“Are you… the bastard who caught Jack?”
A deep voice came from behind one of their masks. I slipped a hand inside my clothes and gripped a talisman.
“I will ask again. Are you the one who caught ‘Jack’?”
“You've got the order wrong. Shouldn't you tell me who you are first? Isn't that common courtesy?”
“You are not someone I can reason with. An Asian exorcist, are you?”
“Is that a problem?”
The biggest of the men pulled a massive hammer from behind his back.
Holy seals covered its surface, and every swing sent a humming vibration through the ground.
“I will have to beat an answer out of you. Do not cry when it hurts.”
CRACK!
The hammer struck the ground as he closed the distance.
He moved with startling agility for someone wielding such a heavy weapon.
I focused divine power into my toes.
‘Keep my identity hidden as much as possible.’
I did not bring out any showy spells or talismans.
There was no urgent need to advertise that I was a Korean shaman to suspicious strangers whose identities I did not know.
And while I was at it….
‘Let's run a little test. See how much of my strength I've recovered.’
The hammer came down toward my head.
The sound of air tearing under its passage struck my eardrums.
In that split second, I tilted my head slightly and slipped out of its path.
CRASH—!
The asphalt cracked like a spiderweb, spraying stone dust.
‘He dodged it?’
‘This bastard… he's strong.’
Shock filled the man's eyes.
He had not expected me to evade a blow that fast head-on.
Do-jun lunged forward.
THUD!
With a dull impact, the big man's body slid back five or six steps.
Even Do-jun, who had thrown the punch, was a little surprised.
Until recently, it would have done no more than upset the man's balance.
Now it was different.
The divine power of the immense spirit dwelling in the spirit jar in his lower abdomen had increased the weight behind his fist at least severalfold.
‘This divine backing's pretty good. It's been a while since I felt this.’
I had learned what I needed to know.
I would fight barehanded, without any other weapons or arts.
“You bastard!”
“Take him down!”
The other two joined in at once.
One wielded a dagger coated in holy water; the leader swung a silver chain.
Do-jun crouched low and drove in.
There were no elaborate moves.
He simply met their attacks with clean hand-to-hand techniques backed by divine power.
CLANG—!
As the chain tried to coil around his forearm, Do-jun knocked it aside with an explosive burst of divine power.
The chain bounced away weakly with a scrape of metal.
‘Damn it! Who is this guy?’
‘He's a highly skilled fighter.’
The more they fought, the more bewildered his opponents became, while Do-jun felt the energies working together within him.
He could read their breathing, the trembling of their muscles, and the intent behind their attacks with startling clarity.
His fighting instincts from his prime were returning, if not yet completely.
‘Let's finish this.’
He kicked off the ground.
One startled man tried to use a Bible as a shield, but….
GRAB!
Do-jun seized him by the collar first and slammed him into the ground.
At the same time, he kicked the chest of the man holding the hammer in his other hand.
“Ghurk!”
“Khhheh!”
The big man flew into the air and crashed onto a pile of trash cans.
The fight was over in an instant.
The last man, the one with the dagger, trembled at the blue light in Do-jun's eyes.
“Want to keep going? I don't much like fights that don't pay.”
“Enough… we will stop. We lost.”
Do-jun roughly released the collar he held.
The men staggered back.
They had acknowledged their defeat without argument.
“We are enforcers sent by Underworld Board. We received a tip that this job was suspicious, so we came to investigate.”
“Ah, I see. I was wondering who you were.”
Enforcers.
They were likely the muscle that kept a minimum of order for Underworld Board's shadowy operations.
I had taken this job hoping they would come looking for me in the first place.
The man who seemed to lead the three asked in turn,
“So what happened to Jack? And the evil spirit in the abandoned hospital?”
“I destroyed the evil spirit. Jack's inside, partying with the vengeful souls of the people he killed. A few of them still had unfinished business in this world. I didn't need to lay a hand on him. You might call it… natural causes.”
“Huh?”
Silence fell for a moment.
The leader looked from the abandoned hospital to Do-jun and let out a deep sigh.
‘This guy's out of his mind.’
‘He did something like that without batting an eye. He's no ordinary man.’
Even if Jack was a murderer, offering him to evil spirits as food was not something an ordinary person would do.
“Huuuh…. All right. We understand the situation, so we will report it as it happened. Sorry to have bothered you. Let's withdraw.”
The men put away their weapons and started to leave.
I raised a hand.
“Hold on.”
“What?”
“You have a way to talk to the people at the top of Underworld Board, don't you? You're enforcers.”
“Why… do you ask?”
Do-jun's mouth curved into a sardonic smile.
“I want to make a deal with the operator. Directly.”
***
Inside Chunchugwan at the Blue House in South Korea.
The president stood at the podium and read from a prepared speech with a solemn expression.
“My fellow citizens.”
Dozens of camera flashes poured down like a waterfall.
