Chapter 97
Our plan was to disrupt the gut ritual.
When everyone was chanting the Cheondogyeong mantra or whatever it was, I intended to interfere in various ways. I had several methods in mind, so it wasn't really a problem.
Swish-
The manager's eyes, which had been looking at me, now turned to Yang Juhee wearing a fox mask.
"And who is this?"
"Oh, this is Reiko-san who came from Japan. She's from Gunma in Japan and is an incredibly amazing person."
"Domo, hajimemashite."
I completely lost it seeing Yang Juhee speak Japanese. Of course, I laughed only on the inside.
We got in the car and headed to Osung Group's headquarters.
It was the first time since I came looking for my mom before.
There wasn't a single person in this huge building, maybe it was a company without overtime.
Just as I was thinking it felt like we were entering a giant tomb or gravestone, the manager guided us underground.
And when I entered the basement, I was shocked.
Unlike the sophisticated first-floor lobby, a cave-like space appeared, damp and reeking of mold.
Two straw ropes twisted with gold thread and talismans created a path under bare light bulbs.
It was dark, humid, and even hot.
The silk clothes were damp with sweat, making me feel very uncomfortable.
To make matters worse, I was wearing a squid mask on my face, so the fishy seafood smell was killing me.
After walking for a while through the cave-like basement, we finally came to a large cavern.
Many people were already gathered there, murmuring, and black goats with long horns and black cows were tied to pillars.
What caught my attention most were the countless iron stakes driven into the ground.
It looked like there were well over 100 iron stakes in the basement.
And each of these stakes was covered with talismans, similar to the evil-warding stakes I had seen when I climbed Gaeryong Mountain before.
Soon, a man in white samurai attire approached Kwon Sua. He was a man with pitch-black ink smeared on his eyes.
"Sua, you've come."
"Uncle."
"Suho will be happy that you're here."
The man with ink on his face was Kwon Oh-sung, chairman of the world-class conglomerate Osung Group. He put on a serious expression as he looked at Kwon Suho kneeling on the floor.
"Arrrrr, grrrrr, arrrrr-"
Kwon Suho growled like an angry beast, his hands and feet tied and a gag in his mouth. He also had something like a white sack over his face.
Seeing this, the shamans with their faces covered by talismans or masks were shocked.
"Oh my, what is that."
"It's a vicious one. A vicious one has entered and taken over."
"Smell that. It smells like a rotting corpse."
"A dead spirit is eating away at a living body. It's rotting alive."
Flare, flare-
Blazing flames. Someone started frantically beating a small gong and playing festive music.
A man tied up like a dog. A damp cave.
As all of this was making my head spin, the cleansing gut or whatever it was began.
The middle-aged man Kwon Oh-sung swung a Japanese sword in a way so barbaric it was hard to imagine from the clean-cut appearance I had seen on TV.
Swish-!
Swish-!
Every time that sword touched Kwon Suho's body, Suho convulsed almost like a mad dog.
"Grrrr! Woof woof woof!"
"Aoyayaya, bahramuhya, marhamuho!"
Kwon Oh-sung also shouted incomprehensible words loudly as he struck the goat's neck with the Japanese sword.
Thwack-!
The black goat's neck didn't cut cleanly, and blood just spurted out like a fountain. Kwon Oh-sung quickly caught it in a bowl, held the blood in his mouth, and sprayed it all over Kwon Suho.
"Phooooo!"
"Aaaagh! Aaaaaaagh!"
Kwon Suho now screamed like a crow. Seeing this, some of the shamans awkwardly stood up from their seats.
"...Damn, I can't do this."
"This isn't normal. Where in the world is there a gut like this!"
"I don't feel good either! Chairman Kwon! We're out!"
Honestly, I wanted to leave too.
As I was thinking about leaving with those ajummas, Kwon Oh-sung opened his ink-blackened eyes wide and shouted.
"Nobody leave! If you leave now, you'll all die!"
When Kwon Oh-sung shouted fiercely, holding the blood-stained Japanese sword, no one could take a step.
Kwon Oh-sung now held the severed goat head, rubbing it all over Kwon Suho's body while making groaning sounds, "Augh, augh!" A scene of madness spreading in the dark cave interior.
Can this really be called a gut?
If there were a scene of devil worshippers worshipping the devil, wouldn't it look exactly like this? As I was thinking this, Kwon Oh-sung started pulling out the iron stakes driven into the ground one by one.
Shhk, shhk- That sight looked quite ominous.
Weren't those stakes things that were driven in to seal evil land? If you pull those out...
"......"
Squeeze-
Yang Juhee, kneeling on the ground, tightly gripped the fabric near her knees. Although her expression wasn't visible because of the mask, it seemed Yang Juhee was scared too.
"Ah shit, my foot's asleep."
I see. I thought it was fortunate that Yang Juhee was here too. If I had come here alone, I would have wet my pants by now.
Shhk-, shhk-
Finally, there were only a few iron stakes left. Kwon Suho's condition was also getting worse.
"Gaaaagh! Gaaaaaagh!"
Kwon Suho now made sounds that could hardly be considered human. It sounded like the hellish voices of countless beasts tangled together and wailing.
But that didn't last long, and Kwon Suho collapsed as if his breath had been cut off. And instead, one of the ajummas with her face covered by talismans and bandages had a fit.
"Grrrr, woof woof-! Woof woof-!"
The ajumma made dog sounds. Seeing this, a male shaman wearing a Hahoetal mask shouted.
"Kwon Oh-sung, you son of a bitch!"
"This is different from what we agreed! You said there would absolutely be no harm to us!"
"You crazy bastard! You used us as sacrificial lambs! We need to get out of here! If we don't, the evil spirit that was in his son will possess us!"
