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Fear rose on their faces.

It was a fear that resembled the terror of a camper encountering a bear on the mountain.

An expression of facing an unconquerable being.

That was exactly the kind of expression it was.

[ If it’s that kind of evil spirit, we can’t handle it! We need to retreat quickly! ]

Evil spirits are powerful entities. But even among those evil spirits, their strengths vary greatly.

Most of the time, they could be dealt with as long as capable individuals were prepared.

There were many creatures that could be confronted using artifacts or divine objects imbued with the power of exorcism and purification. For evil spirits that lure and harm people, one would need a strong-minded individual, a spiritual capable person skilled in exorcism, a Shinto priest wielding divine power, or someone well-versed in magic… However, in the case of evil spirits that primarily manipulate physical strength, a warrior could directly face them.

Of course, unless they had reached a high level of mastery, the aid of divine objects or artifacts was essential.

With the right equipment, even soldiers could stand against evil spirits.

The fact that evil spirits could interfere with the real world physically means that real-world beings could also interfere with evil spirits physically. And if they had equipment that was effective against those evil spirits, strong-minded individuals with skills could indeed confront them.

However.

That evil spirit far surpassed such levels.

It had safely crossed the threshold of difficulty that a mere artifact or divine object could handle.

It was an evil spirit so twisted that not even a trace of human form could be discerned!

In the first place, the closer a spirit is to a human form, the more likely it is to maintain its existence. Maintaining one’s ego means being more favorable for maintaining existence, and being able to maintain existence means accumulating power over a long period.

Except…

There are exceptions.

Those things that have remained twisted while gathering power over a long time.

Those that are completely shattered in form, driven solely by terrible grudges and hatred.

Because they possess an overwhelming grudge and hatred compared to other spirits, they are exceptionally dangerous to humans, and they have amassed strength even under unfavorable conditions, becoming monsters that approach the level of evil spirits.

In ancient Japan, such beings were worshiped as calamity gods, sealed with all their might, hoping only that they wouldn’t escape, and served in fear.

Now, instead of being called calamity gods, they are only referred to as powerful evil spirits…

But even if the name has changed, their power remains the same.

Evil spirits twisted beyond recognition are horrifically powerful, and horrifically cruel.

So much so that ancient people decided to give up confronting them and chose to worship them as calamity gods.

Two warriors facing an evil spirit considered to be a calamity god?

And without proper preparations?

They would die.

Torn apart like insects, toyed with and dying meaningless deaths.

The two warriors absolutely did not want to die like that.

It was neither an honorable place, and they certainly did not want to die like that in Korea.

So, the two of them ran up the stairs like madmen.

To distance themselves from that evil spirit as much as possible, using the emergency exit to move to another floor before escaping the building.

How long did they run?

Thanks to the new technique, or was it because the evil spirit’s speed was slower than theirs using that technique…?

They realized they had created enough distance from the evil spirit.

Click.

Click.

The high heel sounds that had been so clear moments ago became faint, transforming into a distant echo, indicating they were quite far away.

[ It seems like we’ve increased the distance, so we should retreat quickly. ]

The two warriors hurried their steps as they moved upward.

Clinging to the hope that they could escape before that evil spirit caught up to them.

But unfortunately, something awaited them.

Below the glowing emergency exit sign, a silhouette that resembled a person was positioned.

[ What’s that…? ]

[ Oh, Amaterasu… ]

It seemed to stand out clearly, as if trying to announce its presence in the dark. Unlike the evil spirit below that seemed born from darkness, it appeared to be a solid body, exuding a presence of a human. It seemed to breathe, with its chest rising and falling slowly, and its arms and legs moving.

Stray hair cascaded long, and the features seemed twisted at a 45-degree angle, staring intently at the emergency exit.

It proclaimed with its entire being.

I am a person.

I exist here.

The proof is that I have the shape of a person, I give off an aura, and I breathe.

That existence stood there, blocking the way to the emergency exit.

It was as if it believed they must pass by it to go through the emergency exit.

As if it needed to make them aware of its existence.

It stood there.

Gazing up at the emergency exit sign.

Turning its back to the emergency exit door.

It remained as such.

[ Phew. Good thing it’s not an evil spirit. Let’s subdue it and get out. ]

One of the warriors seemed relieved as he confirmed the presence in front of the emergency exit and sighed in relief, signaling to the other warrior with a gesture to hurry.

It was a signal to subdue that person and get outside through the emergency exit before the evil spirit caught up.

But the ally who was supposed to respond to that signal did not retaliate.

Instead, he stood frozen as if he were a statue, switching his trembling gaze between the warrior and the unidentified figure in front of the emergency exit.

[ Hey! Get a grip! An evil spirit is chasing us from below! We need to subdue that person and get out quickly! ]

The warrior shouted telepathically to his suddenly panicked and frozen companion.

As if telling him to snap to attention.

But the ally who needed to regain his senses remained motionless.

He only looked at him with eyes filled with despair.

[ Hey, what’s wrong with you? Why are you being so frustrating? That damn clicking sound is getting closer! ]

Click.

Click.

Click.

The maddening sound of high heels echoed from below.

That damn click, sounding rhythmically, grew ever closer, yet why was his companion frozen?

And not only that, he was staring at something that didn’t even resemble the bizarre evil spirit from before… looking like a mad person!

The warrior slowly lifted his finger, approaching his ally.

He planned to press on an acupoint to force him back to his senses.

The moment he pressed it would bring some excruciating pain that would instinctively blast a scream from his mouth, but at least it was better than being lost in thought and getting torn apart by an evil spirit in a dire situation.

So, the warrior’s hand got closer to his ally.

But fortunately, just before the hand touched the acupoint, the ally sent a telepathic message.

[ …Didn’t you notice? ]

[ Notice what? ]

The warrior frowned at his ally’s question.

[ That thing, its chest is facing our direction, but its face is looking towards the door. ]

A telepathic message tinged with fear.

[ …What? ]

The warrior’s face stiffened.

[ Its neck is twisted 180 degrees; how can that be a person! Damn it! ]

Only after hearing his companion’s words soaked in dread did the warrior realize.

That the peculiar shadow form barely resembles a person.

It was looking towards the emergency exit sign placed high up on the door.

If that was the case, the chest should also be facing the door, so the chest that expanded and contracted like it was breathing should also ideally be toward the door.

Right.

That’s the normal way.

That’s the structure of a normal human being.

But what about that thing?

The face was turned towards the door, but there ought to be a back, not a chest, on the door side!

As if its neck was twisted 180 degrees.

[ And look! Damn it, look closely at that! There are hands instead of feet on its legs! ]

But that wasn’t all.

Upon closer inspection, nothing seemed normal.

What looked like regular arms had two additional joints, and the left hand had seven fingers while the right had six. The chest, which seemed to be breathing as it moved, was not actually breathing at all.

This thing that imitated a human’s face had no holes to breathe through!

Its face resembled a half-finished statue, hastily formed without proper features.

Moreover, the neck was odd too.

Normally, the muscles would adjust if connected, but it looked as if a severed head had been placed on a neckless mannequin.

[ Huh, damn it. Ghosts above, ghosts below… ]

The evil spirit below creeping up slowly as if telling them to go up.

The evil spirit in front of the emergency exit, blocking their way.

[ …We’re trapped. ]

They found themselves caught between the two spirits.

 

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