How a Former Pastor Lives in Another World

16

Exorcism

Ralph Violet.

He is the Border Count who guards the northern border of the Kingdom of Albion, adjacent to the Holy Kingdom.

In other words, unlike ordinary nobles, he is a military noble sanctioned by the king.

This means he can legally organize an army with the king’s support and lead it into battle as the border commander.

And the world Ray was reincarnated into is a fantasy world.

A world where holy power and magic exist, and where the superhuman knights, often thought of as one-man armies, truly exist.

Ralph Violet is a king of the frontier, commanding over fifty such superhuman knights and able to summon an army of ten thousand with a mere gesture.

Ralph, the Count of the Frontier, was also known by another moniker.

The Northern Supreme Sword. A superhuman standing before the extraordinary realm of a Sword Master, the highest of the Sword Experts.

“Get away from my daughter this instant!”

The aura of the top Sword Expert was indeed overwhelming.

A mere shout made the air tremble and chilled the bones as if facing a tiger.

“Wait, please wait! Father! These people are teach···!”

It was then. Ray blocked Lawrence as he was about to reveal their identities.

And then.

“Al salaam alaikum.”

“Hmm?”

Count Ralph stopped in his tracks, confronted with a language he had never heard before.

And the sudden foreign language also flustered Lawrence and Father Moro.

“Marhaba. Saeed bulcake. Award an asbaha sdeek. Hello. How are you! Nice to meet you! We Salam, came to cast a spell.”

There is an awkwardness in pronunciation.

Unless practiced to the level of a local language, foreign pronunciation can be awkward.

But Ray spoke the foreign language fluently, as if it were his native tongue.

Then, he deliberately used an awkward common language to emphasize that he was a foreigner.

Though they looked the same, the language they spoke was an odd foreign one, causing the Count’s brain to freeze.

However, he could understand the message they wanted to convey.

“A spell? Where did you come from!”

“We Salam. Came to heal the white sickness. From a very far place. From the East.”

“The East? From such a distant place?”

“Young Master Lawrence. I heard they give a lot of money.”

“Is that true, Lawrence!”

As Count Ralph turned his head sharply, Lawrence stuttered but quickly realized what he had to say.

“Ah, ah··· Yes! Yes! That’s right! Rumors abound of a mysterious sorcerer from the distant East! We invited him with difficulty!”

“Really? No matter how I look, you seem like a continental.”

Count Ralph’s expression was one of unresolved suspicion. He tried to say something to Father Moro, but Ray skillfully intercepted.

“Miss, we can fix it. We need a lot of money. Please give money. Money.”

“······If it can cure my daughter, I’ll give as many gold coins as needed!”

Ray smirked as he replied.

“Arigato.”

***

After Byungchangbaek was convinced and left the room, the three quickly exited Young-ae’s chamber.

They walked a distance to join the third person before speaking, ensuring their voices wouldn’t reach the demon inhabiting Young-ae.

“The Countess is possessed by a demon. And Byungchangbaek is not himself either.”

“A demon?!”

The two exclaimed in shock upon hearing the news from Father Moro.

“Both of you, be careful with your words and actions. If the demon realizes its identity has been discovered, it will start causing trouble.”

“Gasp!”

“······We’ll speak quietly.”

With the two now cautious, Ray was the first to broach the subject.

“We need to deal with that mad Byungchangbaek first.”

“Brother Ray, the young master is here too.”

“I am… fine. It’s true that the head of the family has been acting strangely lately.”

The scent of death emanating from Byungchangbaek. Moreover, Lawrence seemed determined, noticing the disconnect in the eyes of the father he knew.

“What on earth has happened to my sister… and father?”

“It’s a specter.”

“A specter?”

As Lawrence looked puzzled, Father Moro added an explanation.

“To be precise, they’ve been enchanted by a demon. For some reason, a demon’s soul has inhabited the Countess, and Byungchangbaek has been bewitched by it.”

