Chapter 161
[Two minutes have passed.]
"Shit!"
I didn't realize 120 seconds could fly by so quickly. I wasted two minutes without accomplishing anything.
To be honest, exorcising a demon through conversation in just two minutes was an impossible task.
[What are you so afraid of? Do not fear.]
Still, I did learn one thing during these two minutes.
The demon couldn't do much harm to us while we were inside this circle on the operating table.
'If the game's content is true, even this demon was once sealed. That means there must be a way to defeat it.'
Our opponent isn't invincible either.
We had to find a way to deal with it, learn its name, and defeat it somehow. Soon, Kwon Sua spoke up with a trembling voice.
"Hey, please tell us your name! So we can exorcise you! Please let us exorcise you! Please!"
Sua's words were completely sincere, without a trace of deception. A straightforward approach.
This plea, delivered with emotion by a famous idol, would surely move any man's heart. But the being beyond the circle laughed low and gloomily.
[Exorcise me? Why?]
"Because you're a demon!"
[You call me a demon?]
The being in the darkness questioned its identity again. It seemed unwilling to admit it was a demon.
[What harm have I done to you? Girl, don't believe what you want to see, and don't see what you want to believe. Stretch out your feet and reach out your hands. I clearly exist here.]
At this point, I was tempted to just rush out into the darkness. To fight a tiger, you have to enter its den.
But my feet wouldn't move.
It took tremendous courage to enter the devil's lair.
[You can safely leave this place through that door, coming out of your comfortable land. I am not one to speak lies. However, only four can exit through that door.]
The voice in the darkness offered to let us out through the exit door, but only four could leave.
There were five of us. It meant one had to stay behind.
"I will."
Swish—
At that moment, Yang Juhee stepped forward.
"I'll go out."
Was she planning to cross the circle and advance into that darkness?
Juhee's courage was truly admirable, but it was also reckless.
"Hey! It's too dangerous!"
"But we're not getting anywhere by just staying in this circle. I was the Sacrificial Virgin. Maybe something will change if I go out there and see that thing!"
It was a baseless idea, but we were so cornered that even such an idea sounded hopeful.
Pop—
Finally, Juhee took a step towards the outside of the circle.
Thud.
Just one step. With that, Juhee left the circle and stood in the darkness.
What would happen now?
We watched Juhee, forgetting even to breathe...
"Hey! Juhee! Are you okay?"
Juhee was standing in the darkness.
Is she alright?
As I was thinking this, Juhee spoke.
"Weooooong—"
It was a loud, cat-like cry.
It was a chilling sound, but what was even more bizarre was that Juhee, as if she had lost her humanity, crawled on all fours towards the darkness and disappeared completely.
The sight was so terrifying that Kwon Sua started crying.
"It's so scary!"
I felt the same. I feel like I might wet myself.
What on earth happened to Juhee?
"Hey! Jung-seok! What should we do?"
"......"
Jung-seok had been silent for a while.
He seemed thoroughly frightened. What about Jung Sojin then?
Sojin's eyes were gleaming brightly behind her glasses. In my opinion, she was clearly plotting to use us as bait and escape alone if necessary.
Just then, a voice came from the darkness.
"Guys, come out here. Don't stay in that cramped place."
It was Juhee's voice. Juhee was calling to us from the darkness. We couldn't see her.
"Come out, I'm telling you. Really, nothing's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong? You suddenly went crazy, meowing and crawling on all fours!"
I was angry at Juhee for lying.
Of course, this probably wasn't the real Juhee, but a demon that had taken over her body.
"Crawling on all fours? Like this?"
Pop—
Juhee approached the circle. She circled around it on all fours.
Grrrr...
A growling sound like a hungry beast came from her mouth.
"Come out here."
"What are you going to do if we come out?"
"I don't know. But I don't like this body. Give me a new one."
Poke—
Jung-seok jabbed my side.
"Hey, I think the demon has taken over Juhee's body."
"I can see that."
"What should we do?"
"That's what I want to ask you."
While Jung-seok and I were talking, Juhee sat down on the floor and scratched her neck with her foot. It was cat-like behavior.
Is that even possible?
Despite the situation, maybe because of Juhee's appearance, it looked a bit funny and cute. Is she trying to appear cute on purpose? This is truly a demon's temptation.
Slap!
I hit my own cheek. It was to snap myself out of it.
"Hey, Jung-seok. Is it possible for one demon to possess two people at the same time?"
"Why do you ask?"
"The Bible mentions multiple ghosts entering one person's body, right? When the Legion demon possessed a person and tormented them, those demons were then sent into pigs."
