Chapter 7
“S-Save me…”
“You can live if you believe in Jesus. I’ve heard that all sorts of terminally ill and incurable patients believe in Jesus. If they survive, it’s a miracle, and if they d*e, they go to Heaven.”
“I was wrong! Please, just forgive me once… Gah!”
“Hey. Is Jesus your friend? You think it’s okay to keep Jesus waiting like this? If you just believe, your d*mn life is guaranteed. All your worries and anxieties will disappear, and even after death, you get a free ticket to Heaven.”
“I’ll believe! I’ll believe!”
“Then sit there.”
I made one of the delinquents sit in front of me and opened the Bible I got from Father Seong.
I don’t know a d*mn thing about exorcisms, baptisms, or confessions, but don’t all those who believe in Jesus open the Bible first?
‘Or hold a cross.’
Thinking that either way, it’s all about appearances, I placed my hand on the head of the guy who was squatting down and sniffling.
“Before you believe in Jesus, confess your sins.”
“…Huh?”
“Tell me the sins you’ve committed, you idiot.”
“Well… uh… I stole money from my parents’ wallet!”
I can still see the black energy swirling around you. Those who do not truly confess their sins before Jesus deserve punishment.
“And also, Aaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“Jesus doesn’t even consider it a sin if a child steals candy. You stealing money from your parents’ wallet is about the same level. I’m telling you again. Confess your sins.”
“Okay! Okay! Just get your hand off my head…!”
“Do you think this is the worst pain you’ll ever feel? If you don’t believe in Jesus, you could suffer even more. Your whole life will go to h*ll. Everything you do will fail, you’ll be plagued by illnesses, and when you finally collapse and d*e, the horned gangsters at the entrance of H*ll will politely escort you in. And they say the fires of H*ll are nice and warm today, so they’ll give you the full course treatment.”
“I… I bullied my friend!”
Wham!
I slapped the fool who was still not coming clean, confessing only a fraction of his sins before Jesus, as if he hadn’t learned his lesson yet.
“How did you bully him?”
“Ugh… K! I hit him, took his money, burned him with cigarette butts, and made him take off his pants in front of girls!”
“You’re missing the most important part.”
The black aura emanating from you is not something you can build up with just those sins. I can see it.
I’ve been the target of persecution my whole life, so I know better than anyone about the severity of sins.
“I filmed him naked and posted the video online… Aaaaaaaaaaaah!”
“You’re missing the most important part.”
My fist connected with the delinquent’s face once again, his nose completely twisted, blood spraying out like a fountain.
“We… we didn’t really mean to do that…. Ugh!”
“If you want to confess your sins before Jesus, you can’t hide anything. Otherwise, He won’t forgive you. If you don’t receive forgiveness, you’re going to H*ll, no matter how good you live!”
Confess your sins in detail. And repent. Finally, seek forgiveness.
Then, whether you’re a d*mn son of a b*tch or a motherless b*stard, Jesus will embrace you with mercy and love!
Though He won’t give a d*mn about the victim’s ‘feelings’.
“He… he committed suicide! Sob… sob… sob…!”
“Yes, yes, good job. You drove someone to suicide, but you’re still so clueless that you roam the streets with these s*itty bastards, causing trouble for others. Anyway, if you truly repent and ask for forgiveness, Jesus won’t send you to H*ll.”
I gently stroked the head of the sobbing guy as if nothing had happened and closed the Bible with a thud.
“Though I’m not a religious person who claims to be an agent or servant of Jesus, I, as a sort of subcontractor for Him, acknowledge your confession and swear to be a witness to guarantee your place in Heaven. Even if you screw up your life, if you believe in and follow Jesus, you will be able to kick open the gates of Heaven and proudly stand before Him, saying that although you ruined the lives of your friend and their family, you ultimately returned to His embrace. Amen.”
“A-Amen…”
“Now you are a living son of Jesus, and you must live your life praying for Him and being faithful. As your witness, I have sworn, so will you swear to live such a life?”
“I… I swear.”
“Good job. Now I will instill in you an unwavering faith.”
I took the wallet and smartphone from the delinquent and extracted all his personal information.
“The day you break the oath you made before Jesus today, I will find you.”
When I returned his wallet and smartphone, the guy gasped and trembled.
“My oath, your oath, the sincere faith that Jesus desires. You must never betray any of that, right?”
“R-Right!”
“Good. To remember this moment forever, let’s chant a magic spell. Repeat after me.”
Ahem! I cleared my throat and spoke in a slightly hoarse voice.
“Sooree sooree neugeumma sooree.”
“…Sooree sooree neugeumma sooree.”
“Don’t let this spell break. Ever. And pray to Jesus every time you eat, and even if you don’t go to church on weekends, send your tithe and offerings to the pastor’s account.”
“…”
I passed by the delinquents sprawled on the ground and exited the dark alley.
It felt refreshing, like I had just sent a lost lamb who was experiencing life’s confusion for the first time to Jesus, COD.
Should I say I felt a sense of accomplishment? It was as if I was born to do this, my hands and feet moving in perfect sync.
