WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 21: Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost (2)

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The Mystic Association handled every matter involving mysteries that occurred on Korean soil.

They were government officials, technically, but their work went on day and night without pause.

The busiest group among them was the Abnormal Ability Response Special Task Division.

The recent case where sorcerers turned a place into an Ill-Omened Site.

Before that, there had been the case of Japanese smugglers smuggling urban legends out of the country.

The officials had not gotten to go home in a while.

"Hey, Team Leader Joo, you really pulled one off! You caught six high-risk urban legends in one night!"

"I didn't do it myself."

"Hiring outside help and getting results is a public servant's virtue too."

Team Leader Kang Gihan openly praised Team Leader Joo Seoyul's accomplishment.

"Still, you even caught the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost. You're as impressive as ever."

The Class 1 urban legend, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost.

It was a kind of meme urban legend, but the original was such a formidable urban legend that even its memetic version was no ordinary monster.

And they had caught it──

"Those contractor friends really struck it lucky. To think they'd get to ride the Director's coattails."

"Well, about that..."

Joo Seoyul did not agree with Kang Gihan's obvious assumption.

Just as Kang Gihan found that strange and was about to ask what was going on, the door to the Special Task Division Chief's office opened.

"Oh, you're here?"

"Good morning, Director."

The two bowed to the chief of the Mystic Association's Abnormal Ability Response Special Task Division.

In other words, the Mystic Association's strongest force.

"You worked hard all night, Director Park Bokrye."

Park Bokrye, chief of the Abnormal Ability Response Special Task Division. Better known as Madam Park.

Though she was over seventy this year, she remained at the very pinnacle of modern ability users.

"Thank you for helping us track down the urban legends."

"We should help each other."

Madam Park personally wiped down the blade of her new sword cane.

She had cut down two Class 2 urban legends with nothing more than a mass-produced standard-issue weapon.

Kang Gihan still could not believe it.

And on top of that...

"I heard you caught the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost too. You're still incredible."

"I didn't catch that one."

"What? Then who did?"

Kang Gihan had naturally assumed Madam Park caught the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost.

A Class 1 anomaly was something an entire Special Task team had to mobilize just to handle.

It was not the sort of thing a few contractors could deal with, not even the aces of the Five Great Lineages.

"The person who caught the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost was a rookie called Gari Bodhisattva."

"Right. That exorcist friend."

Joo Seoyul reacted to that as well.

"An exorcist?"

"Yes. They recited prayers and used holy water."

Madam Park chuckled.

Park Bokrye.

A great elder who had spent over fifty years in the world of mysteries.

Whether in influence or skill, she was a veteran who stood equal to the heads of the Five Great Lineages.

There was no way someone like her could fail to recognize an exorcist who used holy water.

"But Gari Bodhisattva... Wolryeong Bodhisattva personally wrote their recommendation."

"Just because someone's a shaman doesn't mean they don't interact with clergy. They all know each other."

"But this person is a complete rookie. Other than Wolryeong Bodhisattva's recommendation, they have almost no record at all."

A rookie powerful enough to catch the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost?

Madam Park, the Special Task Division Chief, had testified to it, so it could not be a lie.

Still, it was too unrealistic to accept easily.

"The neighborhood where Wolryeong Bodhisattva runs her fortune-telling shop... was it Songpa District?"

"Yes, she's been active there for a long time...?!"

Only then did the two take their first step toward uncovering this outstanding rookie's identity.

An exorcist who used holy water.

Someone recommended by Wolryeong Bodhisattva, who had made her home in Songpa District.

It could still be explained as coincidence, but few people in this line of work believed in coincidences.

"I issued them a Black Knot. We'll probably meet face-to-face before long."

Ho ho ho.

The Special Task Division Chief laughed softly as she looked out the window.

It seemed a new ripple was about to spread through their world.

* * *

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost.

She was about 2.4 meters tall.

Her size and presence were so overwhelming that I had almost missed two strange details.

First, Gari, who immediately became wary around evil spirits, had done nothing to the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost.

