WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 72: Kyoto Night Parade of One Hundred Demons (6)

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Kohaku's information proved even more useful than I expected.

After taking down Jorogumo, we tracked down and exterminated great yokai like Yuki-onna and Kamaitachi one after another.

But when we went after the fourth great yokai...

"There's nothing here?"

"T, that can't be, sir. The oni was definitely here..."

"No, it isn't. Did you make it up?"

"Eek! No, sir!"

Kohaku frantically shook her head.

She didn't seem to be lying.

"They must've realized their information was leaking by now. Looks like they've given up hiding in the city."

Kyoto had reeked horribly until recently.

These days, though, the smell had cleared up enough that people could live there again.

"That has made it easier to search for spiritual scent, but most of what we're finding is low-level trash."

All that remained were the evil spirits already in the city and yokai grunts who didn't know what was going on.

There wasn't a trace of the great yokai who had come for the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons.

If we really wanted to hunt them, we'd have to go outside the city, but Pastor Go didn't recommend it.

"They know we're coming for them. If we head out there carelessly and get ambushed, we'll only suffer more losses."

"Then what do we do now?"

"We have no choice but to strengthen the formation around the shrine where the Kyoto White-Faced Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox is sealed."

Apparently, headquarters, where the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest and Pastor Park were stationed, had come to the same conclusion.

The Japanese branch of the Mystic Association and the ninjas guarded the outskirts, while we headed for Heian Shrine.

"Wow, there are a ton of tourists."

"It's one of the city's most famous attractions. Thousands visit every day."

The entrance alone, with its massive torii gate, was packed with people.

Kyoto was famous as a tourist destination, sure, but if the yokai attacked in a place like this, civilian casualties would be huge...

"If the yokai swarm in, we won't even be able to evacuate everyone."

"It's fine. The gates close at night, and yokai don't move around in broad daylight."

Yokai and ghosts were beings infinitely close to yin.

They said endless yang was practically a barrier to them.

Normally, they even avoided walking beneath the sun.

"For someone like that, Kohaku got around just fine."

"Y, young yokai can often manage it, sir."

"Yokai and ghosts that don't eat people won't have much yin energy built up. Maybe being unable to face the sun's grace is the price sinners pay."

Strange, really.

The beings that ate and harmed people to grow stronger became more restricted the stronger they got.

Well, that was karma for you.

Heian Shrine was a tourist site, but tourists weren't allowed everywhere.

We met Pastor Park and the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest in the main building, where barriers had been set up everywhere with talismans.

"Oh, Yohan, you're here?"

"I've heard you've been doing remarkable work."

The Tsuchimikado Chief Priest smiled warmly.

"As expected of one chosen by an angel. The heir to King Solomon, no less."

"Ah..."

I glanced at Pastor Park.

He had told me it was fine to share information about me.

He'd said he would reveal it if the negotiations went well.

"By the way, I heard you entered this world only recently. Have you studied sorcery at all?"

"No?"

"If you don't mind, would it be all right if I gave you a crash course?"

A descendant of Abe no Seimei wanted to teach me occult arts?

It sounded like a good opportunity, but I felt a little awkward about it.

Could a Christian really learn the arts of a Japanese priest?

"In this line of work, you use anything that works. What sin did a tool commit?"

At Pastor Park's firm words, I nodded.

"I was thinking I should learn this kind of thing eventually."

Pastor Park had given me intensive training, but it had only covered how to build a healthy body and hunt monsters.

You could say I'd never received proper training from an expert.

"First, let's run a simple test."

"A test?"

"Yes. We need to assess the quantity and wavelength of your spiritual power before deciding which path suits you."

Ooh. This was getting professional.

I took the talisman the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest handed me.

"Try channeling spiritual power into that talisman. It will burn once spiritual power is infused into it."

"Uh... Isn't that dangerous?"

"Even skilled onmyoji can only burn the edge. Even if it burns, it's spiritual fire, so it won't harm anyone. Please don't worry."

I see.

Reassured by his words, I channeled spiritual power into the talisman.

At that moment...

Fwoosh!

"Eek! T, the talisman burned up, sir!"

Kohaku had every reason to panic beside me.

The talisman didn't just burst into flames. Blue fire shot up into the air.

"..."

"Wow..."

The Chief Priest looked speechless, while Pastor Park looked impressed.

"A protective talisman made by Tsuchimikado himself isn't easy to burn. The fact that you incinerated it in one go means..."

"It means Mr. Yohan's spiritual power is truly immense."

My spiritual power was immense?

Well, it had to be.

I'd devoured a truckload of supernatural beings by now.

The amount of spiritual power I had kept increasing as I hunted great yokai this time.

"It seems you have more than enough spiritual power. Do you have a weapon you use?"

