Survival Story of a Sword King in a Fantasy World

Midsummer Night’s Evil Spirit (1)

To the north of the Dungeon City of Highten was a village called Gyuzac. It was a typical rural settlement in an area where no monster appeared.

However, on the village’s outskirts laid an unusual structure— the abandoned mansion of Count Kasran, a high-ranking nobleman who ruled the Gyuzac area until 15 years ago.

The mansion collapsed together with the Grelluet Kingdom’s fall, and it had been nothing but ruins since then.

“I heard that some time ago, evil spirits began to appear in the mansion. The power of the Gyuzac Dioces wasn’t enough to exorcise all of them, which forced them to contact the Highten Diocese.”

Ryu Han-bin intently listened to Emil’s explanation.

‘I guess ghosts exist in this world.’

In a place where skeletons walked around and used magic, he thought it was only natural for ghosts to exist as well.

Priest Emil looked at them with hope in his eyes.

“Can you help us?”

He had never dealt with a ghost before, but he didn’t want to refuse because he could raise his contribution with that case.

“Good! I will help!”

Ryu Han-bin shouted bluntly, puffing out his chest.

Artis replied calmly with a question of his own.

“When should we be ready?”

“I’ll come to pick you up tomorrow morning.”

For a moment, Han-bin was confused.

‘He’s going to pick us up?’

“Are you coming with us?”

Priest Emil shrugged and looked at them indifferently.

“Isn’t your opponent an evil spirit? In that case, you need a Spiritist.”

* * *

That evening, Ryu Han-bin grabbed Artis and went into quick tutoring.

He needed to know how to deal with the ghosts of this world.

“Exorcism? Or should I release the resentment of the dead?”

It was beneficial to ask in advance since Latna’s ghosts had a different concept from Earth’s ghosts.

Ghosts from Latna weren’t souls of dead human beings.

They were a form of calamity caused by excessive dark energy in the remnants of an area.

Artis and Effir took turns explaining it to him.

“They’re more like spiritual wastes. Well, something like that at least.”

“Ghosts and souls are completely different just as how shadows are only shadows.”

The two explained it as best as they could to Han-bin from a knowledgeable stance. Effir had seen and heard quite a bit of knowledge under the Flying Dragon Knights. Hence she was particularly helpful.

“I heard that many commoners consider ghosts as dead relatives and get hurt while approaching them.”

The way Latnains dealt with ghosts was different from exorcisms and appeasement as well.

“You only have to defeat it.”

“… Defeat it?”

Han-bin was dumbfounded.

“Is a ghost just another monster that can be defeated?”

It was the same as Earth’s ghosts in the sense that physical attacks didn’t work against it. However, there were still several common means to damage it.

Aura, Mana, Prana, Force.

Using Latna’s four powers, they could cut or crush any number of ghosts.

“But I can’t use Aura.”

“That’s why Priest Emil is going with you.”

If a Spiritist applied a secondary spirit to a weapon, even a warrior could inflict enough damage to the ghost to defeat it.

“It’s not that difficult. It’s just troublesome.”

“It’s similar to dealing with a malformed monster like a slime. It’s so mushy.”

Even Artis and Effir seemed to have quite a lot of experience with them.

“Well, I have been in charge of a request to fight evil spirits before.”

“The Flying Dragon Knights also regularly hunt ghosts every New Year. I’ve killed a lot at that time.”

“… Is it the same as the New Year’s cleaning?”

Ryu Han-bin’s mind fluttered as he listened to the explanations of the two.

‘The culture of this world is clearly different from Earth’s.’

If the existence of it was evident and the way to fight it was already known, it was no longer labeled as an unknown horror but rather something that just needed to be hunted.

There was also such a proverb related to the fight against evil spirits.

-If you find one ghost, think there are a hundred more invisible ghosts!

“Ghosts here are treated like cockroaches…”

He didn’t think he needed to pay special attention anyway.

“I can just cut it down as usual.”

Ryu Han-bin suddenly asked another question while leaning on the couch.

“I have another question, Artis.”

“What is it?”

“Is it possible to confirm the existence of the afterlife in Latna?”

The human soul on Earth and the afterlife were philosophical and religious concepts.

However, in this world, Latna, there were ghosts, undead, and even Goddesses.

Besides, listening to the story, it seemed that the human soul also existed.

That begged the question, did Latains know what happened to humans after death?

‘Wow, maybe Earth’s many religions and philosophies will be overturned.’

Artis gave him an unexpected answer.

“How would that be possible?”

Artis smiled bitterly.

“According to the Churches, if you live according to the will of the Goddesses, your soul will go to their heaven. Those who’ve sinned against the Goddesses will fall to their hell, but…”

Effir also gave her own answer with a pout.

“I don’t know whether that’s true or not. It’s just what the Priests said.”

“What do you mean, if a Goddess exists, then shouldn’t it be that way? The Goddesses exist. They’ve even talked to Latnains. Why don’t you know that?”

“That sounds like the rudest question I have ever heard about the faith…”

With a bitter smile, Artis replied.

“The six Goddesses are beings that keep the balance of the world. Human life and death aren’t under their jurisdiction. Hence, the Goddesses never give a direct answer about life after death.”