"Grrrrrr-"
More and more people were starting to growl like dogs. Soon, the people watching this scene shouted in fear.
"D-damn it, I want to get out of here!"
"Help me! Help!"
A chaotic situation with people fleeing amidst dog-like barking. However, Kwon Oh-sung smiled, baring his blood-stained red teeth.
"If you want to live, find my son."
Shhk-
Kwon Oh-sung pulled out a stake.
Crash-!
Flare-!
The moment the stake was pulled out, a strong wind that shouldn't exist underground blew, extinguishing all the light bulbs and torches. Complete darkness.
The underground was filled with dog-like barking, loud instrument sounds, and the murmuring of a crowd far larger than could be explained by the thirty-odd shamans.
Mumble mumble mumble mumble-
It was so noisy it felt like there were easily a thousand people beside me.
"Oh shit..."
Tears welled up in my eyes. I was terrified and couldn't understand what I was doing here.
Why did I come here? I must have been bewitched by large breasts.
As I was thinking I wanted to find an exit, someone gripped my hand tightly.
"Young-won! There aren't many stakes left! If the last stake is pulled out... I don't know what will happen. Didn't you notice? Now... there are non-humans mixed in here... If you listen carefully..."
No! I didn't want to listen carefully.
But I could feel the sense of crisis that if we let Kwon Oh-sung do as he pleased, many things could get much worse. I pulled myself together.
***
Kwon Oh-sung had pulled out several stakes.
'Now only one stake sealing the water vein remains. The beasts that were in my son's body have all been transferred to the gathered shamans, so all that's left is to find my son.'
If he pulled this out, at least this area of Osung Group would have its water gate opened, and that water vein would overflow, submerging many things in spiritual water.
But if Kwon Oh-sung could bring back his son who had disappeared beyond that door, he was prepared to make any sacrifice.
Now what he needed was virgin blood.
Perhaps because Gaeryong's water vein had received the blood of tutelary shamans for a long time, it liked women's blood and valued virgin blood the most.
In the cave that had sunk into darkness, Kwon Oh-sung searched for Kwon Sua. Kwon Sua's blood would satisfy the water vein too.
"Sua, where are you? Come here. I won't hurt you. It'll be over quickly. Give your life for your oppa. That's what family is. Your family has been living off the money this uncle has given you until now, right? So do your part today."
As Kwon Oh-sung was shining a candle here and there, he saw a woman wearing a white kosode top over a red hakama and felt his breath stop.
That appearance and bearing were too familiar even to Kwon Oh-sung.
"...Junko!"
Kwon Oh-sung recalled Madam Soonja, his teacher. Has the woman who died senile come back like this from beyond?
It doesn't matter.
"You... you wench! Don't block my path, you ghost! I've opened the water gate, so dead spirits will overflow and flood the world! My son Suho will be among them!"
Squeeze-
Kwon Oh-sung gripped the Japanese sword in his hand more tightly. As he was about to swing the sword down at the ghost miko,
Thwack-!
A strong front kick, faster than the sword, struck Kwon Oh-sung's solar plexus and liver.
"Ugh!"
Kwon Oh-sung collapsed on the floor, spitting blood from the unbearable pain, and in that moment, he could see someone wearing a strange squid mask doing something very odd.
"Give me peace like a river-. Give me peace like a river─"
A hymn!
The guy was singing a hymn. He was even putting the stakes back into the ground while singing the hymn.
"You... you bastard, who are you! Why didn't you turn into a dog? Who are you! Wearing a robe and singing hymns! There's a limit to blasphemy! You! Aren't you afraid of divine punishment!"
To think someone would interfere with the opening gut ritual to open the water gate.
It was surprising in a situation where even experienced shamans couldn't resist the evil spirits of beasts and were possessed, foaming at the mouth.
'Did he shake off the beasts' possession by himself? Is he saying he's some kind of Buddha! If he was such a skilled shaman, there's no way I wouldn't have heard of him! To think a human who wasn't visible when I was looking would interfere with me today of all days! Of all days!'
He wanted to go and cut off his head right away, but he couldn't move his body because of the kick to his solar plexus.
Kwon Oh-sung had thought he was confident in his strong body, having done all sorts of rough work since childhood. But could a person really kick this strongly?
This was impossible unless it was the work of a ghost.
"Don't interfere! I can't open the water gate after the new moon passes! I need to find my son's soul before the next new moon! My son's body is rotting! Don't interfere with me!"
Kwon Oh-sung cried like a child. Is it so wrong to want to bring back his only son?
"By the blood of Christ's cross-"
The man in the squid mask was putting the stakes back in their original places as if Kwon Oh-sung's cries didn't matter.
Kwon Oh-sung spoke almost pleadingly.
"Stop it! Stop! My son is dying! He's my only son! Money! I'll give you money! I'll give you all my shares! You bastard! Do you think you can make an enemy of Kwon Oh-sung and live comfortably in Korea! You bastard!!! What's wrong with killing a few con artists who exploit people and commoners who don't pay taxes to save my son!!!"
He shouted like an evil spirit, but there was nothing Kwon Oh-sung, pinned down by the fox mask, could do.
Everyone would have thought so. But Kwon Oh-sung was an apostate who had learned ominous things like curses for a long time.
He moved his hand to take out a straw doll shaped like a person from his pocket and stabbed its heart with a knife.
"Die! Die! Die!"
He filled it with pure killing intent, devoid of any other emotion.
Crack, crunch-!
Now the interferer would die, his heart bursting and spewing blood from every orifice. But the man put all the stakes back in their original places as if nothing was wrong.
The extinguished torches blazed again, and the crazed shamans regained their lost senses.
"Ow, my head feels like it's splitting."
"...What happened?"
"Aaaaaaaaagh!!!!"