Chapter 160
Someone had to be sacrificed on the operating table, just like Abraham was going to kill and burn Isaac.
Now that I looked, there was a sharp knife and a plastic container full of oil prepared near the operating table.
We couldn't help but be shocked by this truth.
One out of five. Who should die?
We started eyeing each other suspiciously.
I was most wary of Jung Sojin.
Although Sojin had been a great help in this corridor so far, you can't hide a person's inherent cunning nature.
"...Should we draw lots?"
Jungseok asked. It seemed like the best method.
The probability was ⅕, but Kwon Sua was horrified.
"N-no! To die and be burned! We might have interpreted it wrong! The method could be wrong!"
Sua's words made sense too.
The idea that we had to kill someone on the operating table as a sacrifice was just my guess. The truth could be different.
Maybe it was a trick or lie by the devil lurking in this hell-like place, wanting to see us in confusion.
If so, what should we do?
"Phew..."
The extremely hot and humid operating room.
Just being here seemed to drain our energy, making it hard to think clearly. We were starting to look at each other with distrust.
"......"
Especially Sojin's gaze behind her glasses was strangely unsettling. Everyone's eyes seemed to sharpen. Maybe it was just my imagination, but our atmosphere was definitely taking a strange turn.
"I could be the sacrifice. But if I die, can you guys handle whatever happens next on your own?"
Yang Juhee, the bravest, made a somewhat rational suggestion. If Juhee was sacrificed and died, we might struggle to deal with what came after.
But by that logic, everyone had their crucial role. Juhee looked at Sojin.
"Why are you looking at me?"
Sojin shot back a fierce glare at Juhee through her glasses.
The atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense. As the leader, I felt I had to do something.
"I'll decide what we should do."
Truthfully, I didn't have any particular plan. It might be better for everyone to keep quiet rather than fight.
Flutter flutter—
Just then, Juhee opened her uniform jacket and fluttered her undershirt as if trying to cool off. This drew my attention to the designer bag on her shoulder.
Wait a minute.
"Hold on. We might not need anyone to die. Juhee, take that out of your bag."
"What?"
"That."
I reached into Juhee's designer bag and pulled out a strange object. Everyone's eyes widened when they saw it, especially Sojin's reaction was the biggest.
"Oh? That's something I found a long time ago!"
Right, that's correct. This was an item Sojin had found.
『Straw Doll: Dolls have been used as human substitutes since ancient times. This doll can prevent a crisis of death once by being destroyed in your place.』
Dolls have been treated like people since ancient times. The description itself says it's used as a 'substitute.'
Just like Abraham offered a ram instead of Isaac, couldn't we offer this 'doll' somehow?
***
I carefully placed the straw doll on the operating table. Then, I stabbed its heart area sharply with a surgical knife.
"Oil."
My first mate Jungseok handed me the oil container when I reached out. It felt like the surgery was progressing smoothly, which gave me an odd feeling.
Is this why people study to become doctors?
"Lighter."
Yang Juhee placed a lighter in my outstretched hand. It was a Zippo lighter.
Click, flick—
Whoosh!
Perhaps because of the oil, the already flammable straw doll burst into flames instantly.
Isn't the fire too intense?
Fearing the whole operating room might burn down, we all stepped back cautiously.
Growl—
Just then, a low growl was heard from somewhere. It sounded like a hungry beast.
"Everyone! Quickly get inside the circle!"
Startled by Jungseok's loud shout, I pushed aside my fear of the flames and ran towards the circle drawn around the operating table.
Creak, creak—
As the UFO light on the ceiling swayed ominously and the burnt-smelling operating table seemed to be the only thing in this space, something with red glowing eyes appeared around the circular boundary.
'Something's there.'
Something had appeared. It was hidden in pitch-black darkness, so we couldn't make out its form, but the air in this oppressively hot operating room suddenly turned freezing cold, as if a refrigerator had been opened.
Now it was so cold our teeth were chattering.
Haa—
Our breath clouded our vision.
Creep creep—
Breath was rising from beyond the operating table too.
We huddled together wordlessly, and a voice came from the darkness.
[そこにいるのか？(Is anyone there?)]
It was a voice like someone screaming in agony.
Somehow feeling we shouldn't answer, we kept our mouths shut. Everyone seemed to have the same thought. We all froze like mice before a snake.
Then the voice in the darkness asked again.