“Then where did that heaven and hell concept come from? Did the priests make it up?”

“Oh, about that, um…”

Artis frowned.

He didn’t have that much knowledge about the doctrines of the six Churches.

He waved his hand passively.

“If you’re curious, ask Priest Emil later. He’s an expert at that stuff.”

“I’m disguised as a Valtara warrior right now. Can I ask questions like that?”

It seemed strange for ignorant barbarians to have such high-level questions.

“I wouldn’t dare doubt the Valtara warriors that much, but…”

Artis shrugged.

“There’s no reason for us to risk it. I’ll ask for you instead, then.”

* * *

Indeed, Priest Emil kindly explained.

“Of course, they don’t answer directly. We have intelligence. We’re not animals. If we do just what we’ve been asked to do, we wouldn’t be any different from livestock.”

The doctrines of the Churches weren’t the fundamental laws that the Goddesses directly taught.

“It’s a fragment of the great wisdom that the prophets have discovered while living in this world protected by the Goddesses. The fragments gather continuously until we reach the truth.”

Emil concluded his explanation with a warm smile.

“Human life and death must be chosen and judged by their own will. That’s what the Goddesses want.”

Ryu Han-bin frowned.

‘It’s that complicated?’

It would’ve been easy to understand if he simply said, ‘It is the law given by the goddess!’, but he didn’t result in such an unjust way.

‘Don’t the Goddesses in this neighborhood write commandments on a slate then hand them down to humans?’

It occurred to him that such complex doctrines kept faith well.

‘No, the concept of their faith itself couldn’t be questioned because the Goddesses certainly exist.’

One thing was certain.

‘This world is no different from Earth when it comes to Death and the unknown realm that may or may not lie after it.”

“So, shall we continue?”

After finishing the explanation, Emil began to move forward.

Han-bin and his party also followed him.

How long had it been?

Beyond the low, grassy pastures, they saw a rural village with a pastoral atmosphere.

It was their destination, Gyuzac village.

Emil watched the sunset over the village as he talked.

“The sun is finally setting.”

They left Highten early in the morning and traveled all day using a stagecoach. The skies were already starting to darken by the time they’ve arrived.

People typically found a place to stay in, rest, and plan their activities once the sky had darkened.

“Good timing.”

Ghosts haunted at night, so now was the right time to move.

Looking back at everyone, Emil gave them an order.

“Let’s take care of the evil spirits first.”

* * *

Ryu Han-bin couldn’t understand the reaction of the party.

-The evil spirits? Ah, that’s troublesome.

-They’re at least not challenging to deal with, Mr. Artis.

Both Artis and Effir regarded the evil spirits as if they were nothing. Priest Emil was of the same mind.

-I know it’s trivial. If The Valtara Warrior fought the evil spirits, it’s like fighting chickens with knives made to butcher cows.

Emil felt sorry. He couldn’t avoid coming to them since Han-bin’s party was the only Church partners who had time in the city.

‘How weak are this neighborhood’s ghosts? Why are they so relaxed?’

Even after arriving at the mansion, their atmosphere didn’t change.

The infrastructure had remained abandoned for such a long time that its ambiance had become gloomy and dark. Spider webs, old pieces of furniture, and burn marks were all over the place.

If it was put on Earth, anyone could’ve made a lot of money by turning it into a horror house.

Nevertheless, no one seemed to be even a little afraid.

Priest Emil smiled as he looked around.

“It’s the perfect atmosphere to fight evil spirits.”

Upon entering the mansion, Priest Emil took a seat in the middle of the large ballroom then raised his hands.

“I’ll start.”

Paaats!

His hands soon began to emit light that became far brighter and more vivid due to the darkness that embraced them.

After a few moments, ghastly beings began to surround them, coming through the walls, the floors, and even the ceiling.

“Hoo…….”

“……Hoooooo….”

Human-shaped beings approached the light as they groaned.

‘Are those really ghosts?’

The ghosts were visible to them, and they looked exactly just like in the movies. They weren’t any different from how they imagined them to be.

He found their status quite peculiar, however.

[Race: Ghost. Lv. 18]

‘Why is Ghost a race name? Do ghosts have babies?’

Lich was also listed as the name of a race, yet it was undead.

About a dozen ghosts slowly approached the light.

Expecting a battle to erupt, Han-bin was about to pull out his sword when he stopped abruptly.

‘Huh?’

The ghosts were acting strange. They didn’t give recognition to him or his party at all.

They were like moths or squids blinded by the beauty of the light, causing them to pursue it mindlessly.

“Let’s deal with them, Effir.”

“Yes, Mr. Artis.”

Artis and Effir attacked the ghosts with magic spells and magic sword techniques.

Along with the explosions, the ghosts began to disappear.

Poof! Poof!

That was it.

There was no ghost counterattack.

They didn’t even try to run away.

“Hoo… ….”

“Hooooo…….”

Even though the other ghosts noticed their fellow ethereal beings disappearing, they still slowly approached the light.

They were exterminated without difficulties.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Han-bin smudged his eyes in amazement.

‘What? Was that all?’