Chapter 102

The road ahead was dark and humid.

Despite the air here being cold and dry, it felt as if I had stepped into a room simmering with sugar, the moisture hanging in the air as if someone was breathing beside me.

Could this be how it feels if a corpse were to breathe and exhale?

Though there was no smell, the cold and sticky air clung to our skin, making my sister tremble in fear.

“Ah, big brother. This place is a bit scary, isn’t it?”

“Wha, what? Is there… is there a ghost?!”

Iarin, clearly frightened, crept closer to Jinseong, while Iserin, pretending not to be scared, tried to step forward but quickly recoiled as if she heard something from her demon, pulling herself tightly to Jinseong’s side like Iarin.

“Om (ॐ).”

As Jinseong flicked his fingers and recited the invocation, vibrations surged outward from within him, shaking the dark space around us. The dampness that had overwhelmed the area transformed into ordinary air, dissipating the oppressive ambiance that seemed capable of disturbing one’s mind, leaving only a comforting darkness behind.

Feeling assured, Jinseong guided us toward the door.

Once the air changed, the sisters walked steadily, though it seemed the fear they’d felt earlier kept them close to Jinseong.

“We’ve arrived…”

After passing through the dark passage and finally feeling sunlight, the sisters exhaled in relief.

But their respite was short-lived.

Their expressions changed upon seeing the graffiti sprawled across the main door.

『 There are ghosts here. 』

『 Ghost Amusement Park 』

『 Ghost sightings at the Prison! 』

『 Cowardly gay bastards, where’s the ghost? Damn, it’s here! 』

Warnings written in Russian.

And it was clear this was no mere scribble, as empty holy water bottles and disposable talismans lay scattered around like trash. Moreover, everything spread out was in poor condition: a talisman inscribed with Chinese characters looked burned, while a Nazar Boncuğu had turned black and cracked as if rotting away.

The doll-like figures had torn limbs, and at what seemed to be a place where holy water had been sprinkled, a foul odor wafted.

“Don’t worry. They can’t harm us.”

“Y-yes?”

“Big brother… what did you just say…?”

Jinseong’s casual tone made their faces go pale.

Thud—thud—thud!

But ignoring their fear, Jinseong stepped forward, raised a chain, and knocked loudly on the door three times.

Thud—thud—thud!

Holding the lock, he knocked again, took a brief pause, and plucked a strand of his hair.

The hair danced as if alive, twisting and turning, before easily unlocking the padlock. However, oddly enough, despite the lock being undone, the heavy chains showed no sign of falling away, as if they had become one with the door itself.

Jinseong chuckled at the sight.

“Just some trivial things playing tricks, huh? Wait over there by the wall for a moment.”

Screech—

He used teleportation to head toward the truck.

Upon arriving at the truck, he pulled out two PET bottles tucked beneath the seat.

The transparent bottle contained saltwater with a salinity similar to blood.

The yellow bottle held a mixture of lubricant, gasoline, and heavy oil.

He opened the bottles, swished the saltwater in his mouth, and forcefully sprayed it where the engine was located. After repeating this act several times, he swished the saltwater in his mouth and spat it all over himself. Then he opened the oil-filled bottle and poured it generously onto the truck’s wheels.

The pouring oil seeped into the tires, vanishing as the ground drank it in. Jinseong nodded twice, gently patted the engine, and lightly knocked on the driver’s side door with his fist.

Boooom!

The engine roared in response, echoing back in a profound manner.

‘It’s been quite a while since I’ve done this.’

Jinseong caressed the steering wheel, feeling nostalgic.

‘Machine Soul summoning magic.’

A spell he’d cast during his days as a mercenary whenever he went on missions, ensuring vehicles wouldn’t break down, it was a technique favorited by the crime group ‘Steel Vigilante’ during the Third World War, when they operated in gangs.

Vrrrrr!

As Jinseong reminisced while continuing to caress the steering wheel, the truck erupted into life, the engine roaring as if impatient for departure, much like an eager steed demanding to be off.

