A short while later, Do-jun brought a heap of supplies for a ‘shamanic rite’ from the truck.
“Wh-what’s he doing? Why all that food…?”
“I-I don’t know.”
The truck drivers watching from inside the barrier tilted their heads in confusion.
He went straight to the giant meatball, raised a barrier, and set out a ritual offering table.
《What are you doing at a time like this?》
‘Just watch. I’ll show you something interesting.’
On a table draped in intertwined blue and red cloth, he piled fresh, luscious fruit and the head of a freshly slaughtered pig high for the spirit.
He lit incense. Grains of rice rolled between brass bowls filled with corn, which he placed at regular intervals.
With these, he created a kind of makeshift ‘divine domain.’
When everything was ready, he held a bell imbued with the spirit’s energy in one hand and the ‘Seven Stars Sword,’ a shamanic blade, in the other.
‘Let’s do this.’
JINGLE-!
The sound of the bell filled the kitchen air.
Do-jun’s feet began to move to a strange rhythm.
‘The Shamanic Sword Dance.’
His movements were fierce as blades, threatening lesser spirits and calling for a god to descend.
Each time the sword swept through the air, the spaghetti tentacles trying to approach were torn to shreds.
As the bell rang more fiercely, Do-jun moved faster.
《Oh…? A dance that amplifies spiritual power? I have never seen this form before.》
The spirit sounded intrigued.
That only made Do-jun’s movements faster and more passionate.
He meant to scatter evil-dispelling energy over the spaghetti before him.
As though pouring all his fervor into the dance, he followed the bell’s rhythm and drew his mind toward a state of selflessness.
‘The Warrior Spirits’ Rite!’
The dance had reached its climax before he knew it.
This was the part of the rite in which he soothed the warrior spirits who had died violent deaths and borrowed their formidable might.
More and more power poured from the spirit who had stubbornly held back.
Behind Do-jun, the faint phantoms of countless beasts flickered past.
《Hmm. Interesting.》
At its peak, the sword dance surged forward.
The tentacles that had resisted Do-jun so heavily until now tore apart as easily as sheets of paper.
He pressed on, farther and farther, closing the distance to the meatball.
“Break!”
With one final step, he pierced the center of the giant meatball.
BOOM—!
The mass of meat exploded, and the evil spirits trapped within scattered in every direction.
Only then did the spirit emerge in spectral form from the spirit jar.
《Good. I shall enjoy this meal.》
He sucked up those souls like a vacuum cleaner.
The spaghetti that had covered everything vanished like smoke, and silence fell in an instant.
“Phew…. Thank you for your hard work.”
But the spirit offered no reply, apparently busy feasting again.
I scratched my head awkwardly. Then something where the meatball had stood caught my eye.
A badge gleaming gold.
It bore the emblem of the ‘Flying Spaghetti Monster.’
It felt chillingly cold with yin energy when I touched it.
The meatball evil spirit must have taken shape through this as its medium.
‘This is a ghostly object.’
I could probably use it to control that meatball evil spirit or release it somewhere.
And apparently America had plenty of collectors who gathered ghostly objects like this.
But more than that….
‘It could come in handy for exorcisms.’
Several other creative ways to put it to use came to mind as well.
Grinning, I wrapped the badge in talisman paper and tucked it inside my clothes.
When I returned to the dining room, the truckers were still trembling inside the protective barrier.
“Come out.”
I lowered the barrier, and they rushed out and fell at my feet.
“Th-thank you, sir! You really saved us!”
“We owe you our lives!”
I lightly shook the blood from my hand and smiled.
“No need to thank me. Now, you do owe me the money you promised.”
Just then….
《WEEEEEEEEEEE!》
A loud siren sounded outside.
***
Inside Blidia, the largest club in Brooklyn.
Lewd scenes were unfolding everywhere. In the middle of it all, a man in a VIP room puffed steadily on a cigar, with a woman on each side of him.
His name was ‘Smithers.’
He owned the club and was a Tier 7 vampire, one of the apostles serving the ‘Great One,’ who possessed the Blood of Origin.
He was, for all practical purposes, the ruler of Brooklyn.
A strange irritation clouded the face of the man who lived for pleasure.
‘Those fucking bastards….’
Recently, one of the V-Rise Serum factories that had been his greatest sources of income had been raided.
More than a hundred members of his organization had died, and the hitman had vanished without a trace.
He had lost billions on the serum alone. Counting the time it would take to replace the dead members, the damage would run into tens of billions.
