135.

“What exactly is the Sealing Stone?”

Hearing the name, I thought I knew roughly what it was.

I asked Lee Hyun-ah just in case.

Then she spoke calmly.

“The Sealing Stone is one of the sealing spells based on local gods. It’s a technique that traps spirits or monsters in amulets, marbles, or rocks.”

Indeed, it was similar to what I expected.

Lee Hyun-ah’s words continued.

“But it is also a method that is rarely used now. It’s much cleaner to just exorcise it than to seal it up under certain conditions. However, it is not without the advantages of sealing.”

Lee Hyun-ah looked at the tombstone that had been split in two.

There were letters engraved on it, which, too, had been worn away and faded in the flow of time.

What you can tell by looking at the faint traces is that the letters are Chinese characters.

If you look it up, you might find some Chinese characters you know, but of course I couldn’t read them.

“The sealing spell is not proportional to the exorcist’s skill and its power. If magic is successful, it is possible to subdue a much stronger demon than an exorcist. So I heard that it was often used in the past when exorcism was not developed.”

“If it’s in the past… When are you talking about?”

“Shamanism was first established during the Three Kingdoms period. After that, it was used most actively in the Goryeo Dynasty, but gradually decreased in Joseon, where the state assigned exorcism families to each region. However, judging from the fact that the shape remains until now, this sealing stone must have been made during the Joseon Dynasty.”

I nodded my head at that explanation.

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Joseon Dynasty.

So, it’s a sealing stone made hundreds of years ago, isn’t it?

“Then, can we find out what was originally sealed?”

“For that, you have to read the sealing spell engraved on the tombstone. Deputy Jin?”

Lee Hyun-ah called Jin Yuna, who stood behind her.

“yes.”

Yuna Jin answered briefly and naturally stood in front of the monument.

She touched and observed the letters engraved on the tombstone with her own hands.

“how is it?”

“… It seems that this can be interpreted. Please wait a moment.”

Having said that, Yuna Jin began to decipher the broken tombstone.

While she focuses on the tombstone.

“Anyway, the scale of the seal is not small. The impact on the surroundings seems to be quite large.”

Lee Hyun-ah looked around the sealing stone and said.

The ground in a radius of about 5 meters centered on the place where the sealing stone was placed was just black soil with dead color.

Despite being in a deep forest where people are rare, not a single blade of grass has grown.

“I’ve seen a sealing stone where a monster was sealed before. At that time, the sealing stone was only for a small child, but this is more than twice that. and… ”

Then she looked at the two jangseung whose heads had been blown off.

“It is the same with these jangseungs. Jangseung is originally a guardian deity who controls the entry and exit of the village, meaning to chase away evil spirits and bad luck. Using such a jangseung as part of a sealing tool must mean that the tombstone alone was not enough.”

In the end, it was a story that such a powerful demon was sealed.

However, the sealing stone he worked so hard for was now completely broken.

Looking at it now, the shape of the cutting surface of the sealing stone was a bit awkward.

What was roughly ground was the inside of the sealing stone.

The outside was rather cleanly split, as if it had been broken from the inside.

It’s not that someone intentionally broke the seal.

Does it mean that what was inside broke the weakened seal on its own and came out?

I looked at Baekrok and Kengkengi, who were sitting quietly behind us.

“Keng… ”

Not only Baekrok, but even Keng-Kengi felt strangely anxious.

What kind of guy could he be, making even those two of us with Baekho uneasy?

Then I heard Yuna Jin’s voice.

“I found it.”

At those words, Lee Hyun-ah and I approached the tombstone.

Yuna Jin pointed to one of the Chinese characters on the tombstone.

blurry Chinese characters.

But I could only get the first letter.

two heads.

two… What kind of freak is it?

“Two billion gods… !”

Immediately, the answer came from Lee Hyun-ah.

Two Eoksin.

It means a ghost that weighs down the head, and was commonly called Duuksini.

“It’s two hundred million… ”

There are not many legends about Duoxini compared to its name.

So there are several theories, but the most common theory is that the Buddhist yaksha is its origin.

As the king of goblins with red hair and holding a bloodstained bat.

A monster like a fighter with powerful power like a yaksha.

However, the transmission of Duoxini was not only about fighting maniacs.

“… If the one who was under this seal is Duukshi, it is too dangerous.”

Lee Hyun-ah said that with a serious face.

Among the tales related to Duoxini, there is something like this.

At a banquet house, a boy no one knew suddenly appeared.

The boy entered the yard of the house, but no matter how much he spoke to him, there was no response, so the landlord tried to kick the boy out.

But no matter how much I pushed him away and pulled him with a rope, he didn’t move.

It is said that even though several strong men hit him with clubs, he did not budge.

