Chapter 102: Independence Approaches (4)

The path was dark and damp.

The air here should be cold and dry, but it was so humid that it felt like someone was breathing next to you, as if you had entered a room where sugar was boiling.

Was this what it would feel like if a corpse breathed?

Although there was no smell, the cold, damp air that clung to the skin like something sticky was enough to make the sisters tremble in fear.

"B-brother. This place is a bit scary, isn't it?"

"Th-that. Huh? G-ghosts are, here? Are you saying there are ghosts...?!"

Lee Arin seemed frightened and slightly clung to Jinseong's side, while Lee Serin tried to act as if she wasn't scared but suddenly shrank her body and stuck close to Jinseong like Lee Arin, as if she had heard something from her demon.

"Om."

As Jinseong chanted the mantra while snapping his fingers, the vibration that rose from within him spread outward, shaking the dark space once. Then the space that had been full of moisture suddenly changed to normal air, and the eerie feeling that seemed like it would shake people's minds also disappeared, leaving only a cozy darkness.

Jinseong led them to the door as if it was done.

As the air changed, the sisters walked without difficulty as if relieved, but perhaps due to the fear they had felt earlier, they didn't try to move away from Jinseong's side.

"We've arrived... arrived..."

After passing through the dark passage and receiving sunlight, the sisters sighed as if relieved.

But the relief was short-lived.

Their complexions changed when they saw the words engraved in graffiti on the main gate.

『 There are ghosts here. 』

『 Ghost Amusement Park 』

『 Concentration Camp Ghosts Appear! 』

『 You cowardly gay bastards, where are the ghosts? Fuck, they're here 』

Warning messages written in Russian.

And as if it wasn't just graffiti, empty holy water bottles and what looked like disposable cursed objects were scattered on the ground like trash. Moreover, all the scattered items were in poor condition, with talismans with Chinese characters looking as if they had been burned, and Nazar Boncuğu (evil eye beads) had turned completely black as if rotten and were cracked.

Things that looked like dolls had their limbs torn off, and a foul smell was emanating from areas that were presumed to have been sprinkled with holy water.

"Don't worry. They can't harm us."

"E-excuse me?"

"Brother... what did you just say...?"

The sisters' complexions turned pale at Jinseong's words, which seemed to treat it as no big deal.

Thud-thud-thud!

But Jinseong, seemingly unconcerned whether the two were scared or not, stepped forward and picked up the chain to knock on the door three times loudly.

Thud-thud-thud!

He knocked on the iron gate again with the padlock, and after a short pause, he plucked a strand of his hair.

The plucked hair twisted its body here and there as if alive and easily unlocked the padlock. But strangely, even though the padlock was unlocked, the iron chain didn't seem to want to come loose, and rather stuck to the door as if it had become one with it.

Seeing this, Jinseong smirked.

"Insignificant things are playing tricks. Wait for a moment over there by the wall."

Creak-

He used teleportation to head towards the truck.

As soon as he moved to the truck, he took out two plastic bottles from under the seat.

The transparent plastic bottle contained salt water with a salinity similar to blood.

The yellow plastic bottle contained oil well mixed with lubricant, gasoline, and heavy oil.

He opened the bottles, held the salt water in his mouth, and spat it forcefully where the engine was located. After repeating this action several times, he held salt water in his mouth and spat it on his body. Then he opened the plastic bottle containing oil and poured it generously on the truck's wheels.

The oil poured in this way flowed along the grooves of the wheels and then disappeared, seeping into the tires as if the ground was absorbing water. Seeing this, Jinseong nodded a couple of times, then stroked the engine part of the truck a few times, and lightly punched the driver's side door.

Boom!

Then, as if responding, a booming engine sound resonated from the car.

It's been a long time since I've done this.

Jinseong lightly stroked the steering wheel as if feeling nostalgic.

Machine Soul Summoning Sorcery.

This was a sorcery he used to cast every time he went on a mission to prevent vehicles from breaking down when he was active as a mercenary, and it was also a sorcery mainly used by the criminal group 'Steel Vigilantes' who formed a faction and engaged in theft during World War III.

Vroom!

As Jinseong kept stroking the steering wheel feeling nostalgic, the vehicle started on its own and made engine sounds. It was like an impatient horse urging him to hurry up and depart.

Jinseong smirked at the truck's urging and grabbed the steering wheel, stepping hard on the accelerator.

