I’m the Only One Who Can’t See Ghosts

28 – Full Course of the Heavenly Demon Religion (3)

“Finally, the Great Master has descended…”

“All hail the Heavenly Demon…”

“I never thought I would live to see such a sight.”

From afar, the bishop and his subordinates were shedding tears. Judging by their reaction, it seemed that only the Great Master could hold such an object. Like Excalibur, which only the King of Britain could wield. And the Infinite Black Water was said to be the most terrifying substance to psychics.

But I was perfectly fine.

I should have pretended to be in pain, at least.

“You Hae-jin, you idiot…”

As I looked at the followers who were bowing to me, I couldn’t help but think of the past.

* * *

It was during middle school.

To be precise, it was when my little sister was having a fight with our fortune-teller. I dismissed the foolish superstition and told her to focus on preparing for middle school next year.

“No, Oppa, there are ghosts.”

“Ghosts? What nonsense. That’s madness. I, uh, I searched on Naver and they say things like spirits or supernatural phenomena are all symptoms of schizophrenia.”

At that time, I was so frustrated with my little sister. My grandmother and mother left messages saying they would gather supernatural powers to prevent a national disaster, and they disappeared after going up to a shamanic shrine on a high mountain.

But now my little sister was saying she would do this.

I felt like I was going crazy.

“I’ll go with you to the hospital. I’ll increase my part-time jobs so that we’ll have enough money for the hospital bills. Please, Harin. Just listen to me this once. Okay?”

“No, I don’t have time.”

My little sister looked at me with her usual expressionless face.

Then she said something to the man behind her.

Upon hearing that, the man lowered his head and kneeled.

“Did you send the message?”

“Yes, Master. If it’s Master’s command, even the ones who grovel at the top of the mountain will rise from their heavy bodies.”

“I apologize. You, too, will be praised as an esteemed individual to the Four Kings. Yet I burden you with such troublesome matters.”

“Don’t mention it. Following Master’s command is a more valuable task for me.”

I looked at the kneeling man.

A middle-aged man with a few gray hairs, but his muscles couldn’t be ignored.

The man’s name was Jucheol.

In an instant, he appeared next to his younger sister, a crazy pervert who imitated an elementary school student.

I really wanted to catch him and beat him to a pulp, but I couldn’t seize the opportunity.

“Are you acting out a historical drama again? Hey, Jucheol. What the hell are you doing? You crazy pedophile. What nonsense did you put into that child’s head?”

“Your choice of words doesn’t match the occasion. Please watch your language.”

“Stop it! Jucheol, don’t let him know about this world.”

“I understand.”

After Jucheol stepped back, I grabbed my sister’s shoulder and spoke.

“Yeah, let’s say there’s a thing called ghosts. Hey, but you’re an elementary school student. Where in the world do elementary school students work these days? And doing sorcery on top of that!”

“I’m in middle school and working part-time.”

“…I’m fine. Because you’re my sister.”

When I didn’t say anything, my sister gently patted my shoulder with her small hand.

“My family. The same blood as me. The reason I didn’t leave this world.”

“Yeah, we’re family.”

“I have no choice but to protect you. You’re the Mara Papayas of this era.”

“Mara Papayas?”

When I asked, my sister lowered her head.

“Yes, those who obstruct the enlightenment of the monks just by their existence. So, powerful individuals hunted them down as soon as they were born. It’s probably been five hundred years since a Mara like you survived.”

I wanted to tell her to stop talking nonsense.

But sometimes, my sister spoke words that seemed like prophecies.

“Brother, you should never let anyone find out that you’re different from other people.”

“What’s different about me from other people? I only know that I’m f*cking tall.”

“I don’t really know why you’re so strong either. The Maras wouldn’t have that kind of ability. If they did… Well, no, from now on, remember what I’m about to say.”

She said it was an implication of inserting her words deeply into the other person’s mind with specific actions, tone, and gaze.

My sister was good at implications.

“Someday, you will realize that you’re different from others. To avoid being caught, keep your distance from other shamans, don’t meet the sorcerers’ gaze, don’t listen or try to learn about them. Knowing someone is an act that attracts their attention.”

I took her words as implications.

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“If that happens, you’ll be in danger, and so will this world. Mara Papayas. Brother, you must never be exposed.”

“Nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense. Becoming a shaman was all for that one reason. To eliminate those who aim for you just for their own enlightenment. But I’m still not strong enough to do that.”

I could not contain my anger at that point.

But my younger sister still had an expressionless face.

“Yeah, so you’re also not satisfied with wonder and want to climb up to some new shrine or something? Somewhere like Jirisan or Manisan? How do you think Grandma and Mom ended up like that?”

“I have to go somewhere farther away than there.”

“Seriously, are you really crazy?”

Familiar despair engulfed my body. I didn’t know any other way to stop them from going than to grab their hands and beg them not to.

If only I could see ghosts like my family, I would understand why they acted that way and be able to protect them.

Why is it only me who can’t see ghosts?

