## Chapter 171 – (2)
Why does a guy my size hate the horror genre?
Because the protagonists in horror movies and games can never fight back; they’re always running away.
That’s why I wasn’t all that scared of zombie movies or games, which you could see as a similar genre.
Because the protagonist can fight back.
There was a reason I could be so much more nonchalant in a zombie world than I am now.
You have to be careful not to get bitten, but at least you can fight back.
But looking at this human-shaped monster, I had a thought.
‘Can’t I just punch it?’
Seeing the human-shaped monster, I felt a surge of confidence.
How many people have I fought so far?
Villains, martial artists, even gangs.
I didn’t think I’d lose a fight against something in human form.
“I could probably just knock it out with a punch…”
Of course, if exorcism were that easy, people wouldn’t be huddled up inside the fire station for safety.
But I kept thinking it might be possible.
Is it really on easy mode for nothing?
Wouldn’t I be able to do it?
Thump, thump, thump!
Even as I was pondering, the monster kept banging on the shutter.
Little by little, the sound was getting faster and louder.
Hearing that sound, which repeated often enough that you almost forgot about it, the people inside the fire station were holding their breath, unable to even make a sound.
They just stared desperately at the firefighters or each other with tense expressions every time they heard the thump, thump, thump of the shutter.
Watching them, I finally decided to step up.
“Is there another exit?”
I went up to a firefighter and asked, and he was horrified and tried to stop me.
“It’s dangerous if you go out there now!”
“No, well…”
I chose my words carefully before answering.
“I’m a rookie exorcist…”
I wasn’t sure if “rookie exorcist” was the right term.
But as long as they understood what I meant.
As soon as I said that, I heard voices behind me.
“He says he’s an exorcist?”
“Really?”
“We’re saved!”
As soon as I said the word “exorcist,” the area behind me started to get noisy.
The story spread like wildfire, and the fire station was instantly filled with chatter.
It seemed like the chance to back out was gone, at least.
The firefighter and I looked at each other and smiled awkwardly at the sudden commotion.
“A rookie… exorcist? Are you sure you’ll be okay? Do you have any experience with exorcism?”
Even in this extreme situation, the firefighter was worried about me first.
He was calm and considerate even in this kind of situation.
Because of his consideration, I felt like I had to do something to help.
“I don’t have any experience, but I feel like I have to do something now.”
We both heard the banging on the door getting more intense, so the firefighter nodded with a heavy expression.
I didn’t know how effective the talisman on the shutter was, but it didn’t seem like a good idea to keep ignoring the monster that was banging on the door.
Just the sound of it banging was making the atmosphere inside the fire station gloomy.
“Then take this with you.”
The firefighter told me to follow him, and he took something out of a box in the corner of the fire station and handed it to me.
It was three things.
“…What are these?”
I looked down at the two bags and the bottle.
“Salt, red beans, and holy water.”
“…Okay?”
I thought I knew why he was giving me these.
Salt and red beans, which have long been known to be effective in exorcising ghosts in Korea, and holy water, which is used in religious rituals and is also said to be effective in exorcism.
I don’t know about my world, but in a world where these kinds of monsters are running rampant, these things might actually work.
Anyway, I gratefully accepted all three items.
Then I was led to the back door.
There was a talisman on this side too, but it wasn’t as big as the one on the shutter.
“You can go out this way.”
I nodded.
I should have thanked him for taking care of me, but I couldn’t even say that.
I didn’t show it, but I guess I was pretty nervous too.
Creak—
The ungreased door opened with a creaking sound.
And I noticed that a huge shadow was cast in front of the back door as it slowly opened.
I also felt a presence that shouldn’t be there.
“…Wait—”
Feeling something was wrong, I tried to close the door, but a huge foot slammed into the gap.
And it stopped the door from closing.
“Finally opened it.”
The monster in the form of an old man who had been banging on the shutter was standing in front of the door, twice as big as he had looked on the CCTV.
He was looking down at us and grinning so grotesquely that it was creepy.
The corners of his mouth were raised so high that it felt eerie.