“Until now, the government has turned away from supernatural phenomena on the grounds that they were unscientific. Today, we formally acknowledge the existence of ghosts, evil spirits, and anomalies.”
A stir ran through the press seats.
Low murmurs of astonishment spread through the hall like waves.
“Countries around the world already operate dedicated organizations to confront unseen threats. South Korea, too, can no longer stand by while people sacrifice themselves in the shadows.”
After a moment's silence, as the tension grew taut, the president extended an arm and said,
“Therefore, the government declares the launch of Blue Tile, a special unit to respond to supernatural disasters.”
Heavy doors opened, and men and women in dark navy uniforms marched out with disciplined steps.
At the head of the formation stood Lee Seo-jin, director of Blue Tile, his cool eyes raised confidently.
The president picked up the Four Clouds Swords from the stand one by one.
A ceremony followed in which he bestowed a sword on Seo-jin and each of the other unit members.
It had the grave atmosphere of a ceremony for military generals.
When the proceedings ended, the president spoke again.
“For years, they have worked with the National Intelligence Service to protect our country from the shadows, without even the recognition of their names. They are true heroes. Three years ago, during the Black Malefic Energy incident on Inwangsan, they destroyed the great evil spirit Saeuni and saved Seoul. My fellow citizens, please give them a warm round of applause. And… support them.”
Thunderous applause rose among the reporters.
Seo-jin bowed with a gentle smile.
……
……
A little later.
“Hard work? Hardly.”
Back in his office, Seo-jin threw himself onto the sofa.
He undid his buttons roughly and crossed his legs.
A secretary approached with a cup of strongly scented tea and bowed his head.
“You worked hard today, Director.”
“That was nothing. The work starts now. Today does not even count.”
“I see.”
“What do you have to report?”
“You have tea with the prime minister in three hours, and lunch with the ruling party leader tomorrow. And….”
He rattled off the rest of the schedule.
When he finished, Seo-jin asked,
“Hmm. And what about Kang Do-jun?”
The secretary's eyes wavered for a moment.
“Well… he was last seen on the outskirts of LA's Koreatown. After that, we lost his trail.”
“Lost it?”
“Yes. No one has seen him since. But I doubt there is much cause for concern. His divine power is gone. He is only an empty husk of a shaman with an oversized vessel. Just a lump of meat waiting for something dangerous to latch on to him. Most likely he has died quietly in some mishap, has he not?”
A sneer appeared on the secretary's face.
The reason they had sent Kang Do-jun to America in the first place was that its beliefs and systems concerning deities differed from Korea's.
Divine power, the source of a shaman's or exorcist's strength, came from ‘faith.’
Most Americans followed an Abrahamic religion, so most drew strength from the ‘God of Abraham’ whom they worshipped.
That meant there were extremely few spirits from which Kang Do-jun could receive power, while evil spirits abounded in the country.
Sending him to America had effectively been a way of telling him to go die quietly.
But….
SLAP!
“Ghurk!”
Before the secretary could finish speaking, his head jerked sideways.
His cheek swelled red at once from the vicious blow.
“What the fu—”
Seo-jin glared at him, his eyes full of murderous intent.
“You call that a report?”
“I-I'm sorry!”
“Deploy every local agent. Search every rat hole if you have to, and find his trail. Find him somehow and report every move he makes: what he eats, how much he sleeps, everything!”
“B-but… is there really a need to go that far? We are already short on agents….”
“Fuck…. Are you my superior?”
“I-I'm sorry.”
Seo-jin slammed his desk and roared.
The terrified secretary stumbled back. Seo-jin added in a lower voice,
“This is Kang Do-jun. He was a monster who could have swept aside our entire Blue Tile unit by himself. His vessel might be empty, but if we look away for even a moment, there is no telling what he might do. Do I really have to explain that to you? Fuck…. You fool. He disappeared? He is trying to shake us off. That is one hundred percent certain.”
“I will correct this.”
“Get out. If you do not find him soon, you will lose your head.”
The secretary fled the office in a panic.
Alone, Seo-jin steadied his ragged breathing and pressed hard at his temples.
‘…Those idiotic bastards.’
Three years from now would come the Year of the Earth Rooster.
The ‘Day of the Darkest Night,’ against which countless shamans and prophets had warned in unison, was drawing near.
And the person who had given the strongest warning about that day was Kang Do-jun himself, who also appeared in the prophecy.
With the nation's fate hanging before that enormous wheel of destiny, it would be a serious problem if Kang Do-jun, one of the prophecy's subjects, did not move as Seo-jin wanted when the time came.
“You will never escape my grasp. You never have, and you never will.”
Seo-jin murmured the words as he looked down at the city at night through the window.
***
Night in Williamsburg.
It was a riot of glittering madness.
Multicolored neon poured over the sidewalk with its fishy tang, and ear-splitting techno beats traveled through the ground to thump against the soles of my feet.