“The fact that he’s been rejecting the clergy of the Holy Nation and only summoning shamans is in a similar vein. It’s to obstruct exorcism by exclusion.”

“But my father’s intention to heal my sister is genuine! He has been trying every possible way to cure her for over half a year!”

My sister is possessed, and my father is bewitched? It was hard to believe.

“That’s how it is with someone of Byungchangbaek’s stature. Normally, when bewitched by a demon, one becomes a servant moving at the demon’s will. If he were fully enchanted, he would have already brought those witch-like beings into the castle.”

“Byungchangbaek has reached a high state through his own martial prowess. If not directly possessed, the enchantment could only stimulate the subconscious.”

“Could it be… the rejection of the Holy Nation’s priests!”

Father Moro nodded.

“To bewitch people and manipulate the subconscious, a plausible reason had to be created. For example… a marriage alliance.”

“Marriage… The head of the family mentioned his sister’s marriage, insisting that we must never allow the priests of the absolute theocracy to enter.”

For a noble lady, marriage is a matter of great importance.

Unless it’s an extraordinary case, titles are not passed down to daughters, and at best, they might bring in a son-in-law.

Then, one must marry well, but who would accept a noble lady rumored to be possessed by a demon?

“Wait, did you say the lady has been in a coma for half a year?”

“Yes. It will soon be the seventh month.”

“……”

Ray looked back at Father Moro with a grave expression, hoping his common knowledge wasn’t different in this world.

“Remarkable… No, it’s almost a miracle. That a body possessed by a demon hasn’t been consumed for over half a year. Normally, it should have been taken over long ago.”

It seems it’s not a common occurrence after all.

Ray said,

“The lady… She’s holding a demon within her.”

There’s no need to say how great an act that is.

In the history of exorcism that Ray’s previous life, Pastor Kim, had encountered, such cases were extremely rare.

If one were a clergy member, they would be canonized as a saint or a holy figure.

Father Moro was also amazed by the miracle, but soon shook his head.

“However, she won’t last long. The fact that the border lord has started to show symptoms means the death of the soul has begun to spread. It’s not just the border lord, but the entire lordship, no, the whole territory will be struck by disaster.”

“What should we do then?”

“We must exorcise the demon that resides within the lady’s body.”

Setting aside whether it’s possible and if there’s enough time, there was another problem.

“The count, bewitched by the demon, will try to interfere the moment we start the exorcism. Father Moro, can you withstand an encounter with a top-tier expert?”

“……I might stand a chance if it were the commander of the paladins, but it’s beyond me. Above all, I must conduct the exorcism ritual.”

And there was no one among the count’s knights who could be called upon.

They would only follow the orders of the border lord.

They might even have to face the fifty knights of the border command.

“We must move the count elsewhere during the exorcism ritual. Is there no way?”

At Ray’s question, everyone fell into deep thought.

The border lord, a top-tier expert, could sweep away everyone here in an instant.

If he were to burst in during the exorcism, survival, let alone a successful exorcism, would be impossible.

“Ray, didn’t you say… you were disguised as a shaman?”

“Right, but what about it?”

“Can’t we buy some time by saying we need to gather items for a spell? In the meantime, we can complete the exorcism ritual…”

“Uh…”

Aaron’s suggestion had merit.

“Now that I think about it, there was a time when a shaman from the barbarian tribes asked for the blood and flesh of a monster. That’s when Sir Max… the lord’s retainer led the soldiers out…”

“Prince Lawrence! What is the toughest and hardest to catch monster in the north?!”

At Ray’s question, Lawrence fell into thought, then began to recite the names of monsters.

“The frost giants of the northern snowfields or… the rock bears of the Ice Valley. If we’re talking about the tricky ones… there’s the White Horned Iron Deer. Even the seasoned hunters of the domain wouldn’t dare approach such a powerful monster.”

“So… unless you’re a top-tier sword expert, you wouldn’t even be able to catch one?”

“Ah…!”

Lawrence responded with a spark of realization to Ray’s words.

