An Exorcist Magical Girl!

Keeping my account as open as possible, I cautiously stepped towards the sound.

 

“It’s not…, it’s not…!”

 

Someone’s groan mixed with the bone-crunching sound.

 

It must have been a ghost, because it only registered with my human hearing after I opened my account.

 

The closer I got to the source of both sounds, the clearer I heard each word.

 

“I didn’t do it! I was taken advantage of, ouch!”

 

This must be a very unfair situation, right?

 

With this smug thought, I checked the scene in the alley behind the fence where the ghost had jumped,

 

“He controlled me, he controlled me!”

 

I was momentarily speechless.

 

A pale, bluish-black ghost was eating the bloody ghost all over.

 

Crunch, crunch, crunch! 

It was truly a bone-chewing sound.

 

With another eerie sound, the bloody ghost’s left arm was ripped off.

 

“Kaaaah!”

 

As I seriously considered whether to stop or not, I locked eyes with the pale ghost who was still chewing on the severed left arm.

 

The predator pointed a finger at its prey and chuckled. Then it said,

“He did it first.”

 

Uh, well, what?

 

Was the pale ghost trying to tell me to stay out of its way because the bloody ghost was being justly punished? Or did he just want to say something?

 

It’s hard to tell because the pale ghost is saying it so cheerfully.

 

As I stare, the pale ghost adds an explanation.

 

“He just chased a girl and almost got hit by a car.”

 

The bloody ghost in front of me was the same one on the fence that knocked a student out of the driveway on her way to school this morning.

 

I’m not going to stop him because he’s doing the exorcism I was going to do.

 

“Oh yeah, your damn boyfriend is to blame. Finish the job…” “No, no, no!” 

As I turn around, the damn ghost screams.

 

“I didn’t do it! He controlled me! He controlled me!” “Who is he?”

 

I crouched down in front of it, figuring I’d at least get the story.

 

I knew it was a lame excuse, but I couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility that it was true.

 

It was honestly a little strange to think that a ghost that sat in the same spot day in and day out would suddenly go on a rampage and push someone out into the driveway.

 

“You’re saying someone manipulated you from behind to go after the student, who is it?” “You’ll have to wait and see.”

 

I energized the phone I was holding with black energy and fended off the ghost.

 

The bloody ghost, barely free of the pale ghost’s grasp, stammered,

“It was a man.” “That’s it? Half the world is male. I’ll give you that.”

 

Just as I was beginning to lean toward the flimsy excuse, the bloody ghost cried out urgently.

 

“Listen! It was a man with a string coming out of his fingertips, and he used it to control me!” “A thread came out of his fingertips?” “Yes. Like something coming out of his hand!” 

I think it means that the man made the energy in his hand as thin as a thread.

 

So what if the rogue exorcist was…?

 

An ominous feeling of foreboding ran through my body.

 

The foreboding was realized in the bloody ghost’s next words.

 

“I also remember what he looked like. A man with a scar on his left temple!” 

 

***

 

 

After receiving the call, Exorcist Shin Ji Woon arrived at Qingxian High School in a flash.

 

“Controlling and utilizing energy in a thin, elongated form is definitely an exorcist’s specialty, and since the scar is the same, it’s almost certainly him.” “Is it possible to manipulate spirits like that?” “As far as I know, it can be anything from simple binding to mutilation to control.” “Oh…”

 

The exorcist stored the half-eaten ghost in a pumpkin, saying that he was just keeping it in case he ever needed it.

 

“Of course, if we decide it’s no longer useful, we’ll exorcise it.”

 

At the word

“exorcise,”

the pale ghost backed away from us, but strangely, it didn’t run away completely; it continued to circle around us, keeping its distance as if it were about to be caught.

 

It was like a puppy suspecting that the human was hiding a treat.

 

I don’t even want to call it a predator anymore, let’s just call it a creeper.

 

After a few phone calls to the police, who went to check the surveillance cameras, the exorcist, who couldn’t be bothered with the creature, let it hang around.

 “Wouldn’t it be dangerous to leave it alone since it eats ghosts like that? Do you want to keep it in the gourdwood or do you want me to exorcise it now?” “Oh, I’d be grateful if you would, but it’s my job, I’m sorry.”

 

I immediately used my clairvoyance as soon as I was given permission to exorcise.

 

❰Skill: ‘Simple Clairvoyance’ has been activated❱

 

I paused, unable to immediately continue with my attack skill.

 

“Huh?”

 

The core in the middle of the ghost’s left thigh glowed brightly.

 

The blue color of the core meant that when the ghost’s grudge was released, it would probably dissipate by itself. Of course, it would be nice to physically destroy it right away, but…

 

Sensing my hesitation, the creepy ghost sneaks up and whispers.

 “Take me.” “What?” “Take me. Come with me. I’ll catch a munchkin. Heehee. Then I can leave.” “You want to catch Eom Jingyu with me?” “Yes. I also want to catch Eom Jinggu.” “Not Jingu, Jingyu. Eom Jingyu.” “Gyu.” “That’s right.” “So you’re taking me with you?” “Wait a minute. It’s not up to me.”

 

I silenced the chatter and waited for the exorcist to end the call.

 

If I listened carefully, I could hear what the caller was saying.