Second, she did not have the foul stench an evil spirit should have had.

Based on those two facts, I guessed that the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost might not be an evil spirit.

Then I even stabbed her with the Spirit Blade, enchanted with Holy Sword.

In the end, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost was not hurt by the Spirit Blade.

Conclusion.

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost was not an evil spirit.

That meant I had to get her out of there first.

Even if I told the team members she was not an evil spirit, there was no way they would just go, "Okay, I believe you," and let it slide after fighting her.

So I had Gari swallow her.

I told Gari to swallow her but not chew, then brought her home.

"Excuse me. Are you okay? It might be a little cramped, but please stay calm."

【Po......】

I carefully looked over the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost after Gari spat her out.

She had chased down a speeding car with her bare body.

I had seen her terrifying combat ability firsthand. If Gari had not been there, things would have gone very badly.

Still... she was incredibly beautiful. I had never met anyone this beautiful in my life.

Other than being absurdly tall, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost looked like a classic East Asian beauty.

Her features were sharp, her eyes clear and bright, and below that... wow, that was a lot to take in.

Separate from her height, her proportions were... damn.

If only she were shorter.

"Can you understand what I'm saying?"

【Po?】

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost tilted her head.

I thought we could not communicate, then suddenly remembered Mary talking on the phone.

"Oh, right. This is a Japanese urban legend."

Did that mean I had to speak Japanese? I did not know any Japanese.

After thinking it over, I installed a translation app on my phone.

When I spoke to her through it──

[Can you understand me?]

【Po.】

She nodded.

I continued communicating through the translator.

"Do you have any lingering regrets in this world?"

【Po......】

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost tilted her head, then shook it from side to side.

Were urban legend anomalies different from spirit ghosts?

I wanted to send innocent spirit ghosts on their passage to the afterlife whenever possible, but I had no idea what to do with this Japanese urban legend girl.

So I contacted an expert.

[Wolryeong Bodhisattva]

I will come to you, so please wait.

[Me]

I can just come to you, though?

[Wolryeong Bodhisattva]

The one beside you is no ordinary strong being, so the barrier I worked hard to set up would be torn apart. It is best that I come to you.

Well, I could not argue with that.

I contacted Wolryeong Bodhisattva at seven in the morning.

She arrived at my place in less than an hour.

"Bodhisattva, I'm here."

"Gari, open the door for her."

Clack, clack!

Gari went to the front door and pulled the handle with its teeth.

The door opened, and Wolryeong Bodhisattva came in.

She spotted me in the living room and jumped in surprise.

"Why are you levitating?"

"Ah, as I thought, you can't see her."

Since she was an urban legend, other people could not see her unless they met certain conditions.

From Wolryeong Bodhisattva's perspective, I probably looked like I was floating in midair.

"Just a moment... oh dear."

Wolryeong Bodhisattva took out her bronze mirror and looked into it. Once she saw my situation, she let out a sigh.

For the record, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost had me trapped.

More precisely, she was hugging me from behind and refusing to let go.

【Po......】

Before I contacted Wolryeong Bodhisattva, I tried to take a nap. When I opened my eyes, this was the situation I found myself in.

I had barely managed to raise my phone and contact her, then waited another hour.

I had not even washed up, and I was still stuck here, unable to get free.

"The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost, you said."

"Yes, but I heard she was a somewhat altered urban legend."

"Hmm... the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost is originally a very wicked evil spirit. She abducts and kills people."

But the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost was not an evil spirit.

After I explained that Gari had not treated her as an enemy and that she had no foul smell, Wolryeong Bodhisattva fell into thought.

"Urban legends altered by rumors and public perception sometimes do not follow the original's nature. This altered urban legend is likely one that does not harm people."

"Urban legends can change like that?"

"Often. Especially urban legends that are heavily influenced by stories."

She said that urban legends once consumed as horror were often romanticized in modern times, or people came to see them differently through reinterpretations.

Well, vampires used to be symbols of terror, but these days they had become material for romantic stories.