“If it’s monsters of that caliber, it wouldn’t be strange for father himself to step in!”

“Excellent, then I’ll try to persuade the prince with you. The three of you, please prepare for the exorcism ritual.”

Ray went with Lawrence to find Ralph, the border count.

“Do we need such ingredients?”

“Yes!”

“The barbarian shamans who came before also asked for strange ingredients.”

The count’s gaze was full of suspicion.

“The mystique of our Salam East. It’s a different dimension from the sorcerers here.”

The East.

It explained a lot.

The land where the sun rises. A country of pagans with a completely different language and culture.

The Oriental mysticism that makes one accept all sorts of strange things as possible, just because it’s from the East, allows one to move on with the notion that ‘it could be so.’

Just as Westerners often believed that Easterners could shoot energy blasts, that secretive ninja masters existed, and that there was a mystical spring that granted immortality just by drinking from it.

Ironically, the East held the same thoughts about the opposite side of the world.

Such mysticism towards a distant and foreign culture gave rise to many charlatans.

Like Ray Anderson right here.

“I’ll summon the knights. If we set out with trained hunters…”

“Then it will be too late! Fresh monster feathers, heart, tail. We need them quickly.”

“Um…”

This means that Byungbaek himself had to take action.

Although he was determined to do anything to cure his daughter, he was unconsciously bound by the thought that he must not leave this place, as if bewitched by a demon.

And since it was an unconscious manipulation, Ray emphasized Byungbaek’s ‘justification’ even more.

“If you don’t perform the ritual quickly, the young lady won’t recover. She won’t be able to marry. Evil energy. It will damage her organs.”

“Ugh…!”

He couldn’t understand the latter part, but the situation was urgent.

“Fine! I will gather the materials myself!”

The count’s love for his daughter was fully displayed.

***

The count left with the hunters of his domain.

Then, Father Moro quickly prepared for the exorcism.

“The ritual will be performed as soon as the morning sun rises. We must confront the evil spirits with blessings.”

“The sun will rise while we prepare. Is there anything else we need?”

“Please prepare salt and a piglet. The pig must be a piglet.”

“Why is that?”

Lawrence’s question was met with the curiosity of others.

The two who were unfamiliar with exorcism were resolute in their desire to learn from Father Moro’s exorcism.

“The piglet provides a vessel for the demon to enter. If we succeed in separating the demon’s soul from the young lady, it won’t be able to escape the barrier made of holy water and salt, so the only vessel it can enter is the piglet.”

The choice of a piglet was also to prepare a weak vessel that couldn’t exert much power.

“Can we really kill the demon with just that?”

Father Moro shook his head at Lawrence’s question.

“We cannot kill a demon. We can only isolate it by having it possess the pig.”

“This is unbelievable…”

Lawrence sighed. Then, Aaron raised his hand.

“Father, what if… just if, the young lady dies? Will it have the same effect?”

“Lord Graham! What nonsense are you spouting!!”

Lawrence shouted angrily. But Aaron spoke with a calm gaze.

“If the demon succeeds in consuming the young lady’s body… a tremendous disaster will befall humanity. We must consider the worst-case scenario.”

“Well, Aaron isn’t wrong.”

“That’s…!”

Even Jennie, who had a falling out with Aaron, agreed.

Aaron’s opinion wasn’t wrong. After all, the reason for preparing the piglet was to seal the body possessed by the demon.

“People and pigs are different. We don’t weigh human lives.”

It was Ray who spoke up.

In this place, Pastor Kim, more versed in exorcism rituals than anyone and witness to many calamities, was present.

But now, he declared with uncompromising firmness.

“We seal the demon. And we save Young-ae. That’s all we need to think about.”

“I thought you were just a weirdo, but I didn’t expect a flower bed.”

Aaron shook his head, unable to comprehend Ray.

With that, the exorcism ritual began, leaving a slight unease.

***

“Argh…!”

“What is that smell!”