He knocked back his bitter liquor in one gulp.
‘It wasn’t the other gangs?’
He was already searching every rival gang in Brooklyn as relentlessly as a man hunting rats.
The most likely suspects were those whose drug and entertainment businesses had taken a direct hit.
But he had found no trace. Even after torturing and killing people, he could find nothing pointing to whoever had attacked the serum factory.
His leg shook, and his irritation rose.
“I-it hurts…. S-stop.”
Smithers had been kissing the woman. Now he bit hard into her neck.
The bite grew more savage.
“Aaaaaaah!”
CRUNCH—! CRUNCH—!
Blood drenched the room.
It was a brutal act, as though he were venting his anger.
But his subordinates in the room did not so much as flinch.
“Haaaah. At last, I feel a little calmer.”
Someone entered.
“Boss, the person you ordered us to bring… is here.”
“You are… the Bloodhound?”
“Yes, Lord Smithers.”
A Latino vampire with a long, large nose.
He was known as the ‘Bloodhound.’
He could pick up even the faintest scent left at a scene and use it to track down anyone he wanted with uncanny precision.
“Have you found anything?”
“Yes. At the scene, I found an unusual scent… one that did not belong to a vampire.”
“Where is he?”
“For now, he seems to have left Brooklyn…. His direction is… southwest.”
“Pursue him. And make certain you catch him. I will assign you some capable men.”
At Smithers’s nod, his seated subordinates rose as though they had been waiting for it.
All of them were high-ranking vampires with vicious auras.
The Bloodhound smiled.
“Yes. I will catch him as quickly as possible and bring you his head.”
***
After 3,500 kilometers, I reached the heart of the Navajo Nation: Window Rock.
It was a small town of around 2,300 people, but the sight of its enormous sandstone arch opening a window onto the sky was overwhelming.
The modern buildings and the ancient presence of the red earth were strangely intertwined here.
‘Here… I’ll uncover the true name of the spirit in my belly.’
Only then would I be able to use his power properly and reduce whatever risks might exist.
I squared my shoulders and walked down the street.
《Ah, this smell. So familiar. I have missed it.》
“You’re awake?”
《I have certainly been here before. The scent carried on the wind whets my appetite.》
“Then please cooperate with me. I came here to find out who you are.”
《Yes. This time… perhaps it will be all right….》
Was he connected to this place after all?
The spirit who had kept his mouth shut throughout the drive down the highway began chattering away.
The problem was….
“Dáditį́h(Shut the door!)”
“Bąąh hóchxǫ́(An ominous being.)”
Every Native American I met on the street or nearby was openly wary and hostile, refusing even to speak to me.
They apparently did not welcome outsiders.
My constant muttering in reply to the spirit might have had a little to do with it, too.
《You do not seem popular here. They dislike you quite openly….》
“Please stop teasing me.”
…He seemed to have developed a taste for making fun of me.
Well, that aside.
I let out a deep sigh and went straight to my destination.
Nilchʼi bi-káá(Place Above the Spirit).
A place where Native American mediums known as ‘hataałii’ lived together.
In a canyon enclosed by red sandstone cliffs like a folding screen, circular earthen houses called hogans, engraved with ancient Navajo patterns, stood in a strange geometric arrangement.
The atmosphere was peculiar.
The mediums sitting by their doors openly showed their hostility at the appearance of a stranger.
“Yá'át'ééh?(Hello?)”
I greeted them and showed them the portrait.
They responded in one of two ways.
“Eeeek!”
Either their faces went white and they fled in a fit of panic….
“Bąąh ídliigo tʼóó bitsʼą́ą́dę́ę́ʼ!(You piece of trash!)”
Or they spat out a filthy insult and tried to swing a staff at me.
After going through that several times, I could only sigh.
《Perhaps it is because your face looks so menacing. They look ready to eat you alive.》
‘Isn’t it because the energy you give off is so hideous, Elder? After eating all those vampires, you must reek.’
《My scent is as noble as a desert storm.》
We went back and forth like that as I walked.
At last, I stopped before the largest hogan, which was decorated with elaborate patterns.
This must be where the leader of the hataałii, Hataałii Tso, lived.
Just as I was about to knock, the door flew open and a young woman blocked my path.
She was beautiful, with bronze skin, dark black hair, and intense eyes.
But her gaze was full of murderous intent.
She spoke in fluent English.
“Who are you?”
“I came to see Hataałii Tso. I have something I’d like to discuss.”