"Ah, vampires are an entirely separate species that already exists, so they have little to do with becoming urban legends."

"Vampires exist?!"

"There are urban legends, evil spirits, and demons. Why would vampires not exist?"

That made sense.

It was scary how more and more of a world I never knew about kept revealing itself.

"Then what do we do with this Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost? I think we should send her on to the afterlife."

"Hmm... the original Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost was exorcised by Pastor Kim twenty years ago, but... no method other than spiritual destruction has been passed down."

Pastor Kim here too... Pastor Kim Gwang-o. What exactly did you do for a living?

"There is a treasured sword that Pastor Kim once used to destroy the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost. If we can obtain it, it might not be impossible."

"She's not even an evil spirit, though. Killing her seems a little..."

I could probably tell Gari to eat her right now, but that was out of the question too.

"I just want her to let go of me first."

Wolryeong Bodhisattva looked through the bronze mirror at the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost clinging tightly to me and sighed.

"It seems the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost has marked you."

"Marked me?"

"Yes. Even if an urban legend has changed, its essential nature does not disappear. The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost is a notorious obsessive-type urban legend. Once she marks someone, she tends to pursue them to the very end."

"Uh... so what does that mean?"

"If you do not intend to exorcise her, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost may follow you for the rest of your life."

"......"

Would that be okay?

She was going to follow me for the rest of my life?

That was a little... Then I suddenly looked at Gari.

"Visually, she might be the better option."

Clack, clack?

"Still, why not take her around with you for now? The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost is an extremely powerful anomaly. She will be helpful."

"Should I?"

【Po~】

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost's arms around me seemed to tighten.

I was starting to have trouble breathing, so I wished she would let go.

I had gotten used to waking up with Gari occasionally putting me inside its mouth, though.

"If you are all right with it, how about making a familiar contract?"

Wolryeong Bodhisattva advised me to make the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost my familiar outright.

"Do I really need to? Gari and I just travel together too."

I had never forced Gari to do anything.

Honestly, I always thought Gari could leave whenever it wanted, and I had no intention of forcing the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost either.

"The one beside you is not a being that can serve as a familiar to begin with. If anything, Gari is closer to a guardian deity. But urban legends are different. She may be good now, but you never know when the influence of stories will turn her evil."

So I should bind her with a contract and turn her into a familiar unaffected by stories.

It made sense when I heard it, so I asked how to do it.

"Give her a token. Then bestow a name upon her, and the familiar will become a being bound to you."

A token.

Something I could give her from my house...

"The Spirit Blade seems a little much."

Holy water and holy oil were consumable, so they did not really count as items.

Then I remembered the knot Madam Park had given me.

"Would this work?"

"This is...?"

She looked startled when she saw the knot Madam Park had given me.

"Who in the world gave this to you?"

"An old lady I worked with?"

"Huh... I see. Yes, use this. It will be an exceptionally powerful token."

Was there something special about the knot?

Still, judging by how strongly Wolryeong Bodhisattva recommended it, it did not seem like the wrong choice.

I handed the dark green knot to the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost.

"Will you take this and make a contract with me?"

With help from the translator, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost understood without difficulty and nodded.

"Then, please bestow a form of address upon her. The name given by the master will be engraved upon her soul and become a tough cord that binds you together."

Her real name... well, she hadn't answered when I asked.

She was a being born from a story, so she probably did not have an ordinary person's name.

Then should I call her something as close as possible to what she had originally been called?

"Eight-Foot Sister?"

【Po...!】

What was that? Why did she like it so much?

"The contract is complete. The anomaly is now bound to her master, whom she will serve faithfully."

"That's good."

I was happy because it felt like my family had grown.

At the time, I did not know.

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost... or rather, the Eight-Foot 'Moe' Ghost, had only been turned into a meme relatively recently.

That meant Eight-Foot Sister's actual age was far younger than mine.

I had been fooled by her appearance.

【Po~!】

Anyway, I got a super strong familiar!

Footnotes:

"Moe" is Japanese fandom slang for a character designed to evoke affection or infatuation.

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