"Well..."

I had too many, but pulling them all out would attract attention, so I took out the Gutenberg Bible.

When I tore out one page and formed it into the shape of a sword, it became a throwing sword.

"Oh, a weapon that's easy to carry around."

The Tsuchimikado Chief Priest turned the transformed sword over in his hands, then recited an incantation.

A spiritual vibration seeped into the sword. He handed it back to me.

"Now, try making it float."

"Excuse me?"

"I've applied a flight spell to the sword. It will activate as long as you channel spiritual power into it, so try controlling it."

Was he testing both the amount of my spiritual power and my control over it?

I'd never done this before, but surely I could make it work.

I could not, in fact, make it work.

Bang!

The Gutenberg holy sword suddenly shattered and exploded.

It had originally been paper, so scraps scattered everywhere. If it had been a real sword, several people could have been hurt.

"H-howawawawhat..."

Kohaku was so startled that she fell on her backside again.

"You okay?"

"Ah! I, I'm fine, sir! As expected of you! Your spiritual power is so vast it overflows!"

Hmm. It seemed this had happened because my spiritual power was too strong again.

"This is... surprising. I put considerable care into that incantation."

"You could probably crush even a great yokai that's centuries old with raw spiritual power."

"Is it really that much?"

Pastor Park pointed at the Chief Priest.

"You think this man became Chief Priest for nothing? He's one of the best onmyoji in the country. It isn't easy to burn through an object equipped with safety measures just by overwhelming it with spiritual power."

"But conversely, it means your control of spiritual power is extremely unrefined."

"That's true. You said a few consecrated silver bullets can melt the barrel of your gun, right? That's because of poor control too."

That was certainly true.

Why had I struggled to use the weapons I consecrated?

They became so powerful that the equipment couldn't withstand it.

"This time, I've used a stronger incantation. Please try again."

I focused and tried to lift the holy sword.

It didn't explode this time, but it still wasn't easy.

I had power to spare, but no finesse.

I could force it into the air, but it felt like it would explode again if I did.

As I channeled spiritual power into the sword, I realized the power inside me was like raging waves.

A huge wave that could rise dozens of meters high and swallow the ground at any moment.

How was I supposed to regulate that with the precision of water flowing from a tap?

I needed to build a dam.

I needed to lay down water pipes.

First, I had to physically hold back the raging waves, then make a hole to let the water out little by little.

Even the water pouring from that hole overflowed, so it felt like I was installing a drainpipe the size of a faucet.

When I moved that trickling stream of water as I wished...

"I, it's working, sir! The sword is floating, sir!"

It floated.

The holy sword didn't just rise into the air. It spun through the air exactly as I intended.

If I fired it like a dam bursting open...

Boom!

The sword shot hundreds of meters into the sky, then broke apart in midair.

"What..."

The Tsuchimikado Chief Priest blinked, unable to close his open mouth.

"Ha..."

Pastor Park was the same. So were Pastor Go, the onmyoji, and the ninjas watching nearby.

Silence fell over the main hall of Heian Shrine.

"Was that really so impressive?"

"Are you a genius..."

"I told you, didn't I? This guy was chosen by God."

"Even so, this is..."

"He was already unbelievable when he made holy water and began consecrating things without ever working in this field."

Pastor Park proudly patted my shoulder, then spoke to the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest.

"Once this is over, please give my proposal serious consideration. It won't be bad for Japan either."

"Hoo... Yes, I will consider it seriously."

The Tsuchimikado Chief Priest seemed to mull over whatever deal he and Pastor Park had made, then quickly changed his expression.

"Goodness, I've neglected Yohan-kun. His spiritual power and control... he's naturally gifted at both. If it weren't for Pastor Park, I'd want to take him as my disciple."

"Why not? Having several good teachers would be a good thing."

"Becoming my disciple means he would eventually inherit the position of Chief Priest of Heian Shrine."

"Oh dear, that won't do."

Pastor Park's decisive answer made the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest pout. Then he smiled with narrowed eyes.

"Yohan-kun, are you seeing anyone?"

"Ugh...!"

"Ah, no one. Honestly, Korea's overly closed-off Confucian culture is the problem."

I didn't think that was the issue, but the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest casually continued.

"Then how about my granddaughter? If we're talking about a yamato nadeshiko, the traditional Japanese ideal of feminine beauty, our Tsuchimikado Mai-chan..."

"No, Tsuchimikado-san. What era do you think this is? You can't suggest an absurd political marriage like that!"

"Ahem... Well, if a man and woman catch each other's eye, their navels tend to meet too."

"You really have to hand it to the Japanese for being promiscuous. Still, Yohan, you know our church is famous for setting young people up on blind dates, right?"

