WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: ZERO_SUGAR

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Chapter 80: Japanese Sanctuary (2)

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There were a lot of them.

Over two meters tall.

Their distinctive white dresses and hats.

The only difference was their appearances.

Most were innocent-looking beauties with black hair, but one had a furry animal head.

Another wore a gothic dress and had unnaturally long nails.

Another wore a nurse's uniform, with a grotesquely distorted head.

"M-My lord. Th-They're Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts!"

"...So there wasn't just one."

I'd heard there was a separate original urban legend behind the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost.

But as collective unconscious biases toward urban legends and anomalies accelerated in modern times, variants could be born.

Come to think of it, there was no reason there'd only be one of those variants.

"Pastor Go? Why are there so many Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts?"

"Uh, well... They probably gathered to absorb the energy of the Ghost Vein."

【Devour~】

One of the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts approached me.

I'd gotten used to Eight-Foot Sister, but seeing a ghost two heads taller than me was still overwhelming.

And there had to be at least... twenty of them.

"Sniff, sniff! They don't smell like anything..."

They didn't have the distinctive smell of evil spirits or evil ghosts.

Maybe because they all came from the same line, none of them seemed to have committed evil acts on their own.

"We can talk, right? Hello, everyone~"

【Devour~!】

Oh, look at those friendly gazes.

See? There was no need to fear them if they weren't evil spirits.

They only looked scary because they were big. Surely they were reasonable people I could talk to.

I wouldn't let prejudice get the better of me.

"Let's settle this by talking. Excuse me?"

【Devour~!】

【Devour~!】

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts squealed.

They liked that way too much. It was like they hadn't seen a person in years.

【Devour!】

One of them reached out toward me.

I couldn't feel any malice, but that hand was big enough to cover my whole face, so it was still scary-

Smack!

It was less a brush-away than a full-on wallop.

It was another Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost... no, our Eight-Foot Sister.

"Uh... Sister?"

【Devour!!】

Eight-Foot Sister punched the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost that had reached for me.

Bam!

It was a dizzying punch.

That provoked the other Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts.

【Devour~!】

【Devour~!】

【Devour~!】

They all rushed in at once.

Eight-Foot Sister fought back, and I hurriedly splashed holy water around.

Splash!

【Devour?】

"Ah. It doesn't work."

Holy water didn't work because they weren't evil beings!

No, but if they weren't evil, why were they attacking?

Then Eight-Foot Sister grabbed me around the waist and hurled me backward with all her strength.

"Uwah!"

"My looorrd!"

Kohaku clung to my pant leg and went flying with me.

I used spatial movement to land safely.

"Ugh...! Why all of a sudden?"

With some distance between us, I saw Eight-Foot Sister and the ghosts engaged in a bare-knuckle brawl.

A fight between giants over two meters tall looked like a UFC match.

The strange thing was that it wasn't just the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts ganging up on Eight-Foot Sister. They were fighting each other, too.

"Goodness!"

Pastor Go hurried away before he got dragged into the monster fight, while I watched to see what happened.

The problem was...

【Devour!】

Some of the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts broke away from the brawl and charged straight at me.

"Why the hell are you after me?!"

"Yohan-san! Run!"

Kozumi-san, who'd come with us, recited an incantation and threw Karma Fire Talismans at the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts.

Flames engulfed the charging ghosts. But the flames didn't stop the ghosts.

"Could they be Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost variants rated at least A-rank? Run!"

"Kozumi-san?"

Kozumi-san and his subordinate took off without hesitation.

"Yohan-san, you should run too! A whole group of A-ranks is coming at us. Why fight them? This isn't a suicide charge!"

"I don't speak Japanese!!"

Still, I could roughly understand the tone.

The issue was that Eight-Foot Sister was in the middle of that brawl.

"Hey! Over here! I'm right here!"

【Devour?】

【Devour?】

【Devour!】

The moment I shouted, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts all started chasing me.

Ah, I was already regretting that.

"My lord! You need to run!"

"I know!"

I ran down the mountain like my life depended on it.

The sound following close behind me was anything but normal.

Thud thud thud thud!

Thud thud thud thud!

I knew Eight-Foot Sister was loud when she ran, but this was what it sounded like when they came in a group...

I glanced back and nearly had a heart attack.

【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】

【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】

"My lord! They're chasing us! They're right behind us!"

"Aaaaaah!"

I used spatial movement to widen the distance.

I'd opened up about a hundred meters in an instant, but the problem was the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts' running speed.

They were the kind of monsters that could run alongside a vehicle going 150 kilometers per hour.

Considering that speed, a hundred meters was-

【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】 【Devour...!】

"Oh, fuck!"

A third use of spatial movement.

This time, I leaped onto a tall-looking tree.

"Huff!"

At this height, I should be safe for a while. I just needed time to use something-

Thud!

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts gathered beneath the tree.

Then they wrapped their arms around the trunk and started shaking it.

"Aaaaaah! It's shaking!"

"Ughhhh!"

At this rate, they'd pull the whole tree up by the roots.

I'd tried to hold out somewhere high, but that was a joke.

"Can't we settle this by talking?! Why are you all-!?"

The moment I saw the expressions on the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts' faces below the tree, my breath caught in my throat.

Those looks...

They weren't normal.

Those lewd, decadent, smoldering expressions...

"Stop it! You're planning to catch me and do XX things to me, aren't you? Like in an erotic doujinshi!!"

"Didn't you know?! Their eyes are practically blue! You can tell from their expressions!"

Damn it.

I'd nearly forgotten where they came from.

They were variants born when the protagonist of a terrifying urban legend, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost, merged with lewd and decadent Japanese culture.