“…This isn’t a place you may enter.”
“It’ll only take a moment. I’ll pay properly for the consultation.”
Her eyes blazed.
“Pay? Do you think I do not know what you are plotting?”
“I’m not plotting anything.”
She shoved the banknotes away and spread both hands.
In an instant, the air grew hot and red spiritual power burst from her body.
“Then why can I feel our ‘Mother’s’ energy coming from you?!”
“…….”
Before I could answer, she picked a fight without warning.
She formed a hand seal, and flames rose from her body.
“You… how dare you! How dare youuuu!”
She must have sensed the spirit’s energy coming from my body and misunderstood something.
“Listen, it’s not what you think. The reason I have this energy is….”
“Shut up!”
Before I could explain, she rushed forward, scattering flames in every direction as she attacked.
‘Does she use a spirit’s power, too?’
The hataałii probably served many gods, as people did in Korea or Japan, rather than one god as in Catholicism or Islam.
She likely had a god of her own.
The problem was that she was quite practiced at wielding divine power, and her movements were fluid.
She was on a different level from any exorcist or evil spirit I had faced so far.
But….
‘It’s been a while since I’ve had a good workout.’
I was not especially nervous. After so long, an opponent who promised a thrilling fight had appeared, and I felt a little anticipation.
“Jia and Yi of the East… Azure Dragon!”
I traced an invisible formation on the ground with my toes and released divine energy.
Slipping through a gap in the flames, I sent a talisman flying.
“Ice!”
Just before the flames reached me, freezing cold condensed and split the fire.
Yin and yang opposed one another; earth devoured water, and water devoured fire.
And the energy of ice was…. far more intense than the energy of water.
A perfect cancellation of energies through yin, yang, and the five elements.
It was my favorite and most effective way to fight.
“Hyaaaah!”
CLANG—! CLANG—! WHOOSH—!
Our attacks and defenses continued.
Whenever her flames and fists came within a hair’s breadth of swallowing me whole, I released just enough icy energy to cancel them out.
Perhaps because of that, her breathing grew steadily more ragged.
“Grrr! You use petty tricks instead of fighting me fairly!”
As she intensified her assault….
CRACKLE—!
“Please stop. I only came to talk.”
I had grown accustomed to her movements, so I slipped through an opening, grabbed her wrist, and froze it.
I was trying to calm her down by showing her I could subdue her whenever I chose.
But it did not work.
“Aaaaaah! You, youuuuu!”
She burst into flame, tore her hand free, then retreated and released even more divine energy.
Her hair had turned red, and her pupils widened and shone scarlet.
‘Is she possessed by her own spirit?’
She seemed intent on tearing me apart with everything she had.
Murderous intent filled the air so thickly that the hairs on my body stood on end.
Do-jun scratched his head and asked.
‘Elder… may I let you possess me, too?’
《No.》
‘Why not?’
《I cannot say exactly… but I do not want to use my power against that child.》
So that was his answer, as expected.
I had half anticipated it and let out a sharp sigh.
‘Well…. I’ll manage somehow.’
The woman roared like a beast and charged.
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
“Stop it, Nana!”
A heavy staff whistled through the air and struck her squarely on the head.
“Ow!”
The flames went out at once, and she pitched forward onto the ground.
An old man with a full head of white hair emerged.
“Forgive my child for running wild. The energy I sense from you… seems to have put us on edge.”
“Who are you?”
“I am the head hataałii here.”
“…….”
Hataałii Tso.
The leader of the hataałii here and one of the most powerful people in Window Rock.
The profound, mysterious energy flowing from him made it clear that he was no ordinary medium.
“Come inside. We can talk at our leisure.”
The room I entered behind the old man looked like a grotesque museum.
Beneath the rising incense, vampire hearts, the skins of unidentified evil spirits, and even the remains of all sorts of vengeful ghosts were displayed across the walls like medals.
‘…That’s brutal.’
I sat down with an awkward smile, and Hataałii Tso asked,
“So, why have you come to see me?”
“A spirit… has taken up residence in me. I came because I want to know who he is.”
I told him everything that had happened in the LA alley not long ago.
The meeting with the old woman, her death, and the unidentified spirit now living in my belly.
As he listened, a large tear fell from Hataałii Tso’s eye.
“So… she has passed on after all.”
“Who was she?”
The old man answered in a trembling voice.
“The woman who passed the spirit to you was the First Hataałii. She was… like a mother to us.”