No, Pastor.

I knew that, but wasn't this a strange time to bring it up?

"Hmm... More importantly, there's one more experiment I'd like to try."

Was this an experiment now, not training?

"What do you think an enchanted artifact is?"

"An object imbued with spiritual power?"

"Close. Then how do you think one is made?"

If I knew that, wouldn't I be the expert?

Come to think of it, I owned a lot of such objects.

Wolryeong Bodhisattva's Spirit Blade, the Gutenberg Bible, Magdalene's Chainsaw, and Jericho's Firestarter. The last two were Eight-Foot Sister's, I suppose.

Anyway, Pastor Kim's collection had left me with plenty of those items.

But how were such objects made?

"Pastor Go is the expert on that kind of thing."

"Don't overthink it. In the end, the standard for an enchanted artifact is whether it can affect supernatural entities."

More precisely, whether an ordinary person could use it against them.

An exorcist with spiritual power could injure supernatural entities with anything they held.

"An object that lets even ordinary people face supernatural beings as long as they hold it. You need to choose materials and have a craftsman make it, of course, but there is a simpler method. Mantra infusion."

"Mantra infusion?"

"Yes. Christianity and other faiths perform similar acts, don't they? Blessings, for example."

"Ah..."

I understood.

Just as I received occult effects by reciting prayers, consecrating holy water, holy oil, and silver bullets, mantra infusion seemed to work on a similar principle.

"Infusing a mantra into a tool so it can confront supernatural entities. It's simple, but its effect differs greatly depending on the practitioner's ability."

"So you want me to try it this time?"

When the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest nodded, he called Satomaru inside.

Satomaru approached and set down a kunai, the kind of thing you'd see in a ninja comic.

"It's designed to hold spiritual power easily... but this shuriken has not had any mantra infused into it yet."

"I'll demonstrate."

The Tsuchimikado Chief Priest picked it up and brought his fingertip to the end of the blade.

Prick.

When he lightly stabbed his finger, blood ran down the blade.

"Adding a catalyst is the most effective way to let a spirit reside in a weapon. A practitioner's blood, for example."

He attached a talisman to the kunai. The pentagram painted in blood on the yellow talisman paper began to glow faintly.

"Swiftly, swiftly, by decree."

The brief incantation ended, and the talisman crumbled like ash without catching fire.

Still, I could tell.

The spirit of the talisman had been sealed into the kunai.

"If Christianity consecrates special objects such as silver weapons or rosaries to strengthen their effect, onmyodo uses spiritual catalysts to infuse mantras into ordinary objects. It's really just a chicken-and-egg difference, so it isn't that important."

The Chief Priest swung the kunai through the air.

A spiritual ripple was etched into empty space.

No doubt about it.

That kunai had become an enchanted artifact.

And permanently, at that.

"Yohan-kun, you should try as well."

A new kunai was placed in my hand.

It was an ordinary object. Was this the first time I had enchanted something that wasn't special like the Spirit Blade or silver bullets?

I sprinkled it with holy water and holy oil, then recited a prayer.

"Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

Whenever I recited a prayer, Gari's halo shone.

It happened often when I replenished holy water and holy oil or enchanted something, so it wasn't even surprising anymore.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, authorities, the powers of this dark world, and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Every enchantment I had made until now came with a time limit.

Once time passed, the enchantment vanished and the object returned to normal.

This time, though, I was creating a permanent enchanted artifact through mantra infusion.

What had to be different?

Thinking about it, I had always recited prayers by relying on the power of holy water and holy oil.

Of course the power would only last until the sacred liquid on the object evaporated.

What I needed was more spiritual power.

And the concept of forcing the mantra created by that spiritual power into the object.

Right. I had to put my whole spirit into it.

"The Lord said! Let there be light!"

"Hm?"

"Yohan-kun?"

I held Peter's rosary.

Hoping this prayer would reach heaven through the angel, I began a collective outcry prayer.

"The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?"

"Therefore, this blade shall know no fear! It shall sever falsehood and wickedness! It shall become a shepherd's staff that frees deluded souls!"

The air trembled heavily.

The raging spiritual power within me burst forth like a broken reservoir, swelling in the air like a huge droplet.

"Uh..."

"W, wait..."

"Lord! Look upon me! Set this blade apart as holy! Make it a tool to drive back evil spirits! Let it never lose its purpose until the day Your will is fulfilled!!"

Gari's halo shone, and Second Kings emerged from within its mouth.

Second Kings, depicting a historic moment.

As it was written in the king's chronicle...

「In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you! All iron chariots! Become God's iron hammer that crushes the enemy!」

Aaaaaaaaaaamen!!

「The king had commanded, and the holy objects consecrated for eternity obeyed that command.」

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