[Are you there?]
This time it was a voice we could understand.
Haa, haa—
The breath reached the circle where we were hiding.
Swish—
A hand, thin and bony like a tree branch, stretched out from the darkness. The pitch-black hand looked both beast-like and like a twisted human hand.
The peculiar thing was that it had six fingers.
"...Ugh."
If we stay like this, that hand will grab me.
I was so scared I held my breath, but the hand disappeared back into the darkness before reaching us.
Maybe... it doesn't know where we are?
Perhaps the circle Jungseok drew near the operating table. It seemed to be acting like some kind of barrier or protective field, preventing the shadow in the darkness from approaching.
We're safe as long as we're inside this circle—
Everyone seemed to realize this, and the atmosphere that felt like it could shatter like ice at any moment relaxed ever so slightly. You could say we were finally able to breathe out the breath we'd been holding.
Poke—
Jungseok jabbed my side. His expression was quite serious. I snapped to attention.
There's only one thing I need to do.
"Wh-what's your name! Are you really a davil...?"
Even I thought it was an incredibly brave question.
Our plan was to somehow seal the demon lurking in this place by learning its name—We had to stick to that plan.
[You call me a devil?]
The answer to my question came as another question. An unexpected response.
Jungseok muttered softly, seeming confused.
"...It doesn't look like it'll tell us its name willingly."
Shit.
How are we supposed to get the name from a real demon, not just a ghost?
"I asked what your name is! Name! Tell us your name! In the name of Christ, tell us your name!"
I crossed my index fingers to make a cross. I thought the cross and faith would be the demon's weakness, but the thing in the darkness laughed instead.
[Look at your hand.]
Hand.
I looked at my hand that had made the cross.
"Wh-what the hell is this!"
My hand had rotted like an apple thrown in the trash. It reeked horribly and was dripping with pus.
"Eek!"
My hand was completely ruined even though we were inside the circle.
As I was shocked by this sudden situation, Jungseok was also stunned.
"Oh, shit..."
There was a reason Jungseok, who rarely swears, cursed.
Whoosh—
The "Escape Talismans" we had in our pockets and on our chests had all burned up.
We had no way out. The small circle on the operating table had truly become a cramped hell.
[What do I look like to you?]
Swish—
The bony hand approached our hiding circle again.
[Cast out demons in my name and speak in tongues.]
As those six fingers crossed the circle and touched my hand, my hand that had been rotting like leprosy moments ago healed completely as if nothing had happened.
[Pick up snakes and drink poison. Lay hands on the sick, and they will recover. I ask you. Who am I? Behold. It is I.]
I felt regret.
I should have just stayed home and slept quietly. I shouldn't have messed around trying to find that iron coffin or whatever it was.
I could tell that the being before us was far beyond what we could handle. This was on a completely different level from the ghosts I had dealt with so far.
This was "something,” something that shouldn't exist in this world.
It was clear that my pitiful cross and prayers wouldn't work on this thing that was freely reciting Bible verses.
[You call me a demon?]
The thing in the darkness asked again. Kwon Sua, seemingly at her mental limit, screamed.
"I want to get out of here! Please let us out! I can't breathe! I can't!"
It was amazing she had stayed quiet until now. The atmosphere was so oppressive it felt like our chests were being crushed.
If I didn't have the 《Strong Heart》 trait, I would have screamed long ago. Hearing Sua's scream, the voice in the darkness said.
[Go out through the narrow door.]
Creak—
The sound of a door opening came from somewhere in the operating room. Jung Sojin, who was hiding right behind me and clutching my side, heard the sound and her glasses flashed.
"That's it, that's the real exit. The exit door has opened."
A door to escape this place. Hope blossomed in our hearts at its existence.
However, if we left this circle, no one could predict what the something in the darkness might do to us.
I thought it might be a trap. Everyone seemed to think so, as no one moved hastily.
In this situation, I was particularly aware of Sojin's rough breathing behind me. It felt like I might be pushed into that darkness at any moment.
It felt like holding a time bomb.
At this point, we couldn't know what would happen if we dragged this out too long. I had to make a decision.
"You are a demon. In exactly 2 minutes, I'll convince you to your very soul that you're a demon and that you need to give up on life."
Ha Young-won's 2-minute promise.
It was time to unleash the forbidden exorcism theory that would make even a demon give up its attachment to life.