WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 79: Japanese Sanctuary

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Declaration of the Holy Realm was different from simply handing over spiritual veins.

As I built the Triangle, the sanctuary declared through it became my spiritual territory.

Of course, that did not mean I could claim property rights over the land, but territory seemed to be a pretty important matter in the exorcism world.

Apparently, the Onmyoji Association, Japan's version of the Mystic Association, had given the issue serious thought.

They had two concerns.

First, whether it was truly all right to hand territory over to someone else, especially a foreigner.

Second, it was difficult to predict how the sanctuary's effects would apply.

Most people had strongly objected to the first point, but the Tsuchimikado Chief Priest had firmly argued in favor of it.

"To begin with, the spiritual veins in Kyoto and Nara were managed by the Tsuchimikado Clan, so there was no opposition."

"What about Osaka?"

"That one is managed by the government. We managed to persuade them somehow."

The second concern was uncertainty over the sanctuary's effects, but the sealing of the Kyoto White-Faced Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox seemed to have verified those effects to some degree.

Someone had even suggested handing over a dragon node as a test and turning it into a Holy Vein.

"They agreed more readily than I expected."

"Kansai has been crawling with yokai since ancient times. If the sanctuary's effects are certain, they'd welcome it with open arms."

There were also various rewards for what we'd done.

The Onmyoji Association's cash-equivalent assets, paid to Gangnam Holy Temple Church whenever the Kyoto White-Faced Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox revived.

They were mostly real estate and jewelry, though there were also weapons like talismans and bombs.

"We're getting all sorts of stuff. Do pastors use things like this too?"

"Japan's a place where yokai and evil spirits are especially active. Exchanges of frontline technology like this benefit us too."

"We can make our own, but we can also put them up at the Ghost Market and sell them for a good price."

Come to think of it, Explosive Thunder Talismans had been incredible too.

That little piece of yellow paper had exploded like a grenade.

"It'd be good for you to maintain good relations with foreign exorcist groups too, Yohan. You can cooperate when necessary, and surprisingly, there aren't many reasons to clash."

"Clash?"

"Even in Korea, the Five Great Lineages are constantly competing with each other. Holy Temple Church is especially hostile toward the Great Unification Church."

"Ah."

"But overseas organizations operate in different territories, so there's no reason for them to clash. That's why they can cooperate so smoothly like this."

There was no reason to fight over turf, so building friendly relations was more beneficial.

Apparently, overseas exorcist groups were mostly like that.

"You probably aren't that interested in this stuff, Yohan, so I made sure to set something aside for you."

Pastor Go brought over some kind of pelt.

It was fluffy and gleaming gold, like...

"Could this be?"

"It's a little drop item that comes out whenever we seal the Kyoto White-Faced Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox. This one's especially good~"

It was the Kyoto White-Faced Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox's pelt.

"Oh..."

So this was the drop item you got from defeating a boss monster.

"But what am I supposed to do with it?"

"I'll have a kickass coat made for you. It's got incredible demon-repelling properties, and its defense is stronger than most full plate armor. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it plate armor disguised as cloth."

"This light pelt?"

I couldn't believe it.

"A pelt coat we looted twenty years ago could stop a 12.7 mm anti-materiel sniper round, so you can look forward to this one."

After that, we talked about the rewards and the dragon nodes we would secure right away.

Once the rough details were settled, I looked for Gari.

"So where is Gari? It's weird not seeing someone who's always glued to me."

"If you mean Gari, they're within the shrine grounds."

Within the shrine grounds?

Wasn't that where we'd fought the Kyoto White-Faced Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox?

They were probably still cleaning the place up. What could Gari possibly be doing there...

"Um..."

What the hell was that?

Gari was in the shrine grounds.

But Gari looked different from usual. Like some kind of...

"A cocoon."

"That describes it perfectly, my lord."

Gari was really floating in midair within the shrine grounds, wrapped up like a cocoon.

"Is Gari trying to become a butterfly...?"

"Don't you know why Gari is in that state?"

"Not really. I only know Gari is an angel. I don't know the details."

Still, I could guess the reason.

Gari had devoured two demons this time.

The thirty-fifth demon, Marchosias.

The fifty-eighth demon, Auns.

After Decarabia and Martim, this was the fourth demon Gari had absorbed.

I didn't know much, but that was probably related.

"I guess Gari will come out when it's time."

I just hoped it would be resolved before we returned to Korea.

* * *

On the day the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons took place, Osaka had to fight fiercely as well.

The aftermath of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons had swept into Osaka, near Kyoto.