They were walking bundles of anti-Confucian and anti-Christian sentiment that could never be accepted in a normal Korean society.

"I can't believe it! Eight-Foot Sister would never do that!"

"Uh... would she not?"

Kohaku? What was with that reaction?

"That one is clearly waiting for a chance to make a move on you, my lord..."

"Ah! It's falling!"

The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts finally shook the tree hard enough to bring it down.

I began to fall.

One Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost stood beneath me with both arms spread wide, staring up at me with a lewd expression.

【Devouuur!】

【Devour!】

But that ghost got sent flying when another one rammed into its torso.

The next Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost was hit by another ghost, and the ground below instantly became a hellish free-for-all.

I didn't fall into them, though.

I used spatial movement to get far away in a single jump.

"Martim... How many times have you saved my life now...?"

"My lord! How can you thank a demon?! Those slave bastards are your tools, my lord! Is there any need to thank a tool?"

"Hmm! You're right, Kohaku. You truly are the most loyal retainer."

I returned to the temple where the dragon node was.

There, I found Pastor Go hiding beneath the main hall.

"Pastor!"

"Shh! Yohan, how about going somewhere else?"

"Pastor?"

What was with that traitor line?

"The Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts have their eyes on you. I don't want to get dragged into this for nothing."

"Pastor!"

I squeezed my way beneath the main hall.

"I told you to go somewhere else. You can use spatial movement to escape, but I can't!"

"You said they'd only chase me anyway."

Having forced my way in, I looked out at the now-quiet temple grounds.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Tell me about it. Kozumi-san did say a lot of Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts had been gathering around here lately..."

"Why did they only mention that now...?"

"They probably didn't expect all of them to latch onto you."

Now that I thought about it, it was strange.

Why were the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts so crazy about me?

"Hmm... You know the source of Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost variants is Japanese doujinshi's moe-fication version, right?"

"Yeah. It's a horrible thing. Doing that to ghosts."

"Well, it's common in Japan."

"Why are they targeting me? Come to think of it, Eight-Foot Sister seemed to target only me from the beginning."

"I'm not sure... According to the records, I heard Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts mostly target young boys. Or does it differ depending on the version?"

Pastor?

How did Pastor know that?

As I wondered about it, Kohaku spoke up.

"It seems they are bewitched by your aura, my lord."

"My aura?"

"Yes... Should I say you give off a special energy unlike ordinary people? To yōkai and ghosts, there could be nothing more nutritious than you."

"Is it because I'm a natural-born spiritual medium?"

I'd heard that natural-born spiritual mediums were tormented by ghosts from childhood.

They had high nutritional value, so ghosts tried to devour them.

People said they'd be eaten as children if nothing was done about it.

"Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts are variants derived from Japanese moe-fication culture... For them, 'devouring' takes on another meaning."

"Uh... meaning?"

"Yohan, um... possible?"

"What? What's possible?"

When I asked, Pastor Go scratched his head and spoke carefully.

"In Protestantism, premarital chastity is only recommended. It isn't doctrine-"

"Pastor! Is that something a pastor should be saying?!"

"My lord! They're here!"

Just as Kohaku said, the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts entered the temple grounds.

They were an urban legend that pursued its target.

Once they chose someone, they chased that person to the very end.

To stop them, you had to stay inside for three days and nights, surrounded by specific talismans.

In other words, they'd keep tracking me no matter where I went.

"My lord! I'll stop them!"

"Kohaku? How?"

Kohaku had taken on my appearance.

"Transformation magic?"

It was a flawless transformation. No one could have told the difference.

"What are you planning to do with that?"

"I'll pretend to be you, my lord, and lure them away. Please leave while I keep them occupied."

"Kohaku, you..."

"This Kohaku will gladly sacrifice this body for you, my lord!"

"Ghk!"

Without even waiting for my answer, Kohaku, transformed into me, ran out toward the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts.

"You bastards! I! I, Baek Yohan, am right here!"

Ah, Kohaku.

You truly were the most loyal retainer in all the world.

【Devour.】

Ah. Caught.

【Devour? Devour. Devour!】

Kohaku was thrown away with a whoosh.

The time Kohaku bought me didn't even last ten seconds.

Then...

【Devour~】

An Eight-Foot-Tall Ghost stuck its face beneath the main hall.

Wow. They really could find me like a ghost.

【Devouuur!】

Martim, spatial movement!

The chase began again.

* * *

At Mount Kongo, Osaka's highest peak, a young man hung precariously from an abandoned cable line.

Who could that be?

It was me.

"Fuck... This is terrifying..."

I knew I was safe thanks to space leap.

Still, hanging in the middle of a cable line that cable cars once traveled on was enough to give me a fear of heights I never had before.

"Th-They can't follow me here, right?"

This was where I'd fled to avoid the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts.

There was a cliff below, and the only path was this steel cable line.

No matter how formidable the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts were, they couldn't possibly chase me here-

【Devouuur~~】

【Devouuur~~】

Hmm, they were grabbing on and crawling over?

Wow. Nothing was easy, was it?

"Gari... I miss you especially badly today."

We'd only been apart for a day, but I could already feel how huge the empty space was.

Other than that terrifying face of yours, you were my guardian angel.

I couldn't just kill all of them, either.

They weren't evil spirits. They had been born from moe-fication, so they were nowhere close to evil spirits.

Killing them would be no different from murder.

"Mom! How are you?!"

That was the only Japanese I knew.

Please stop here.

Just as I let out that desperate cry...

Thud! Thud thud!

Thud thud thud!

From behind the Eight-Foot-Tall Ghosts crawling along the cable line, Eight-Foot Sister was charging toward them.

Footnotes:

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