Vrooom!

A roar that a sports car might make echoed from the truck's engine, and the wheels spun madly.

The truck accelerated instantly and moved forward on the dark road as if it had become a racing car.

Crack!

Crack-crack-crack!

Vines or branches blocking the truck's way shattered into pieces and scattered in all directions due to the enormous mass. Advancing unstoppably like this, the truck reached the main gate in an instant.

Vrooom!

As the main gate came into view, Jinseong pressed hard on the accelerator once more, and the truck responded by accelerating even more with a roar.

Faster.

Even faster!

The needle on the gauge danced crazily, and the truck also went wild, jumping over the threshold and flying through the air.

Boom!

The truck that flew like this smashed right through the main gate.

It didn't just push the main gate; it shattered the firmly tied iron gate and sent it flying far away.

Clang!

Clang-clang-clang!

The iron gate that flew high into the sky made a thunderous noise as it fell to the ground, and as if in pain, it shuddered and then stopped moving.

Crack!

Jinseong roughly turned the steering wheel to crush the fallen iron gate with the truck and then stopped the vehicle.

"Now you can come in."

*                     *                     *

[ The things in this amusement park are tough, but your brother is much tougher. ]

The demon stuck out its tongue while looking at Jinseong.

At the end of its gaze was Jinseong, who was creating an altar by floating objects in the air.

"D-don't say scary things..."

[ If it's scary because you can't see it, why don't you look? You can use your ability. ]

"Th-that. It's not scary if I can see it but... it might be, g-gross..."

[ That's true. ]

Lee Serin slightly glared at the demon as if reproaching it when it seemed to imply ghosts. Then, as if suddenly feeling scared, she shuddered and slightly leaned her body towards where the demon was.

[ My contractor, my contractor who unnecessarily fears the horror genre. It seems you have no intention of checking directly, so I'm telling you. You don't need to be afraid of ghosts. Your brother has taken care of it so they can't even come near this area, so you don't need to worry about anything. ]

"B-but still, you're saying they e-exist...?"

[ That can't be helped. ]

The demon licked its lips as it looked at the numerous souls reflected in its eyes.

Numerous evil spirits wearing shabby straw mats.

The sight of them moving around in skeletal bodies wrapped in straw mats, repeatedly performing labor with empty hands, was pitifully wretched. Moreover, their strength was as weak as their skeletal bodies; exaggerating a bit, it seemed like they could be exorcised just by sprinkling well-dried salt on them.

But no matter how weak they were, evil spirits were still evil spirits.

Even if each one was incredibly weak, when they gathered as a group, it was a different story.

Seeing them move in an orderly fashion under the control of what looked like guards, it seemed like they could become troublesome beings if they formed a group.

If they formed a group, that is.

『 Remove this piece of me– 』

『 –tal 』

『 If you mess with us, Comrade Secretary won't forgive you 』

『 You reactionary bastard 』

『 If you remove this right now, we'll consider it self-criticism. 』

The evil spirits that looked like guards were screaming, crushed under the truck by Jinseong.

The sturdy iron chains that had blocked the group from entering became restraints oppressing them, and the solid iron gate that had defined their territory became prison bars pressing them down to the ground.

Moreover, the small amount of oil and salt water flowing from the truck crushing the iron gate was causing continuous pain to the crushed guards.

And every time the guards made a sound, a bunch of evil spirits would rush over, but they would get caught in the barrier Jinseong had set up and freeze in place.

The sight was similar to swarms of insects rushing to bait and getting stuck on flypaper.

If there were a bug zapper for evil spirits, wouldn't it look just like this?

Yes.

Jinseong was now using evil spirits as bait to catch evil spirits.

And he was doing it in a very sophisticated manner.

[ Hmm. This isn't the skill of someone who's done this once or twice. This isn't something you can learn or do just anywhere... ]

The demon tilted its head and showed curiosity at Jinseong's sophisticated sorcery that didn't match his age and experience. The curiosity was so intense that it even considered using Lee Serin to relay questions to Jinseong.

But that curiosity wasn't enough to overcome the uneasiness felt towards Jinseong.

Gremory just gave up on its curiosity.

Instead, it showed interest in the sorcery Jinseong was about to perform.

[ I can roughly guess what he's going to do with that altar, but I don't understand why he's catching those evil spirits. ]