After that, people realized that the boy was an extraordinary being and prayed, and only then did the boy disappear from the house.

However, from the next day, the plague began to circulate there.

It was a story that within a few days, everyone at the banquet house was dead with their heads broken.

A ghost story-like story of demons not being exterminated or being chased out, but appearing out of nowhere, killing everyone and disappearing.

Is that why?

“I think it would be best to withdraw for now.”

Unusually, Yuna Jin gave her opinion.

She glared at the tombstone and continued.

“If you look at the contents engraved on the tombstone, it is written that Duuksini is a monster in the shape of a boy, and is guilty of destroying dozens of villages in the area as well as several exorcists. and… ”

Yuna Jin pointed her finger at the Chinese character engraved at the end.

“Above all, it was the exorcist family that was in charge of Seoul and the game that made this sealing stone. Seeing that they came all the way here and made the sealing stone, I think maybe the family that had jurisdiction over Chungcheong-do couldn’t handle the duuksini, so they called Ji-won… ”

I don’t know much about exorcism in the Joseon Dynasty.

Still, if it was an exorcism family that guarded the capital, their skills would surely be the best.

So he even came down to the support of Chungcheong-do, but even the exorcist was all about sealing Duoxini.

“then… What would you like?”

Lee Hyun-ah asked me.

I checked the arrow of the quest rather than the answer.

The arrow still pointed into the forest.

I looked at it quietly and immediately opened my mouth.

“I’ve come this far, let’s just clean up and go.”

“yes?”

“Let’s exorcise and go. then Let’s go.”

I left the broken sealing stone and followed the arrow.

Lee Hyun-ah followed.

“It’s too dangerous. A powerful curse on you two-“

“If it’s too dangerous, I won’t go either.”

At my words, Lee Hyun-ah had a face that said she was at a loss for words.

In the legend, Duoxini does not appear directly, but kills people in the same way as a curse.

But, of course, that power doesn’t work on me.

Whether it’s a curse or a disease, I have the skills to ignore it.

Then, all that remains is its mighty power, that is, the lore related to battle.

However, I was confident in that field.

“all right. still… I will ask the company for support just in case.”

At Lee Hyun-ah’s words, I nodded.

Then she started calling somewhere.

* * *

that time.

Although it was several hours after Kang Jin-woo left the Police Commissioner’s office.

Chairman Lee Seong-min was still staying in the Office of the Commissioner of Police.

It was because of another incident he was thinking about.

“… That’s what happened.”

Upon hearing about the incident, Kim Junseong nodded expressionlessly.

However, only those eyes were deeply sunk, representing his thoughts.

“I’ve explained it several times, but the power they use is not a known tradition. That this isn’t normal… Do you know?”

“of course.”

“So, even Commissioner Kim shouldn’t speak about this at will. Those cults will be reaching out to these cops too.”

“… … ”

The story that there may be a spy in the police organization under his rule.

At Lee Sung-min’s words, Kim Jun-seong wanted to refute, but he couldn’t.

From the case brought by Lee Seong-min, it seemed certain that information had been leaked from the police.

“so… Do you intend to entrust that task to Inspector Kang?”

“If he passes this test, he will.”

That was the reason Lee Seong-min wanted to entrust Kang Jin-woo with the work.

Although the police’s help was essential for the investigation of the case.

It was more difficult to believe in exorcism police officers who had been in the police force for a long time.

At least, if it wasn’t for Kim Jun-seong, whom Seong-min Lee had known in person from before, he probably wouldn’t have trusted the police organization itself.

Knowing that, Kim Jun-seong could not even object and calmly conveyed his concerns.

“It is true that Inspector Kang’s skills are tremendous compared to his career, but it has not been more than a year since he was appointed. From an empirical point of view, the deficiencies will definitely be revealed.”

“So, wasn’t I also tested like this?”

“… … ”

“And I don’t expect much from him. Who wants to wipe them all out? Investigate and reveal only the body. Then I will help with the rest, and of course you too.”

Lee Sung-min said so, but

In fact, both Seongmin Lee and Junseong Kim knew that it was not as easy as it sounds.

In some ways, an esoteric investigation with no path is more daunting than exorcising a powerful monster.

No matter how much investigation is a specialty, how easy is it?

When that awkward silence was about to pass.

“hmm… ?”

I got a call from Sungmin Lee.

It was a phone call from Lee Hyun-ah, who happened to be with Kang Jin-woo.

In terms of time, it was the time when we had just arrived and entered the scene.

did something happen?

With that thought in mind, Sungmin Lee answered the phone.

and,

“what… already?”

My eyes widened at the unexpected words.

