“Russia is not some playground for shamans.”
Viktor’s face twisted in annoyance.
“Remove the obstacles.”
As Viktor issued the command, the waiting soldiers sprang into action. They seemed to be familiar with the process, assembling mortars and firing them into the dense forest blocking the way to the amusement park.
KWAANG!
With a deafening roar, the mortar obliterated the thick woods, and once they deemed it sufficiently safe, they began to move out with their equipment. Soldiers holding riot shields formed a protective wall around the group, accompanied by comrades wielding long swords and axes. In the center stood someone with expensive-looking gear.
Meanwhile, those maintaining their positions were covering them with mortars, sniper rifles, and grenade launchers.
The lead soldiers approaching the amusement park signaled that it was safe as there were no dangers to the entrance, and only then did Viktor draw his sword and stride toward the entrance.
VROOM!
Two armored trucks followed closely behind him. One truck had a large parabolic antenna, known as a dish antenna, slowly rotating at a lethargic pace, while the other emitted crackling electricity from its long, horn-like protrusion.
[Noise disturbance due to spirit interference detected! Evil spirit approaching confirmed!]
[Electromagnetic waves confirmed! 13 lower-grade evil spirits and 2 mid-grade evil spirits detected!]
[Magnetic field is strengthening! Evil spirits will soon appear!]
The armored truck trailing behind measured the electromagnetic waves and magnetic fields, sounding alarms to the soldiers, who in turn prepared holy water received from the Holy Sorcerer to bless themselves against the incoming spirits.
And then—
[Dare!]
An evil spirit materialized.
Dressed like a jailer, the spirit had a decayed face with bulging blue eyeballs that swivelled around, and it let out a thunderous scream, showing off its sparse teeth.
[Where do these reactionaries think they’re going armed like that?]
The spirit gestured with rage, roaring mightily, pulling out a pistol strapped to its side. It was a Tokarev pistol, famously known by the nickname TT.
The evil spirit raised the pistol high, shouting out:
[A great step for great thought, the flag of our great people! We shall never succumb to bourgeoisie or imperialists!]
[Have you come to target political prisoners? Did you come to save your comrades?!]
[Even if you come armed, we will not step aside. Let our lives pass over you!]
[But Comrade Secretary-General will take our revenge!]
[Ura! Soviet Ura!]
At the spirit’s shouting, Viktor frowned in frustration.
“This is the problem with remote areas.”
“Indeed.”
“There are many who died during the World War, so if evil spirits pop up, it’s usually these sorts.”
The sheer number of deceased meant that evil spirits frequently manifested in Russia.
During World War II alone, the death toll was at least 29 million and up to 40 million. Moreover, considering unreported deaths, prisoners, and crime victims, the number could be even higher.
The silver lining was that most of these deaths were related to warfare, resulting in similar patterns of spirit appearance, making methods to deal with them widely known.
Viktor nodded at one soldier, who silently cleared his throat and stepped forward.
The soldier stood tall, directly facing the evil spirit, and opened his mouth.
“We’ve come from the party.”
At those words, the spirit, which had seemed ready to charge with its pistol, became docile.
“We’re here for an inspection to see if you’re managing these reactionary scum properly, so open the door!”
The soldier spoke in a commanding tone, and the evil spirit holstered its pistol. However, seeming a bit suspicious, it rolled its bulging blue eyes and asked,
[I haven’t heard of any inspection coming….]
“Ha! If I let you know beforehand, would that be an inspection? Open the door now!”
As the spirit hesitated, the soldier hardened his expression.
“What are you doing? I said we came on the party’s orders!”
He burst out angrily.
“This seems suspicious! Open up now!”
At that, the evil spirits began to open the door.
To be precise, they pretended to touch an imaginary door in the air as if the destroyed iron bars still existed. It seemed that the spirits, in their weariness, still interpreted there to be a real door.
This was one of the behavioral patterns of spirits detached from reality.
“Tsk. It’s about time. These guys stationed out in the wilderness are slow on the uptake.”
The soldier declared, acting as if the door had fully opened, to slight the evil spirits standing rigidly at attention.
“However, since there are many moving to disrupt the system, I will overlook that. But should I see any problems arise, I will punish you severely. Understood?!”
[Yes!]
[Yes!]
With those words, the soldier gestured for his entourage to follow, and the soldiers entered the amusement park.
Even as the soldiers passed, the spirits remained standing at attention and did not obstruct their entry. Once everyone had gone inside, they gestured to the tattered spirits that followed them, urging them onward. Slowly, the spirits moved as if performing forced labor.
Viktor confirmed that all the soldiers had entered, turned on his walkie-talkie, and tapped it three times to send a signal. Then, the rear of the armored truck opened, and white smoke began to billow out.
The smoke filled the entrance with a pungent odor.
As the smoke obscured the entire entrance, one soldier descended from the armored truck, pulling out a magnetic cancellation device and setting it up around them. He placed the device he was carrying on his back onto the ground and activated it with magical energy.
The device whirred to life with a sharp noise, and there were bubbling sounds and vibrations from the specially made absorption battery stuck behind it.
When it peaked—
FWOOOSH!
A shockwave that temporarily incapacitated the spirits erupted.
As the spirits became disoriented from the shockwave, Viktor infused his sword energy into his sword, slashing through the evil spirits, coated in holy silver blessed by the Holy Sorcerer, slicing them apart like paper.
“Surprise attacks like this are the simplest method!”
Spirits deceive people.
They trick, deceive, and manipulate.
Unlike demons, these entities cannot exert physical force effectively because of their spectral nature.
However, lacking physical power also makes them skilled in messing with human minds, showing illusions and captivating victims with their abilities.
When a person falls under their allure, they can possess them, creating a possessed being, or toy with their minds, turning them into willing servants.
When it comes to great evil spirits, they can charm thousands, even tens of thousands of people, converting them into an army or controlling corpses, making them truly frightening entities.
However, a scam man can also be scammed by another scam man.
Humans have researched ways to counter the threats of evil spirits, and in today’s information-heavy age, those efforts bear fruit.
Thus, manuals to counter evil spirits have emerged.
What the soldier exhibited was one of those methods.
It was a technique to lure a weak-minded spirit into overconfidence and then strike swiftly, eliminating it almost instantaneously, leaving no room for escape.
Of course, if the smoke were mishandled, the actors themselves could be endangered, but given the seasoned soldiers surrounding him and the equipment strapped on to deal with both evil spirits and ghosts, what risk was there?
“My acting skills are improving. I’m satisfied.”
“Thank you!”
“Now, go back and bring me a bottle of vodka!”
Viktor praised the soldier with a hint of satisfaction as he gazed at his sword glinting in the light from the armored truck. Then, he shook his weapon in the air as if trying to rid it of the spirits’ remnants.
But did Viktor’s shaking rid the sword of defilement?
[How outrageous!]
[Choo….]
[How outrageous!]
From far away in the ruined amusement park, music could be heard.
It wasn’t from a speaker, nor was it sung by human voices.
It sounded as though something resembling an instrument was being squeezed to produce a voice-like sound.
“Stay alert.”
TCH!
At Viktor’s command, the soldiers instantly formed ranks.
Viktor too raised his sword, looking in the direction of the sound.
[Hungry! A delicious meal is good!]
[Hungry! A joyful meal is good!]
[When you taste it, spores will descend!]
[The mushrooms that spring from those spores will say!]
[A magnificent meal!]
[A grand meal!]
What appeared before Viktor’s eyes was a horde of mushrooms.
The mushrooms, the size of human heads, were wriggling their torn gills like mouths and singing.
“What on earth is this?”