The Japanese Onmyoji Association urgently hired Japan's most prominent exorcist families and freelancers, including the Kozumi Clan.

Kozumi Jinsei, heir to the prestigious Kozumi Clan of onmyoji, which oversaw Osaka's Ishikiri Tsurugiya Shrine.

As the next head of a distinguished family, he received a sudden notice.

"They want us to hand over the dragon node? To foreigners?"

"It's a message from the association president and the Tsuchimikado Clan. In recognition of their contribution during this Night Parade of One Hundred Demons, they decided to hand three dragon nodes over to Holy Temple Church..."

Kyoto, Nara, and Osaka.

Two of them belonged to the Tsuchimikado Clan, so that was one thing.

But the Osaka dragon node belonged to the Kozumi Clan. How could they?

"Strange. The Tsuchimikado bastards have more dragon nodes than we do."

"Could they be trying to dump everything on us?"

"..."

No, the compensation offered in exchange for the dragon node was far too generous for that.

A dragon node was where the energy of a ley line gathered, making it a notable spiritual spot, but it wasn't always treated as something valuable.

A spiritual spot could also grant spiritual power to wicked entities.

That meant it could turn into a Ghost Vein and transform the land into an Ill-Omened Site or a Malevolent Site.

The dragon node Tsuchimikado demanded was exactly that sort of Ghost Vein.

They were willing to buy such a place at a premium?

"Something's going on..."

"Those Kyoto bastards. Do you think they're plotting some strange scheme again?"

"If they're handing it over to Holy Temple Church, there can't be any ill intent. Tsuchimikado in Kyoto and Holy Temple Church in Gangnam have been allies for a long time. Their history goes back nearly a century."

The two groups had cooperated since the time of the founding senior pastor, Park Sunja.

Would allies who dispatched people to help each other whenever something serious happened really ruin their relationship?

Especially with Holy Temple Church, which had brought back the Three Sacred Treasures that had gone over to Silla to reseal the Kyoto White-Faced Golden-Furred Nine-Tailed Fox?

"They need our dragon node..."

Should he demand a higher price?

No, they had already promised compensation that was excessive to the point of overflowing.

If he pushed his luck now, the government might retaliate.

It irritated him, but the Tsuchimikado Clan held the modern Japanese Onmyoji Association in the palm of its hand.

"But... haven't they already received a report? That place... is even more of a mess because of the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons."

"Yes, but they said it'll be fine."

Hah.

Even after Kozumi had told them about the Ghost Vein's current state, they said it would be fine. That made him uneasy.

Were the Tsuchimikado side really trying to saddle the Kozumi Clan with the whole burden?

"They said they'll bring them over soon. What should we do?"

"Let's meet them first. Is Pastor Park coming himself?"

Before long, an association vehicle arrived in front of the shrine.

Had Pastor Park really come himself?

If so, he could at least handle the Ghost Vein problem himself...

But contrary to expectations, a young man stepped out of the vehicle.

"Who is that? The person getting out with him... looks like Pastor Go Jincheol."

"I've never seen him before. And..."

There was an anomaly following the vehicle.

It seemed to be a familiar, but of all things...

"What a coincidence."

"Pardon?"

"Take out the bronze mirror and check."

"...Ah."

The subordinate who checked the anomaly shook their head as well.

It felt like fate in its own way.

"Will this be all right? Lately..."

"It's just a coincidence. I heard one went over to Korea recently."

Kozumi approached the people who had stepped out of the vehicle.

"Hello. I am Kozumi Jinsei."

"I'm Go Jincheol. This young man beside me is Baek Yohan."

"Nice to meet you."

"Ah, yes. Nice to meet you."

It seemed Yohan couldn't speak Japanese.

Kozumi listened to Go Jincheol's interpretation as he guided them inside.

"I hear you want our dragon node?"

"Yes. You've heard from the Japanese Onmyoji Association, haven't you? I heard you agreed as well."

"Hmm... There is a problem."

"A problem?"

Kozumi decided to tell them everything worth telling.

Even if they were allied with those annoying Kyoto bastards, they had come to cooperate during a major crisis in Japan.

Apart from Tsuchimikado, he held some goodwill toward Gangnam Holy Temple Church.

"The dragon node you want has currently become a Ghost Vein. It's been that way for quite some time."

"I heard the Kozumi Clan managed that dragon node. Haven't you tried purifying it?"

"We had been, but yokai flooded in during the recent Night Parade of One Hundred Demons and occupied the Ghost Vein."

"This is troublesome..."

Kozumi continued honestly.