The test Lee Seong-min gave Kang Jin-woo was to investigate the truth related to the factory site.

To be precise, to investigate the white-rok that occupied the factory site, somehow contact the white-rok, and find out why the white-rok is there.

It was a fitting test to test his investigative abilities.

For an ordinary exorcist, it would have taken a week just to contact Baekrok.

However, according to Lee Hyun-ah… that’s already over

The elk blocking the road to the factory site disappeared from the road, leaving only their fur behind.

Because of that, at the site that arrived much earlier than expected, Kang Jin-woo sent a food soul, and Baek-rok crawled to its feet.

Is that all?

“Bo, a sealing stone?”

The white rock guided Kang Jin-woo by himself and took him to the broken sealing stone deep in the mountain.

It was the sealing stone of Duooksini.

In other words, Baekrok had intentionally obstructed the passage to protect people from the two oxen.

Indeed, it was an admirable thing that only a spirit creature could do.

With this, Kang Jin-woo was the same as finishing the exam.

However, at the words that followed, Lee Seong-min’s eyes were filled with disappointment.

“You mean you said you would catch it?”

At the affirmative answer coming through the speaker, Lee Sung-min sighed.

“No one is perfect, but… Too bad.”

Duoxini is a high-level monster among monsters.

In particular, even though it is a demon, only the legend that it killed a person and suddenly disappeared rather than the legend that it was directly exterminated remains.

So its weakness was unknown, its very existence only symbolized an unavoidable curse.

In addition to that, Duoxini enjoys mass deaths, epidemics, and killing opponents by breaking their heads in the legend.

Isn’t it a tricky monster with all kinds of dangerous powers?

But to be able to deal with that alone?

It was such a reckless idea.

“hmm… ”

After putting down the phone, Seongmin Lee sighed once more.

Only then did the test fail.

You can’t entrust a big job to a reckless person.

Rather, it was to endanger the benefactor.

So Lee Seong-min conveyed that meaning to Kim Jun-seong.

“Yes… did you?”

Unexpectedly, however, Kim Jun-seong reacted cautiously to Lee Sung-min’s words.

“Why? Do you think I am wrong?”

“Rather than being wrong… It would be better to watch more.”

“Watch me? Doesn’t he say he’s fighting against Duoxini?”

“As I said before, what Inspector Kang lacks is experience.”

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Junsung Kim said so.

As he said, it had been said a while ago, but it sounded quite different to Lee Sung-min now.

like… Doesn’t that mean that there is nothing lacking except experience?

Then, Lee Seong-min’s eyebrows went up this time.

“that word… Can I trust you?”

Unlike a little while ago, when he was full of disappointment, his voice concealed interest.

* * *

“… Let’s see what’s there.”

As I walked along the arrow into the mountains, I muttered that in a certain sense.

The weather was summer, but the wind blowing was very cold.

Even so, the wind doesn’t feel pleasantly cool, and it feels cold enough to give you goosebumps.

Only then did I know, even if I didn’t like it.

Is this the sound?

Indeed, it was a cold air that seemed to be exhaled by a ghost.

“… … ”

Also, the sound was so strong that Lee Hyun-ah, who was following me, frowned.

Yuna Jin stood close to her to protect her.

Keng Keng was also clinging to my feet with his small body.

and Baekrok.

“Ah… ”

They all made a dying sound and were already far away, unable to walk properly.

“Tsk… ”

Seeing that, I canceled Keng-Kengi’s summons and ordered Baek-Lok to stay far away.

Then Baekrok ran away as if he had waited, and then disappeared in front of his eyes.

Anyway, if you call again in a little while, it will come, so it was good.

And I kept moving against the wind.

Then the source of the gloomy wind came into view.

It is a haunted house located at the bottom of a deep valley.

Was it originally there, or was it made by Duoxini?

The haunted house looked like an old tile-roofed house, not a modern building.

Also, the sun is still in the sky, but only the area near the haunted house is strangely dark.

It was, indeed, the darkness dwelling in the mountains.

“… Keep the two of you apart.”

I said that to Lee Hyeon-ah and Jin Yuna, and quietly pulled out the sword.

So let’s approach the haunted house.

“… … ”

Like a scene from a legend, a boy suddenly appeared in front of the door.

A boy who looked like a middle school student, wearing an old white suit and red hair.

He blocked the door to the haunted house and was smirking at me.

Are you trying to push yourself away and go in?

In the tale, Duoxini did not fall off her feet no matter what she did.

Apparently, he wants to recreate that tradition.

“If you do that in front of me, your pot will break?”

The sacred fire dwelled in the sword.

The white flame that burns the unclean drives out the yin energy without a trace and burns fiercely.

The cynicism of Duoxini who saw that was erased a little.

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