WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 10: Hospital Ghost

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Round and round, it led back to Hallym Hospital.

The place Wolryeong Bodhisattva had been asked to exorcise an evil spirit from was Hallym Hospital, and it was also where Han Gyeoul's parents had died.

Either way, we had to go to Hallym Hospital.

That night, after Wolryeong Bodhisattva and I made our decision.

"You're here."

"Yeah. Bodhisattva, you've brought a lot of stuff."

"Because we're here to drive out an evil spirit."

Wolryeong Bodhisattva had strapped on a talisman belt like an ammo belt. She also carried the Spirit Blade and a silver bell.

She had packed all sorts of things, while all I had was an insulated bag containing holy water and holy oil.

"You came very well prepared."

"Pardon?"

Oddly enough, Wolryeong Bodhisattva looked surprised by my preparations.

"Yes, I can tell just by looking. I can feel an exceptionally powerful, sacred energy. I knew you weren't an ordinary Bodhisattva, but..."

"..."

Being praised that much felt awkward. Especially since she sounded sincere.

"Let's enter through the back door. The hospital director should be waiting for us."

Wolryeong Bodhisattva headed for Hallym Hospital's back entrance. A middle-aged man with glasses was waiting there. He was probably the director.

"Bodhisattva!"

The director ran over, his face lighting up.

"You finally came! But who is this?"

"A Bodhisattva I know. This person possesses far greater power than I do, so mind your manners."

"T-this person? Ah! Thank you for coming. I'm Kim Tae-seok, director of Hallym Hospital."

Director Kim Tae-seok grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously.

His welcome carried both gladness and relief.

"I'll unlock the door for you!"

The director personally unlocked the back door.

Creeeak!

The back door opened.

Hospitals had something especially creepy about them in the middle of the night.

"Th-then, I'll leave it to you!"

"You're not coming with us?"

"Pardon? M-me? What help could I possibly be? Hahaha..."

"At least you could show us the way, couldn't you?"

"It isn't a complicated layout, so you'll be fine!"

The director backed away in horror.

Wolryeong Bodhisattva answered for him.

"An ordinary person without spiritual energy would be no help. Let's go ourselves."

"Uh, sure."

What if we got lost, though?

The moment we entered the hospital, the faint stench from outside grew stronger.

There was definitely an evil spirit here.

Wolryeong Bodhisattva seemed to sense it too.

"It's a powerful evil spirit. At least Grade 3... no, it may be even higher."

"Evil spirits have grades?"

"They do. They are classifications made for convenience, but the higher the grade, the more powerful and vicious the spirit."

According to Wolryeong Bodhisattva, the Mystic Association had a grading system for evil spirits and monsters.

The lowest was Grade 5.

They were closer to mischievous ghosts than true evil spirits, and supposedly weren't dangerous enough to harm people much.

For monsters, they were things like mangtae ghosts that frightened children, or low-ranking goblins that liked playing pranks.

Hmm. That didn't really clear anything up.

"Among ghosts, there would be female high school student ghosts and virgin ghosts. Have you heard many school ghost stories?"

"Ah, I think they showed up a lot in old movies."

"You can think of them as the sort that doesn't hurt people. They're quite common."

"There are that many?"

"Yes. Students are bound to have many resentments."

Schools were apparently places full of the rich emotions produced by boys and girls in the prime of their youth.

Rumors spread easily, emotions flared easily, and people often became ghost stories or were drawn in by them.

Come to think of it, when I was in school, there had been all kinds of things like the Seven Mysteries.

"Can you feel where the evil spirit is?"

"Mm, underground. There is... a funeral hall and mortuary downstairs."

"A fitting place for spirits to dwell."

We headed down to the basement together.

Wolryeong Bodhisattva's joints were bad, and she held the railing as she descended. I decided to carry her instead.

"Get on my back."

"Oh my... excuse me."

Apparently, going up and down stairs with bad joints had been hard for her. She willingly climbed onto my back.

Clack! Clack!

Gari clicked their teeth, as if they approved of the sight.

Were they happy because I respected my elders?

Despite how they looked, maybe they really were an angel.

"This is strange."

"What is?"

"There aren't any ghosts."

I couldn't see any.

There wasn't a single ghost on the stairs.

"Didn't you say hospitals have a lot of ghosts? Why can't I see even one?"

"...The evil spirit has devoured them."

"What? Ghosts eat other ghosts?"