“Why can’t you see them.”

Because it’s all a lie, that’s why I can’t see them.

Shamanism is nothing more than a mental illness.

I looked around the house where I used to live. Oriental-style paintings of gods, a shaman’s robe decorated with white and rainbow colors, and even an unholy painting and an amulet hanging on a tree.

It’s all just cosplay.

There are no ghosts.

“Do as you please. But you’re practicing shamanism, right? From that moment, you and I have no relation whatsoever.”

“Oppa?”

“I’m never coming back to this house. Those weird paintings. The amulets. Even the five-color strings hanging on the tree, they’re all f*cking bullsh*t.”

“Oppa, wait.”

That was the first time I saw it.

The child who didn’t break her expressionless face even at Grandma and Mom’s funeral, showed a surprised expression for the first time.

My younger sister, Yu Harin, grabbed my hand in surprise and said this.

“After everything is over, let’s live an ordinary life together. Eating and sleeping together in the same house, let’s keep living like this. Okay? We just have to get rid of those things that are after you, Oppa. After that, I’ll live a normal life too.”

“I can’t trust that promise. Just, if you’re going to practice shamanism… let’s never see each other again.”

“Oppa, Oppa…”

And so, I left that house as if running away.

Of course, I never thought I would never see it again.

I just wanted to change my sister’s mind even if it meant doing it that way.

And three days later, I heard the news that the house had burned down.

They said it was a true story caused by a candle used in a shamanistic ritual.

The charred body of a child that couldn’t even be recognized in the house was found. The only thing I could find in the house was my younger sister’s middle school uniform that I had bought for her.

From then on, I truly wanted to see ghosts.

I wanted to see what my grandmother, mother, and younger sister had all seen.

And I wanted to burn that ghost to ashes.

But only I couldn’t see the ghost.

* * *

I buried the curiosity deep within my heart.

It wasn’t difficult since I did it so often.

When I turned my gaze, the followers were putting on a show.

To be precise, they were bowing while shouting slogans like baseball fans.

“Hail to the Leader.”

“Magic rule the world!”

“Demons shall reign!”

“Ten thousand demons…”

“Quiet!!!”

I shouted at the followers.

Then it was miraculously quiet.

These people really listen to me very well.

How many people are in this huge room? One bishop, four people who look like high-ranking officials, and even the guards of this room, about fifteen people in total.

I called them all together.

And I spoke.

“Let’s keep what happened here a secret.”

“What? Lord. You have returned…”

“Oh my!”

My sister left her last message.

She specifically told me not to reveal my strange nature.

Because just my existence alone disrupts the enlightenment of psychic abilities, and if my true identity is discovered, psychic abilities would come at me to kill me.

But advertise yourself as a demon.

Won’t all the psychics in this world pay attention to me?

Then, they will surely find out my true identity.

So I had to shut their mouths right here.

I heard the explanation from Bishop Oseolhwa. He said that the cup is an object called the Black Starry Vase, which spews out endless black water, and only those who have the qualifications of the leader of the Thousand Demonism can possess it.

So it was Excalibur, after all.

After organizing my thoughts, I spoke like this.

“Leader, yeah, it’s no big deal.”

“The Reign of the Thousand Demons!”

“Baradar!”

“Shut up, everyone. No strange slogans.”

After silencing the kids, I opened my mouth.

“For now, I will thoroughly conceal my identity.”

“May I ask why, my lord?”

They were all looking at me with desperate expressions.

They must have all been waiting for the reincarnation of the Thousand Demons.

Mara Papayas is written in Chinese characters as Cheonja-ma (天子魔),

Or simply referred to as Cheonma (天魔).

But I was not the kind of Thousand Demons they were thinking of.

I did not possess the power to save them.

But I could give them a glimmer of hope.

No, at least I had to give them enough hope to believe in me as their leader.

“I have plans to enter Heaven and Earth. Actually, I was close to passing the second Heaven and Earth test last time, but I ended up failing.”

“Do you intend to join those despicable people from Heaven and Earth?”

“Yes, I am planning to infiltrate Heaven and Earth from the inside and turn them into the Thousand Demonism.”

Of course, there was no such plan.

But it’s nice to see the expressions of the kids brighten up.

“So, I must absolutely hide my identity.”

“As you wish, my lord. May the Thousand Demons thrive!”

“That’s enough!”

Are these guys macros or something?

The phrase “May the Thousand Demons thrive” keeps popping up all the time.

Anyway, it’s fine. Shall we start now?

“Then, I declare as the leader. Bring me the real estate certificate and ledger of the Thousand Demonism.”

I almost got stabbed today, kidnapped here, and almost revealed my true identity. Combining all of that, I need to extort at least 1 billion, no, 2 billion for emotional damages. But maybe 3 billion? I’ll need at least 4 billion to buy a building with a little extra. Anyway, it’s a cult, so they must have a lot of money.

“hehehehe.”

In the end, I burst into laughter.

I should receive around 5 billion.