honestly, I was curious about it myself.
Just how far my current abilities would go, how much power I could draw out.
And the results were, to say the least, surprising.
『Kyaaaak?』
『Kiiieek!』
『Shwiiing!』
Kwaaaang!
Kwadak!
Puhwaak!
As if a tidal wave had rushed in, my shikigami shot out from the shadows and mercilessly began tearing apart the yokai.
Starting with the ones closest by, and working their way up to the ones blocking the entrance to the shelter.
They were strong, but my shikigami were stronger.
“. . .Burn them.”
Puhwaak!
Hwarururuk!
“Hmph, they’re far too weak to be associated with this lady.”
Kwajajak!
Hudootuk!
Every time Ggong-sam-yi shot out a flame, the yokai writhed in agony, and the vines summoned by Hwa Baek ensnared and twisted their bodies.
The other shikigami were also each taking care of their own level of yokai one after another.
“H-How many of them are there. . .?”
“Is what I’m seeing right now real?”
The exorcists who were with me were speechless, their eyes wide with shock at the sight.
And sensing that something was amiss, the higher-grade yokai in the distance began to move as well.
『Booooooooo!』
It was gathering the surrounding yokai once more, attempting to bolster its power.
But of course, I was not one to let that happen.
“Crush it.”
『Grooooo!』
Kung! Kung! Kuung!
At my command, Geusdae, who had been destroying the nearby yokai, let out a fierce roar and charged toward it.
Sensing the difference in their levels, it tried to flee in terror, but that too was impossible.
Geusdae smashed into the ground and leapt up into the air, grabbing it by the back of the neck and slamming it back down.
Uduk!
Kwaaaang─!
That was the end of it.
The impact was so intense that it was unable to get back up.
Geusdae rained down a few more punches before finally leaving the body alone and moving on to find another target.
Seeing the situation somewhat under control, I looked at the wide-eyed civilians.
“Let’s move.”
“Y-Yes!”
There were no more objections or doubts. They simply followed after me with respectful attitudes.
「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙨𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢, 𝙗𝙪𝙩」
Well, considering the power I had just displayed, it wasn’t all that surprising.
And more than that, there was one thing that was bothering me.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙣𝙪𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝.」
Originally, as far as I knew, the number of regular yokai in the 3rd Night Parade of a Hundred Demons wasn’t that high.
They were more like supporting characters, simply harbingers of the great storm to come.
Therefore, the main force was mostly made up of A-rank or higher yokai, each possessing immense power.
「𝙊𝙛 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙧𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩. . .」
The last Night Parade of a Hundred Demons was a calamity of a completely different level.
「𝘽𝙪𝙩.」
Something was different this time. It was clearly different from the flow that I knew.
Unlike the original, where mid-level yokai were rarely seen, weren’t they everywhere I looked right now?
「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙖𝙙.」
In a way, it was a kind of balancing act.
An arrangement where they made up for the overwhelming strength of the individuals by reducing their overall numbers, allowing them to focus and respond with all their might.
However, if there were to be an increase in the number of small fry like this, the difficulty would naturally become much harder.
This wasn’t a simple one-on-one fight. It was a kind of war.
It meant that our precious forces could be wasted on catching these guys.
“. . . . . . . . .”
I had expected it, but I still clicked my tongue at the increasingly difficult situation, and continued walking.
In my head, I was constantly thinking about the variables that this would create.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
“What the hell. . .?”
The exorcists who had originally been leading the civilians tried to find the person in charge as soon as they entered the shelter, their faces full of anger.
Well, they had essentially abandoned themselves and the civilians, so it was only natural for them to be angry.
However, the moment they saw the sight inside, even they couldn’t help but let out a gasp of dismay.
“I’m Ji Yeong-min, the person in charge here. I have no excuse for the way we treated you.”
“Ah, no, what is going on here?”
Patients groaning in pain, and the bodies of the dead already cold and abandoned in a corner.
And a small number of exorcists who looked like they had lost their minds.
The situation in the shelter was dire. It was definitely not at a level where they could afford to worry about the outside, as Ji Yeong-min had judged.
“Is the situation really that bad?”
“This Night Parade of a Hundred Demons is fundamentally different. We thought we had prepared enough manpower, but almost every team suffered casualties while escorting the civilians.”
Indeed, if Joo Yong-taek and his party hadn’t had Han Kang-yoon’s help, they would have suffered heavy losses in the situation from before.
Thinking about that, the state of these people was understandable.
「𝙒𝙖𝙞𝙩, 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙨𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙠𝙖𝙞 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙡𝙤𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣?」
Joo Yong-taek had initially thought he was just unlucky, but looking at their state, that didn’t seem to be the case.
And if that was true, then it was on the same level as a great calamity occurring in Korea right now.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜! 𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙭𝙤𝙧𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙘𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙡𝙚.」
In order to fully protect the civilians in the situation from before, they would have needed to either have everyone be at least 2nd-grade or bring in an exorcist who was at least 1st-grade.
However, they didn’t have enough manpower like that to spare and send all over the country.
In short, it was a hopeless situation.
