Chapter 280 - War Of The Leagues (10)
Junho arrived at Bomi's house only to find it empty. He frowned and checked every room but the shaman was nowhere to be found.
"Where the fuck is he?" he cursed. Junho tried to call him on the cell but to no avail. Bomi was unreachable. Did he go for some mission? But he usually informed Junho if he was out of town!
"Ugh! I'll have to do this myself," he muttered. He opened Bomi's supply closet and picked the materials he might need for an exorcism. Jina had texted him about the mark they found on Myungsoo and he deduced that the demon must be a Kristis or higher level which only made it more difficult for them to exorcize. The only way was to find the object the demon was bound to and destroy it.
Junho was about to leave when his attention was caught by something. A piece of paper was peeking out from beneath one of the closets. He stooped down and picked it up.
"Hamavis," he read out loud. What did that mean? He wondered. Not thinking much of it, he put the paper in his pocket and rushed off. Since Bomi was not around, he needed his spare exorcist to help him with the job.
…
Siwan was in his office when he received Junho's text. He read through it and frowned.
"Blue Fish?" he muttered. Junho had told him to research the Blue Fish case. He instantly opened his browser and read through the articles. To his surprise, one of the victims was very much familiar to him. It was Hana's father.
Siwan frowned and sat back. Was a demon behind all these deaths? How was it killing them?
He printed the article and headed towards the pediatric center where Jiwoon was still watching over Hana. She looked around when he entered the room.
"We need to talk," he said. Jiwoon was surprised but nodded. She followed him outside to the emergency staircase before he turned to face her. He handed her the article.
"This Blue Fish," he began. "Is it related to Hana's father's death?"
"How did you know?" Jiwoon asked.
"Mr. Hwang told me to look it up because a demon is related to it."
Jiwoon sighed. If Junho needed Siwan for the exorcism, then there was no other option but to tell him the truth. She quickly summarized everything they found out and how they needed to look for an internet user called SJS66 in order to find the demon. Siwan's frown deepened with every word.
"The teen gang is playing on the dark web?" He hissed. "Are they insane? Their information can be hacked!"
"Baekha says it's the only way to find the culprit," Jiwoon replied. "I know it's dangerous but she can handle it. I know Baekha and she understands the internet in a way even experienced hackers can't. Trust her, okay?"
"What worries me more," she pressed before he could argue. "Is Hana's safety. The demon attacked her father which means that Hana might know the person who used the site to sign a contract with the demon. What if that person comes after her?"
Siwan did not think like that but Jiwoon was right. Hana was probably in danger.
"I can't leave her," he muttered. "If the demon comes after her, then someone has to protect her. I'll call the old man and explain-"
WHOOSH!
A sudden gust of cold air passed them by. Both of them were startled when the door burst open.
"What was that?" Jiwoon asked.
"Dunno," Siwan replied. "But isn't it too quiet?"
It was nearly 3 AM and the hospital was relatively silent but Siwan felt something was wrong. The place was quiet, too quiet in fact. They slowly stepped on the main corridor.
Click!
Siwan instinctively shielded Jiwoon with his arm. The bulb at the end of the corridor had suddenly switched off but there was no one in sight who may have turned it off.
Click!
Another light switched off by itself. Siwan gulped. He could feel Jiwoon shaking beside him. She was scared too. This was not a human they could easily take down but something else. Something beyond comprehension.
Jiwoon took out her gun and was about to aim it in front of her but Siwan stopped her.
"Don't," he said. "You might end up hitting someone in the hospital."
"But-"
"Guns won't work against a demon," he pointed out. "We'll have to stall it."
Click! Click!
The lights were flickering off faster, the darkness slowly heading towards them. A cold wave was gripping them in its clasp. Jiwoon held on to Siwan's sleeve. He took out a pinch of salt from his pocket but he doubted it was going to work. The demon was invisible to them but they could feel its eyes on them, watching their movements like a predator observing its prey. It was taunting them, leering at them as they waited for it to attack.
Click! Click! Click!
The last light was switched off and the corridor fell into a deathly silence. A fog is creeping from beneath the doors, engulfing them. Their breaths were visible, cold and frosty. Jiwoon shivered but Siwan did not let go of his grip on her.
"Call Jina and Hobin," he told her.
"The phones aren't working!" She whispered, showing him the zero signal on her cell phone. Siwan checked his phone and to his dismay, it was also out of network. The demon must have jammed their phones.
Suddenly, their phones flickered and even though there was no network, the screen came to life.
"What the hell?" Siwan muttered.
"It's happening to my phone as well!" Jiwoon gasped. "What is this?"
"Whatever it is, it's not good."
CREAK!
They were frozen in fear. Something metallic was being dragged across the floor, creating a creaking sound which made the hair on their arms stand. They looked at the pitch black darkness ahead which was hiding the presence of someone.
"Siwan…" Jiwoon whispered. "What's going on?"
"I don't know…"
The creaking sound stopped and a deafening silence filled the area. Siwan and Jiwoon were alert, waiting for something to attack-
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
The lights burst back to life and the whole hospital was illuminated with bright lights. Siwan and Jiwoon were shocked by the screams. They rushed towards Hana's room but to their surprise, she was still sleeping.
"Doctor Kang?" A nurse who was attending Hana addressed Siwan. "Is there anything wrong?"
"Nothing!" He gasped. "We just came to check up on her. We'll be off now…"
He quickly led Jiwoon out of the room. She was shaken and scared by what happened moments ago.
"Y-You heard it too, right?" Jiwoon stammered nervously. "The scream? I wasn't imagining it, right?"
"I heard it," Siwan nodded. "But what was that?"
Was it truly their imaginations? But both of them saw the strange phenomena and heard the screams. How can two people imagine the same thing at the same time?
"We'll have to find out," he declared.