 

—That’s right, I checked the video… He was very intent on killing one of the students… If it wasn’t for his magic girlfriend, he would be in real trouble…

 “I expected that, but I didn’t expect him to hide behind the scenes like this. Eom Jingyu, this guy will use others until the end.”

 

The phone call with the police continued for another minute or two.

 

—The police also said… From now on, the route will be…

 “Yes, I understand, thank you.”

 

When they finally ended the call, the exorcist shared the news with me.

 

“After reviewing the CCTV footage, it was identified as Eom Jingyu. The police are following his escape route.” “Oh, I see.” “Currently, Eom Jingyu only has a weak pumpkin that only works on ghosts. When the police forced him to hand over all his belongings during the investigation, he said that he stole a student’s gourdwood from a nearby training center during his escape.” 

A situation where there is no powerful gourdwood to expel the soul from a living person’s body.

 

In such a situation, Eom’s method of kidnapping a

“soul freshly separated from the body”

was to kill it.

 

“Therefore, this time he tried to kill the target with the intention of taking the soul as soon as the student died.”

 

Kidnapping a soul that was born at the same time as death.

 

“Exactly.”

 

And since he didn’t want to get his own blood on his hands, he tried to use the ghost and the car owner to commit murder.

 

Eom Jingyu was the worst kind of scum.

 

“By the way, I hope you catch him soon, Exorcist Ji Woon.” “Yes. Tell me.” “Hey, you tell him yourself.”

I poked the ghost in the side.

 “Hee hee. Take me too. I’ll take Eom Jingyu too. I can go, I can disappear.” “What do you think we should do with him?” “What? Hee hee…”  

Immediately, the exorcist’s face showed a mixture of embarrassment and confusion.

“Her core is blue, so she’s probably telling the truth when she says she can disappear if we use her to catch Eom Jingyu.” “Well… I don’t know if it eats people yet, but communication is fine, and it looks like a female in her mid to late teens…”

 

The exorcist stared at the little girl and thought for a moment. Then he asked her a question.

 

“Do you remember the cause of your death?” “Yes.”

 

There was a moment of silence.

 

“You ask me what… was the cause of my death.”

 

After a quiet pause, the creeping spirit finally answered with an “aha” moment.

 

“I was hit by a car. The driver took off and I couldn’t find him. Heehee. Heehee.” 

Then, pointing to the gourd that had absorbed her prey, she continued.

 

“He’s a bad guy. He tried to cause a car accident.”

 

…Aha.

 

I understood why she wanted to go after Eom Jingyu and why she said she could disappear if she did.

 

Since she couldn’t find the driver who hit her, she had nowhere to go but then she saw a car crash on purpose. Of course, her eyes turned.

 

Maybe she’s trying to get even by vicariously punishing Eom Jingyu and the bloody ghost.

 

The question is, how much retribution?

 

If watching Eom Jingyu’s miserable arrest is enough to settle the score, that’s great, but if I have to kill Eom Jingyu with my own hands… If that’s the only way to settle the score, it’ll be hard for me to accompany her.

 

It doesn’t matter if it’s Eom Jingyu’s life or not. The reason I’m thinking of accompanying her is just because I feel sorry for her.

 

I can’t let this pale ghost be guilty of murdering Eom Jingyu, even though she died unjustly, because that would mean a bad end in the afterlife.

 

The exorcist seemed to be thinking the same thing as me and was leaning towards a physical exorcism here and now.

 

Exorcist Shin Ji Woon broke off his rhyme with a confused expression.

 

“I’m sorry, but…” “I know.”

 

But the Pale Ghost interrupted him.

 

“I know. I know the smell. I can tell when Eom Jingyu is near. I can smell him.” “Smell? How do you know Eom Jingyu’s smell?” “That spirit smelled like that person when I ate it. That is his smell.”

 

This meant that he could smell the aura of Eom Jingyu who had been in contact with his victims while manipulating them.

 

“Come with me.”

The exorcist replied immediately.

 

“Yes.”

The pale spirit gave a small cheer.

 

“Yeah, is that okay?”

I asked.

 “This ghost will not kill Eom Jingyu directly because I will stay with her.”

His voice sounded trustworthy.

 “Baek Iri, you’re going directly to the training center, right?” “Yes.” “Then I’ll drive you to the training center in my car.” “Oh, thank you. Can the ghost…?” “Yes. She can ride with me.”

 

With that, I got into the exorcist’s freshly cleaned car and drove to the 4th Branch Training Center.

 

***

 

 

“Damn it! It’s not working!”

 

Eom Jingyu clenched his fists as if he wanted to crush the gourdwood.

 

It was bad enough that the police had taken away all the powerful gourdwoods he’d paid so much for, and now he had to use these crappy gourdwoods for exorcisms, but the fact that things were going so badly was enough to drive him crazy.

 

He briefly considered taking a random ghost that was roaming the streets in a school uniform, but quickly dismissed the idea because he knew it was ridiculous.

 

What Eom Jingyu had to offer was a “fresh soul”.

 

“Damn, a magical girl was nearby, otherwise I could have killed it!”

 

Hiding and manipulating a spirit to death required perfect timing.

 

Eom Jingyu hadn’t had a chance to do that since his attempt early this morning, and his attempts had failed miserably.

 

But he wasn’t confident enough to kill someone himself.

 

Now, he had a unique opportunity.

 

“Attention citizens. A gate has opened near the feeding station.”