「𝙄𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚?」
He had been warned that this Night Parade of a Hundred Demons would be different.
And he had been on high alert himself.
After all, even before the incident, all sorts of strange things had been happening, and a strange energy could be felt everywhere.
But now that he was here, he realized that this was not something that could be dealt with with such a light-hearted attitude.
“So, the situation in the other shelters is. . .?”
“I don’t know about the areas where high-grade exorcists have been dispatched, but it probably isn’t much different.”
“A nationwide crisis, huh.”
Of course, they now had a high-grade exorcist here.
Joo Yong-taek glanced at Han Kang-yoon, who was listening to their conversation next to him.
His divine power from before had been at a level where even the rumors of exaggeration seemed paltry.
However, as if he had read something in their eyes, Han Kang-yoon lowered his head slightly and opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t stay here.”
“W-Why not?”
“The situation is dire. There are yokai roaming around that even 3rd-grade exorcists can’t guarantee victory against, and there are even high-grades mixed in among them. You would be a great help to them here.”
At Ji Yeong-min’s words, Joo Yong-taek nodded his head without realizing it.
They definitely needed help here. He couldn’t let someone as talented as Han Kang-yoon be contained in such a situation.
However, the words that Han Kang-yoon uttered next were completely different from what Joo Yong-taek and Ji Yeong-min had expected.
“If that’s the case, then it’s all the better.”
“What. . . do you mean?”
“Can’t you feel it?”
Han Kang-yoon raised a finger and pointed in two directions beyond the door. Then he continued speaking.
“Northwest and southeast, at least A+ rank.”
“W-What. . .?”
Joo Yong-taek and Ji Yeong-min knew what that meant.
“W-What are you talking about right now?”
“That’s right. It can’t be true. . .”
The reason why the two of them were so flustered and at a loss was simple.
No matter how much stronger Han Kang-yoon was than them, his range of perception for spiritual energy was not absolute.
In other words, that meant that there were two yokai close to S-rank in this vicinity, and if you expanded the range to the entire country, there were probably many more monsters roaming the world.
“It’s hard to admit, but it’s all true.”
“T-Then, doesn’t that mean that it’s no longer something we can handle with our own strength?”
Han Kang-yoon nodded slightly. And Joo Yong-taek could intuitively understand the true meaning behind it.
「𝙎𝙤, 𝙗𝙮 𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙜𝙪𝙮𝙨 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙛?」
It was truly terrifying.
Joo Yong-taek had also experienced firsthand the overwhelming power of a high-grade yokai during the incident from before.
If even an individual who was only at the lower end of A-rank was like that, he couldn’t even imagine the fear that a yokai above that level would bring.
「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙚𝙮’𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙖 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙡𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙡.」
To be honest, Joo Yong-taek was a little envious.
He wondered what it would have been like if he had the same talent as Han Kang-yoon, if he had that much power.
But now he realized that he didn’t. Han Kang-yoon was more than qualified to have that much power.
Joo Yong-taek felt a strange nostalgia for the time when he had first acquired his qualifications as an exorcist.
The feeling of his mindset from that time, the sense of duty that he had aspired to as an exorcist, was being engraved in his mind once more.
“I-I don’t know if I’ll be of help, but I’ll. . .!”
Just as Joo Yong-taek was about to declare his resolve, Han Kang-yoon frowned and made a gesture for him to stop for a moment.
And with a serious expression, he began to focus intently on something.
“What happened all of a sudden?”
“. . . . . . . . .”
After a long silence, Han Kang-yoon clicked his tongue slightly as if something wasn’t going as he had expected, and soon relayed the contents to everyone.
“Of the ones I mentioned earlier, the yokai in the southeast. It’s heading this way.”
“What!”
If that was true, it would be a disaster. An A+ rank yokai. If it targeted the shelter, there was no way to guarantee the safety of the civilians.
“Is there no chance that it’s just passing through?”
“I had predicted that as well.”
There were multiple layers of barriers set up around this shelter.
The yokai from before had also only followed the traces of the escort teams, and it was nearly impossible for them to have sensed the people gathered inside the shelter from such a distance.
However, even after several minutes passed, Han Kang-yoon’s expression did not lighten.
“. . .Something is definitely strange. It’s heading straight toward the shelter without any hesitation.”
“S-Surely not.”
Han Kang-yoon, who had closed his eyes slightly, released a gentle but indescribable spiritual power.
And as he opened his eyes, he walked over with a look of disbelief and grabbed the wrist of someone among the civilians.
“What do you have?”
“Y-Yes?”
Attached to his frail wrist was a strange-looking red and black rosary that emitted an eerie glow.
“Where did you get this?”
“I-I got it at an antique shop. They said it was good for your health. . .”
Han Kang-yoon snatched it away and crushed it in an instant, then turned back to Joo Yong-taek and Ji Yeong-min.
“It had a curse spell attached to it. It caught its scent.”
“Does that mean. . .?”
“Yes. It’s coming here.”
Joo Yong-taek and Ji Yeong-min’s faces turned as white as a sheet.
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