‘Is this America's version of Hongdae?’
Tattooed hipsters and drunken people staggering about crowded every street.
The acrid smell of marijuana mingled with cheap perfume in the night air, creating a peculiar unpleasantness.
Do-jun pulled his hood low and surveyed the area over his mask.
‘It's chaotic in more ways than one.’
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
Maybe it was because I was a shaman, or maybe it was just my nature.
I had always hated crowds and noise like this.
‘This isn't the time to be picky.’
I wanted to get an official exorcist association license as soon as possible.
That would be the cleanest path, with the least trouble later on.
But the time was not right yet.
With no base of operations, the moment I put my name in an official database, it would only be a matter of time before Blue Tile's intelligence network found it.
Knowing the relentless Lee Seo-jin, sending scouts across the Pacific to kill me would be easy for him.
‘That would be a headache.’
The people at Underworld Board were dangerous, but they guaranteed anonymity.
There was nowhere better to feed the Divine Spirit and build my power in the shadows.
‘They have their risks, too… but they're better than taking on Blue Tile.’
At least the people here were money grubbers concerned with their own gain, rather than people with some other hidden scheme.
“Hey, quit standing there and follow me. We have to hurry.”
“Okay.”
The leader of the exorcists walking ahead urged me on.
We pushed through the crowd and turned three or four times into the alleys before coming to a heavy iron door without even a sign.
It was a club.
Its name was ‘Alice in Wonderland.’
“Go on in.”
The large men at the entrance checked our faces and opened the door.
Inside, the club looked like a slice of hell.
Under red lights, people sweated and writhed in strange ways.
Club girls dressed as Alice danced here and there, and couples engaged in sexually charged displays of affection throughout the room.
“This way.”
“…….”
The three men crossed the club without a second glance and headed for a VIP room.
“This… is a dead end.”
“Wait.”
CLICK!
One of the exorcists pressed a particular spot behind a display cabinet on the wall.
A voice sounded from the wall.
《Who's that bastard with you, Mad Hatter?》
“He wants to work with us. He asked to see the boss, so we brought him.”
The old-fashioned wall slid backward without a sound of mechanical friction.
What it revealed was no elevator, but a spiral staircase whose end was out of sight.
Strangest of all, the wall beside the stairs was one enormous aquarium. Instead of fish, black liquid and silver particles swirled inside it.
‘…They've hidden this place thoroughly.’
It felt like going to a secret base in a movie.
At the bottom of the stairs lay an office with screens covering every wall.
Hundreds of displays showed live stock charts, incidents around the world, and CCTV footage from countless places.
TAP-TAP-TAP! TAP-TAP-TAP!
In the center, a man sat on a top-quality leather sofa with his legs crossed, typing busily.
He was slender and wore a white rabbit mask.
And….
‘He has divine power in him, too.’
Apparently, he was also an exorcist himself.
“How did you deal with Jack?”
“This man dealt with him. And the evil spirit there.”
“So he has some skill?”
The man in the rabbit mask stroked his chin with interest. The exorcists nodded and said,
“All three of us lost to him. And he fought us barehanded.”
“Oh…. He beat all three of you by himself? Now that has me curious.”
The man in the rabbit mask took a long pull on an electronic cigarette and asked again,
“Who are you?”
“If I wanted to trade names before doing business, I wouldn't have come here. All that matters is whether I've got the skill, isn't it?”
“Hey! Watch how you speak to him—”
The exorcists bristled at my casual manner.
The man in the rabbit mask raised a hand to dismiss them.
“Ahaha! It's fine, it's fine! You're right. Only suspicious people come here. So… what do you want?”
“I need a lot of money. And there are a few things I'll need you to do for me.”
He snapped his fingers as he spoke.
“Tell me your terms.”
“A safe house that won't expose my identity, and weapons that leave no trace. I'll pay the full price.”
The man let out a short laugh of disbelief.
“Ahahaha! You know I'm the operator of Underworld Board, and you still dare propose a deal to me?”
“That's why I came. From what I know, the operator is quick with numbers. He ought to have the eye to recognize someone capable, too.”
“An interesting fellow has come along. You're Asian, judging by your accent. An exorcist who houses a spirit in his body, at that? Your energy feels strangely hot. All right, you have me curious in several ways.”
He's quick on the uptake.
Do-jun answered with a shrug.
“I will give you a small job first. If you prove your ability, we will move on to something bigger. Handle it to my satisfaction, and I will meet every one of your demands.”
“Fine by me.”
The man in the rabbit mask snapped his fingers. A red warning appeared on the main screen, followed by photographs of grotesque corpses.
“Do you know about vampires? A lot of people have a problem with them lately. They're quite dangerous, too. As for the number of people they've killed… there are too many to count.”
“…Vampires?”
This guy was giving me something interesting right from the start.