Jinseong let out a soft laugh at the truck’s prompting and gripped the wheel, stepping firmly on the accelerator.

Vrooooom!

A sound resonant of a sports car’s explosion echoed from the truck’s engine, and the tires spun wildly.

The truck surged forward like a racing car, speeding down the dimly lit path.

Crunch!

Branches and vines that blocked the truck splintered and scattered, the tremendous mass breaking apart in all directions. The truck blitzed through, rapidly arriving at the main door.

Vrooooom!

Upon spotting the main gate, Jinseong pressed down hard on the accelerator once more, the truck responding with a roar as it sped up even further.

Quickly.

Even faster!

The speedometer’s needle flickered wildly, and the truck surged madly, leaping over the threshold and into the sky.

Bang!

The truck soared, smashing straight through the gate. It didn’t merely push the door aside; it obliterated the heavily locked iron bars, flinging them far away.

Thud!

The iron bars that flew into the sky dropped back to the ground with a loud crash, shivering as if in pain before coming to a halt.

Crunch!

Jinseong sharply turned the wheel, crushing the scattered iron bars beneath the truck’s weight, bringing it to a stop.

“It’s now safe to enter.”

*

[ What’s in this amusement park is foul, but your brother is far worse. ]

The demon licked its lips as it looked at Jinseong.

At the end of its gaze was Jinseong, who was floating items in the air to create an altar.

“Don’t, don’t say scary things….”

『 If you’re scared because you can’t see, why not just look? Use your abilities. 』

“W-well, if I could see, then it wouldn’t be scary… but it’s probably going to be creepy….”

『 That’s true. 』

Iserin shot a glare at the demon’s comment hinting at the ghost, but then seemed to tremble with fear, leaning slightly towards the direction of the demon.

[ Contractor, you needn’t worry about ghosts at all. It seems you have no intention of checking for yourself, so let me tell you. There’s no need for fear; your brother is ensuring they cannot come near us, so you can rest easy. ]

“B-but, that still means they’re here…?”

[ That’s beyond my ability to control. ]

The demon licked its lips, observing the myriad of souls visible to its eyes.

Countless evil spirits draped in tattered rags moved about in misery, their elongated forms toiling with empty hands. Each appeared to have the strength of a withered body, and one could probably banish them with a sprinkle of well-dried salt.

But no matter how weak they might seem, evil spirits were still evil spirits. Individually, they might be feebly powerless, but group them together, and the story changes entirely.

They moved in strict unison under the supervision of a spirit that resembled a guard, and should they gather, they could become a troublesome presence.

If they were to come together, that is.

『 Clear this iron mass. 』

『 Whoa! 』

『 Touch us, and you’ll face the warden’s wrath. 』

『 You reactionary fool! 』

『 If you remove this, I’ll consider it a personal criticism. 』

The guard-like spirits writhed in pain as they were crushed under the truck by Jinseong.

The sturdy chains that had kept them out now trapped them in bondage, the iron bars that separated their territory compellingly pressing down upon them.

Also, the small amounts of oil and saltwater that dripped from the truck continued inflicting relentless pain on the trapped guards.

Each time a guard made a sound, another batch of evil spirits converged towards them, only to find themselves frozen as they struck against the barrier Jinseong had erected.

It was akin to helpless insects caught in a sticky trap.

If there were a pest catcher for spirits, it’d look something like this.

Indeed,

Jinseong was currently employing the spirits as bait to trap other spirits.

And doing it in a rather sophisticated manner.

[ Hm. This isn’t your first time at this, is it? You can’t just learn something like this on a whim… ]

The demon raised an eyebrow in fascination at the refined spell cast by Jinseong, revealing a curiosity that flared intensely, even considering using Iserin to relay questions to him.

Yet, that curiosity was not enough to outweigh the discomfort it felt radiating from Jinseong.

The grimoire set aside its curiosity.

Instead, it focused on the spell Jinseong intended to perform.

[ I have a rough idea of what that altar is meant to do, but I can’t comprehend why you’re capturing those evil spirits. ]