"Evil souls and resentful souls can devour weaker souls to strengthen their own spiritual power. The more they do that, the more karma they accumulate, and the harder it becomes for them to hide themselves, but..."

They became that much stronger.

Wolryeong Bodhisattva's words sent a chill through me.

Hospitals were supposed to be places where ghosts easily appeared. Did that mean the evil spirit had eaten all those ghosts?

"Then Han Gyeoul's parents' souls too..."

"We can only hope not..."

Then what would happen to Gyeoul's soul?

As my worries mounted, we arrived at the mortuary.

"Ugh..."

The stench was overwhelming.

The evil spirit had to be nearby.

"I'll reveal the ghost."

Wolryeong Bodhisattva shook the silver bell she had brought.

Jingle.

A clear ringing spread through the room, accompanied by some kind of spiritual force.

Was this meant to reveal the evil spirit?

I didn't know how it worked, but Wolryeong Bodhisattva continued shaking the bell.

Jingle.

The silvery chime continued spreading.

It was an utterly clear, pure sound. It was enough to make me marvel at how beautiful a bell made of silver could sound.

But it seemed someone found it irritating.

One of the body storage drawers rattled.

"Bodhisattva!"

"It's there!"

At that moment, the mortuary lights went out.

We had turned them on when we came in. How had they suddenly gone off?

I clicked the switch again, but the lights didn't come back on.

It was dark.

I asked Gari to watch our surroundings and turned on my phone's flashlight.

It wasn't especially bright, but it was better than nothing.

"Can you see anything?"

"It's circling us. It's hiding in the dark and watching for an opening."

Wolryeong Bodhisattva pulled several talismans from her talisman belt.

Several talismans made of yellow paper, inscribed with characters in crimson blood, rested in her hand.

"Seal the exit and forbid the unclean from entering. Azure Spirit, Ghost Retreat! Boundary, Open!"

Jingle.

The silver bell rang, and the talismans fixed themselves in the air around Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

The more I saw, the stranger it all was.

Talisman papers floating in midair.

"Bodhisattva, quickly, make your own barrier too!"

"Uh, uh..."

How was I supposed to do that?

Then I remembered how I had kept an evil spirit out by sprinkling holy oil.

Could I just scatter it around?

I took the bottle of holy oil from the insulated bag and poured it in a circle around us.

At that exact moment.

Thud!

The evil spirit charged Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

As the pitch-black spirit collided with it, blue light flowing from the talismans seemed to block the attack.

Crackle!

The talismans glowing blue began to wither away.

Was that the impact?

The evil spirit struck Wolryeong Bodhisattva's barrier, then turned its gaze toward me.

【Kyaaaaaaah!】

The evil spirit screeched and rushed at me, but its charge was blocked in midair.

【Kiiieek!】

The evil spirit seemed to be in pain instead.

"What an incredible barrier! It doesn't just stop intrusion, it makes the spirit scream in agony!"

The evil spirit's cries rang through the mortuary, so Wolryeong Bodhisattva realized something extraordinary had happened.

I didn't have time to accept her admiration.

"Gari!"

Do something about that disgusting evil spirit already!

Clack!

Gari lunged at the evil spirit through the darkness.

Their huge mouth opened wide and snapped at the evil spirit. The startled spirit went limp and slipped away, making Gari miss.

It was fast.

Gari didn't rely on sight. They were just a mouth, so what good was darkness against them?

That meant the evil spirit was incredibly quick.

It really might have been on an entirely different level from the evil spirits I had faced before.

Still, once the evil spirit noticed Gari, all it did was run.

"Keep chasing it!"

I couldn't imagine Gari losing.

Gari's power was that overwhelming. Even if it took longer than usual, I had been sure Gari would win, but...

"...!"

The back of my head prickled.

I caught a different smell.

The moment I turned around...

【Kah!】

Another evil spirit tried to ambush me from behind, but the holy oil barrier stopped it.

"There's another one!"

"What... that's impossible!"

At that moment, the evil spirit charged Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

Bang!

A dizzying crash rang out as the talismans burned.

The evil spirit vanished at the same time. I hurried outside the barrier and supported Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

"Are you okay?!"

"T-two... evil spirits... can't coexist... in the same space... ah!"

Wolryeong Bodhisattva coughed, as though she had realized something.

"A married couple spirit...! It is a married couple spirit!"

"A married couple?"

Did that mean a husband and wife had become evil spirits together and still coexisted?

The odds of a married couple becoming ghosts at the same time were absurdly low...

"Don't tell me!"

Han Gyeoul's parents?