Multiple souls entering one body was possible. Even in the Bible, so many demons that called themselves a 'legion' entered one person's body, causing self-harm and torment.
But one soul entering multiple bodies...?
That seemed impossible.
In fact, the possessed Juhee just said, "Give me a new body." If it were me, I'd have taken over two bodies simultaneously.
"Hey, you crazy demon! Get out of Juhee's body!"
I shouted at Juhee outside the circle.
Juhee, who was scratching her chin with her foot, chuckled.
"Then give me another body to enter. Come out and touch any part of my body. I can transfer that way."
Juhee extended her hand.
Despite the situation, her invitation to touch any part of her body sounded a bit suggestive.
Anyway, it seemed the demon could switch bodies.
The demon can only possess one body at a time—
Keeping this in mind, I devised a plan. In my opinion, it was a brilliant strategy.
"Guys, listen carefully to what I'm about to say."
***
I whispered my plan very, very quietly. Everyone was shocked.
"Isn't that too reckless?"
Kwon Sua was visibly surprised.
Jung-seok and Sojin didn't say anything, but their eyes clouded over, clearly thinking it was impossible. However, I felt this was our only option.
"Alright. I'll come out and touch you, so enter my body."
I slowly extended my foot outside the circle. Then, I stepped completely out.
Thud.
Just that was enough to make my skin tingle as if the temperature had dropped below zero, and the hair on my neck stood on end.
My body trembled like an aspen leaf, regardless of my will.
Juhee stood up and reached out her hand to me. I pretended to slowly extend my hand towards hers—
"Now! Everyone out of the circle!"
I made everyone leave the circle. Then, I grabbed Juhee's hand and threw myself into the circle.
My plan was to touch Juhee, invite the demon into me, and then trap myself in the narrow circle. This circle seemed to act as a barrier against the demon.
Such a courageous act could only be done by me with my 《Strong Heart》 trait, except for Juhee.
"Urgh!"
The moment I touched Juhee, I felt a pain like a hundred worms crawling in my head. The pain was so intense I could barely maintain my sanity, and my heart hurt so much I screamed.
"Guys! Get out quickly!"
I knew I'd lose control of my body in about two seconds.
It took exactly two seconds for Juhee to lose consciousness after leaving the circle. With my 《Clock》 trait, I was confident in my timing.
"Hurry! Don't touch my body, no matter what!"
"We need to get out!"
"Let's go! Go!"
I heard Kwon Sua and Jung-seok scrambling out of the circle.
Was the plan succeeding?
Losing control of my body was the worst-case scenario, but if we could just keep this demon trapped in the circle instead of the wide operating room, we'd have a chance.
Thwack!
Suddenly, something forcefully pushed my shoulder. The two palms thrust forward carried the weight of a person and various emotions.
"Oof—"
I fell backward, tumbling out of the circle.
When I came to my senses, I saw Sojin pulling her outstretched hands back to her chest, clenching her fists.
It was a critical moment with no explanation, but I understood what had happened.
Sojin had chosen to trap herself alone in the circle. She touched my body, drawing the demon into herself.
"...Why?"
"Everyone, go to the door. That door is real."
Sojin pointed towards the operating room entrance.
Four people could exit through that door. Excluding Sojin trapped in the circle, there were four of us.
The numbers matched perfectly.
It was shocking.
I had somewhat expected Sojin to push me during this expedition, but I never imagined her push would be a sacrifice born from goodwill rather than malice pushing me into an abyss of evil.
In some ways, this was more shocking to me than the existence of a real demon.
"...Why?"
"Young-won, you saved me too. When I was alone and scared in the infirmary. And last week, you saved me from a dream where I was being eaten by a dinosaur. The week before that, you pulled me out of the sea."
That was just a dream, though.
But hadn't the demon said?
People see what they want to believe. And believe what they want to see.
For some, even dreams could become reality. To Sojin, I was someone who saved her.
Good deeds done in dreams.
It seemed that even such small, trivial triggers could change a person. For the better.
Many people and possibilities I had given up on flashed before my eyes.
People do change. That's why we could be betrayed by those we trusted, but the opposite was also possible.
'We can become better.'
Ironically, in this operating room where a demon lurked, in this hell where even breath froze, I felt hope from the girl I had trusted the least.
Hope.
A light unique to humans, something ghosts and demons could never possess. I saw possibility, and that possibility gave me strength.
"You demon! I'll make you realize to your very soul that you need to give up on life!"
This time, it was truly time to unleash the forbidden exorcism theory that would make even a demon give up its attachment to life. This time for real.