"So I recommend finding another dragon node. Yokai are one thing, but purifying a Ghost Vein is by no means easy..."

"Yes, well, that's no problem. Could you give us the address?"

"Pardon?"

Did this Go Jincheol not listen to a word he said?

"It's dangerous. We can help you deal with the yokai, but the ghostly energy condensed within that Ghost Vein will be many times stronger than usual."

It was a warning that they could die if they made a mistake.

As exorcists, there was no way they didn't understand the dangers of a Ghost Vein.

"It's fine. Shall we go right away, Yohan?"

"Strike while the iron's hot, I guess. Oh, do you know any good places for takoyaki? Okonomiyaki too."

* * *

"I can't believe this..."

Kozumi couldn't tell whether what he was seeing was real.

Kawachinagano City, in southeastern Osaka.

There was an old temple in the mountain range leading toward Mount Koya.

It had been a respected temple that produced renowned high monks since the Warring States period, but it had now become a Ghost Residence.

The land officially belonged to the Kozumi Clan, but the ghostly energy was so vicious that they had hesitated even to purify it.

Yokai and evil spirits driven in by the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons had gathered at the temple.

The Kozumi Clan had been agonizing over how to deal with the yokai and evil spirits gathered in this Ghost Vein, but then...

【Devour~!】

A raging storm swept up the yokai.

A merciless hail of shells fired from a 20 mm autocannon.

As yokai were ground apart before Magdalene's Chainsaw, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost roared.

"Keep firing! Keep firing! Tsuchimikado said they'd cover all the costs for this! Kohaku, how many rounds have we fired now?!"

"Urgh... My ears... My ears! Ah! More than eight thousand, roughly!"

"Have we fired about two hundred million won's worth? We're good up to three hundred million!"

【Devouuuuuuur!!】

Modern weapons weren't always effective against ancient beings, but that was beyond the norm.

The brutal firepower of a holy cannon that Holy Temple Church must have made themselves.

Yet weapons with that much physical force were useless against spirit bodies.

"Kozumi-san! Evil spirits! The evil spirits are coming!"

"They've formed a swarm? Damn it! The barrier isn't fully set up yet!"

Drawn by the commotion of the bombardment, the evil spirits from the Ghost Vein came rushing in.

Was this what a sheaf of grain felt like when engulfed by a swarm of locusts?

The evil spirits that surged in within moments wrapped around Yohan and the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost.

"This is bad! If the honored guests from Korea die, it'll be our responsibility!"

"L-look over there!"

Something unbelievable happened.

Hundreds, thousands of evil spirits had surged in like a black tide, yet the two of them were unharmed.

How was that possible?

"A barrier?"

"No, even a barrier couldn't possibly hold back that many evil spirits..."

But it was holding them back.

Thousands of evil spirits couldn't break through the perimeter around Yohan and the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost, and were being flung away.

"It looked like he scattered something around the area before they started... Was that a barrier?"

"If he's an exorcist, it must have been holy oil, but a few bottles of holy oil are keeping back all those evil spirits?"

The evil spirits that kept crashing against it were practically being destroyed.

That wasn't all.

"Have some holy water!"

Yohan took something out and began scattering it wildly around them. Every time he did, evil spirits disappeared.

"Wararararara~!"

"W-what sort of spell is that?"

"I don't know either... But he can't be destroying that many evil spirits simply by scattering holy water. It must be an incredibly potent prayer."

"Korean is profound..."

A wholesale massacre of evil spirits.

All it took was tap water and three kilograms of BaekX salt.

With bombardment and showers of holy water, the group quickly made it into the temple.

Now all they had to do was drive Helena's Holy Nail into the Ghost Vein, and they would secure their second dragon node after Kyoto.

"After we put this in, should we go to Nara the day after tomorrow? I want to visit that deer park first."

"I-I don't recommend it, my lord! Those deer bastards are vicious and stubborn!"

【Devour...!】

"How did you end up fighting deer?"

"...I ate some of the senbei people were handing out too, and they chased me like they wanted to kill me! Ugly, vicious things that can't compete with a cute, adorable fox, so they resort to violence..."

【Devour devour...!】

"Sis, what's going-"

Hearing the familiar sound, Yohan turned around and realized the one making noise since earlier wasn't his sister.

【Devour.】

【Devour~】

【Devour... Devour!】

"Uh..."

【M-my lord...】

There were a lot of them.

That is... Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts.

"Wow... There are sisters everywhere."

【Devouuuuuuuur!!】

【Devouuuuuuuur!!】

Dozens of Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts charged at them all at once.

Footnotes:

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