Then Wolryeong Bodhisattva's condition suddenly worsened.

Her body jerked, and she grabbed me with a strength no elderly person should have had.

"Bodhisattva? What's wrong?!"

"Heh! Hehehe!"

Had an evil spirit possessed her?

The whites of the Bodhisattva's eyes turned black, and a terrible stench rose from her skin.

There was no doubt.

The fact that we couldn't see the evil spirits anymore meant one of the married couple spirits had possessed Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

"You too...!"

I was about to splash holy water on the charging Wolryeong Bodhisattva, but I stopped.

What if she melted like that person had?

That would be a disaster.

"Gari!"

Gari, which had been chasing an evil spirit, lunged at Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

Smack!

As I saw Gari open their mouth wide, I shouted urgently.

"Don't bite her!"

Gari snapped their mouth shut at once and crashed into Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

Thud!

Wolryeong Bodhisattva rolled across the floor.

Clack! Clack!

Gari immediately took up a protective stance around me.

I hurried toward the holy oil barrier, but then remembered that I had stepped through the holy oil line when I ran to Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

Didn't a gap mean it no longer worked as a barrier?

I had already entered it, but just in case, I grabbed the bottle of holy oil.

Smack!

A black-shaped evil spirit struck the bottle in my hand as it passed.

Clang!

The plastic bottle full of holy oil rolled across the floor, spilling its contents.

The fact that it had just touched me meant the holy oil I had poured down was no longer functioning as a barrier.

The situation was critical.

Gari couldn't move to attack because they had to protect me.

If they went after one, the other would target me.

I fell into thought.

Should I send Gari after them and kill the evil spirits?

But then what about Han Gyeoul's passage to the afterlife?

More importantly, what about Wolryeong Bodhisattva, who had already been possessed?

I could see a path where I killed all three.

It was the easiest path, the one best for my own safety.

But there was no salvation down that road.

"Jesus said to it..."

Gari's halo reacted.

The beginnings of a miracle stirred with my prayer.

"Unclean spirit, come out of that person."

"Urgh...!"

There was a reaction.

A faint wave flowing from the halo affected the possessing evil spirit.

I took out holy water, dabbed some on my fingertips, and flicked it at Wolryeong Bodhisattva.

Splash!

"Kwaaah!"

Steam rose from Wolryeong Bodhisattva's skin as though it were burning.

Whew... Good thing I had only used a little.

I continued praying.

"What is your name?"

"I... I am Yu Hanna..."

"Leave the body of the living at once."

"N-no..."

The evil spirit resisted in agony.

The other evil spirit rushed at me when it saw that, but Gari charged it and drove it away.

I sprinkled more holy water and commanded the spirit.

"Leave!"

"N-no...!"

"In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you! Yu Hanna, mother of Han Gyeoul, leave that body at once!!"

"...!"

Wolryeong Bodhisattva's eyes flew open as something black poured out of her.

At the same time, Gari's mouth opened wide and seized evil spirit Yu Hanna around the waist.

"Gari, don't!"

For a moment, I thought Gari was going to chew and eat her like the other evil spirits.

It wasn't.

Gari had already caught the other evil spirit, and now they had bitten Yu Hanna's evil spirit too, restraining them both.

The two evil spirits tried to escape from Gari's mouth, but those teeth chewed souls.

They wouldn't get away easily.

I realized why Gari had done it.

Passage to the afterlife... It meant I had to purify their souls.

Could I do that?

I didn't know how to purify evil spirits...

No suitable Bible verse came to mind.

The verse I had just used to break the possession was from that famous story about driving out demons by the Sea of Galilee.

Was there another verse?

As I thought, one came to mind.

It was a good thing I had learned prayers that might suit a situation like this beforehand.

Pointing at the married couple spirits, I began to recite.

"When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you. Even when you make many prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood."

The halo shone.

Please let the miracle of my prayer and faith work.

"Wash and make yourselves clean. Put away your evil deeds from before My eyes, and stop doing evil."

"Learn to do good. Seek justice, help the oppressed, defend the orphan, and plead for the widow."

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be like wool."

Stop on your own.

For someone else's sake.

"If you are willing and obedient, you will eat the good things of the land. But if you refuse and rebel, you will be devoured by the sword. For Jehovah has spoken."

Choose.

Obedience or refusal.

"Yu Hanna! Han Taek-su!"

【...!】

"Will you be clean, or will you rebel? Will you perish and become those who abandon righteousness?"

The halo's light swallowed them both.

Footnotes:

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