“Heeuk…!”
Thud!
The firefighter behind me was horrified and his legs gave way, and he fell to the floor.
Banging on the door at the shutter must have been a smokescreen.
The real monster was waiting in front of this door with the much smaller talisman.
Waiting quietly for someone to come out this way someday.
“Hehehe.”
I touched the monster’s arm, which was laughing so loudly that it was unpleasant.
Tap.
“Huh?”
“What? I can touch it?”
It felt normal to the touch.
The texture and the strange coldness felt awkward, but I could touch it.
I was worried it would just pass through me like a ghost, but this was a different story.
I pushed the monster with my hand.
Thud, stumble.
The monster, pushed by my hand, couldn’t control its huge body and took a few steps back.
“Ugh?”
It made a strange noise, as if it hadn’t expected to be pushed back by force.
I walked out the door on my own, and slammed the door shut.
Then I said to the firefighter who was lying on the floor.
“Lock the door and stay still until I come back.”
The firefighter, who had been lying on the floor, quickly got up and acted.
As soon as I said that, I heard the sound of the door locking.
I liked the quick movements I could feel from behind the door.
“You’ve been abandoned.”
The monster chuckled and looked at me.
Abandoned?
I’ll abandon you first.
I calmly opened the bag and threw red beans at the monster.
“Ugh!”
“Oh.”
The monster, hit by the red beans, waved its hands and took a step back.
It seemed to be working.
I threw salt and holy water at it while I was at it.
Similarly, the monster grabbed the parts that were touched by the salt or holy water and took a big step back.
“Keureureuk…!”
It was also making a phlegm-rattling sound.
It was supposed to be on easy mode, but the effect was very direct.
“Die, die, die, die!”
While I was admiring the effect, the monster listed creepy words and rushed at me.
The skin that had been touched by the salt or holy water was melting, making it look quite grotesque.
I calmly raised my fist.
The moisture from the holy water was still on my hand.
“Come quickly.”
Even in this moment, I was smiling and glaring at the approaching monster.
I wasn’t scared at this moment.
It felt like this.
I thought it was a movie about running away from a murderer all day, but suddenly the protagonist finds a gun and the genre changes drastically from horror to action.
The genre I hated the most was turning into my favorite genre.
That thrilling feeling.
“Geueoooo!”
“Hup!”
I swung my fist at the monster’s solar plexus, which was approaching quickly for its huge size.
The fist flew quickly and headed straight for the center of the monster’s solar plexus.
Thwack!
It wasn’t the sound of hitting a person.
It felt like hitting mud or clay used for crafts.
My hand went straight into its chest and popped out on the other side.
“Keueuk… Aaaaargh!”
The monster screamed in pain, but it didn’t disappear.
Its body had been pierced, but it was only screaming and not dying.
“Die, die!”
Then it raised its huge hand and tried to strike me.
I tried to pull my hand out, but it was stuck deeper than I thought and it wasn’t easy to pull out.
I felt a chill, almost cold, in the arm that was stuck in there.
“…A chill?”
No, it was a little different.
This humid, depressing feeling was something I had definitely felt before.
This was, yin energy.
Before the monster’s arm could swing down, I started absorbing the yin energy with my hand still stuck in its chest.
It had been a while since I had absorbed yin energy.
I watched as the internal energy in my body filled up and the monster’s yin energy was devoured by my yang energy.
“Keueaaaaak!”
The situation was reversed.
This time, the monster started to struggle to get out of my hand.
But the arm stuck deep inside its body didn’t come out easily.
I could feel my internal energy filling up.
Before I knew it, the guy who had been two heads taller than me was getting smaller and smaller, returning to the size of a normal human.
Soon, it was smaller than me.
[Hidden quest cleared.]
[Defeat the monster.]
[Survive the monster.]
Reading the messages announcing a smooth start, I pulled my hand out of the silenced monster.
There were no more screams, and no more sounds of the shutter being banged on.
“Wow…”
I could faintly hear the cheers of joy coming from inside the fire station.
It was the debut of the rookie exorcist.