While most subcontractor employees would be pessimistic about their lives, thinking they are just cogs in the machines of large and medium-sized companies, I realized there’s a path for subcontractors too.
‘But I’m still woefully inadequate.’
When I think back to the exorcism Father Seong and Deacon Yohan performed on me, I realize I still have a long way to go.
They were truly devout religious people who dedicated their lives to eradicating evil for the great Lord Jesus Father in Heaven, and who believed that salvation awaited at the end, even if they had to offer a choice that was no different from coercion.
I’ll never understand people like them, even in death, but on the other hand, I couldn’t help but acknowledge their skills and faith.
What I need is professional knowledge, skills, and experience.
Just as an exorcist wasn’t born an exorcist, I, who became an orphan at the tender age of eight, wasn’t born an orphan.
‘I’ve acquired basic knowledge of religion and history from the library, but to truly delve into this industry, I need to go through an advanced course.’
And that advanced course is to just dive in.
I entered a nearby PC room, paid for a time block, sat in a corner, and immersed myself in the vast ocean of information that humanity boasts.
From ghost spots rumored to be haunted, to absurd cases of people allegedly possessed by ghosts, to all sorts of mysterious incidents presumed to be the work of the Devil.
Exorcism, expedient means, spirit removal tools, talismans, magic, curses（double-edged sword）, necromancy, spirit possession, the language used by ghosts and demons, how to match spiritual frequencies, differentiating possession from mental illness, hypnotherapy, energy healing, self-hypnosis, dream interpretation, precognition, astral projection.
I scoured through all the information like a detective, even using proxy servers to access sites blocked by domestic censorship.
Sitting at a desk and working on a PC is something I’m all too familiar with, so the information gathering continued endlessly. Until the night shift worker at the PC room changed to the day shift worker, and then back to the night shift worker.
The night shift worker, who I had seen the day before, came up to my spot to clean and asked if I was okay.
It’s understandable to be concerned when you see the same person sitting in the same spot, in the same posture, for over a day, staring at internet windows instead of playing games.
Then it suddenly dawned on me that I hadn’t eaten or drunk anything for over two days.
I had been sitting in the corner of the PC room after getting beaten up in a fight with the delinquent kids, smelling bad and looking like I was about to d*e. The night shift worker was probably more worried than concerned.
‘A smelly customer who looks like he’s on the verge of death, sitting in the corner of the PC room all day. I’d want to kick him out too.’
A righteous person who faithfully performs their duties also deserves to go to Heaven, so I paid my overdue fees and bid farewell to the worker.
“Believe in Jesus and go to Heaven, or don’t and go to H*ll. Have a good day.”
“…Uh, okay.”
After swimming in the ocean of information for over tens of hours, indulging in all sorts of rumors, harmful information, and possibly even factual information, I finally made a decision.
I stopped by a convenience store near the hospital and bought a set of incense, then went to Daiso and bought a metal pot and ladle that seemed suitable for banging.
Finally, I stopped by the night market and bought red beans and coarse salt.
I put everything I bought in a small sack, hailed a taxi, and headed to the redevelopment zone.
A ruin where redevelopment had been decided, but the project had been put on hold due to a fantastic mess involving corporations, politicians, and civic groups.
The taxi driver kept asking me if I was sure I wanted to get off here, but I just paid the fare and got out without a word.
The chilly autumn night wind swept past me like the night of September 9th, 9 PM, 9 minutes.
Even armed with theory, without practice, it’s no different from an empty cart that only makes noise.
I walked confidently into the ruin, emanating an eerie aura, and stood in front of a building where construction companies and civic groups had once clashed.
The construction companies claimed they had permission from the government and the city to demolish the building, while the ‘speculators’ disguised as civic groups, concerned about the environment or whatever, argued that the building should never be demolished.
After digging deep into the internet, where all sorts of rumors were rampant, to uncover the truth, I found out why this building was built.
“They were using a part of the outskirts, far from the city center where over ten million people live, as a burial ground for spirits.”
Just as humans need a cemetery to bury their remains after death, I’ve heard there are places where spiritual beings that are useless or harmful to human society are gathered and buried like trash.
Places where powerful shamans, high monks, and sorcerers bring things they can’t handle and dump them are called burial grounds for spirits.
In addition, the most commonly used burial grounds for spirits in Korea are Jirisan Mountain and remote islands.
I can’t endure long-term ascetic practices like devout religious people who live their whole lives restricting their desires and making bone-crushing efforts for Lord Jesus Father.
So, to at least stand at the same starting line as them, I need to undergo an equivalent amount of hardship in a short period of time.
Believe in Jesus and go to Heaven, or don’t and go to H*ll.
I walked into the building, scattering red beans and coarse salt everywhere, banging the metal pot with the ladle like a gong.
And I lit all the incense sticks, throwing them everywhere so that the entire building reeked of incense.
I did what you’re ‘absolutely not supposed to do’ in a place like this, so I should get a bite soon.
Creeeaaak.
My arm, which had just thrown the last incense stick, twisted at a bizarre angle, as if caught by something in the air.