The trainees entering Young-ae’s room frowned. Among them, Aaron, unable to bear it, rushed out and vomited.

“Bleargh!”

“Such a finely bred young master. You have a weak stomach.”

“Shut… up!”

Aaron, though irritable, soon quietly accepted Ray’s comforting pats on the back.

“Apply more mint powder to your nose. The stench isn’t something you can just endure.”

“You…”

As if he had experience, Aaron looked at Ray’s adeptness with a complex expression.

Ultimately unable to withstand the smell, Aaron frantically rubbed the mint powder Ray handed him onto his philtrum.

“The three of you, sprinkle holy water and salt around Young-ae to form a seamless barrier. Sister Jennie, make sure to tie the piglet tightly within the barrier.”

Father Moro set up the holy water and sacred objects prepared for the heresy interrogation.

Since these items needed to be provided quickly when necessary, the exorcism ritual required at least two people.

“Be sufficiently tense, but don’t be scared. This exorcism is very advantageous for us.”

The reason was simple.

The name Capricorn, which Ray learned while communing with the witch’s spirit.

It was likely the name of the demon inhabiting Young-ae’s body.

To wield the power of command, one must discover the true name of the adversary.

It seems simple yet is exceedingly tricky, for demons do not reveal their true names.

The names of many of the ninety-nine demons are known only because of millennia of confrontations and records that remain.

Of course, deducing the exact names of the ninety-nine demons is fundamental to the exorcism ritual, but this time, such a process is unnecessary.

“Let’s begin.”

Jenny, a woman like her, tied Lady Ophelia’s arms and legs to the bed.

Lady Ophelia is a knight of the Sword Experts.

The special handcuffs to seal a sinful knight were so heavy that no ordinary person could move them, no matter how hard they tried.

“Lord Soltera, in honor of our ancestors, you who mercifully allow souls to rest in peace. Grant us the strength to overcome difficulties, guide our path, and protect us from the enemy’s iron chariots.

As the prayer began, the powerful sanctity of Father Moro started to flow as the power of his commandment.

“Uh…”

Lady Ophelia reacted.

“Dad? Lawrence?”

Her body writhed coquettishly, continuing to search for someone else.

“Jax? Marie? Are you there?”

“May. Hanna. It’s suffocating. Please untie this.”

“Sir Betel? Sir Zen? Someone has come in. Please protect me quickly.”

Lady Ophelia’s voice, searching for others, was somehow bizarre.

A voice calling for people should contain emotion, yet Lady Ophelia’s voice was utterly devoid of even a strand of feeling.

“In the name of Lord Soltera, I command thee, demon, leave that body!”

Father Moro, pushing forward the Eclipse necklace, the symbol of the Inquisition, commanded.

The sanctity flowing from Father Moro’s commandment stimulated and shook Lady Ophelia.

Her coquettish writhing, which seemed like a struggle, brought color to the faces of the three, but Ray knew.

‘She doesn’t flinch!’

Unlike the witch’s soul, which fluttered like a candle flame in the wind under Father Moro’s commandment, the dark soul within Ophelia did not even twitch.

Seeing his commandment had no effect, Father Moro immediately resorted to his secret weapon.

“Capricorn!”

“Keek?”

Lady Ophelia turned her head sharply.

Still, she seemed to try to capture Father Moro beyond her unopened eyes.

As the demon reacted, Father Moro shouted even louder, thrusting the Eclipse necklace forward.

“Capricorn! Evil spirit! In the name of Lord Soltera, I command you, come out of the innocent lamb’s body!”

“……”

For a while, there was no response from the demon inside the young lady.

But that was only for a moment. The young lady’s neck twisted grotesquely.

【How did you know?】

It was a chilling voice.

A voice that seemed to pour out of the abyss with flies, not human.

“Capricorn! Leave that body!”

【But… you only know my name. Just the name. Only the name……】

One of the young lady’s eyes opened.

The bleached golden eye was square like a goat’s pupil.

Ophelia Violet, like Byun Baekhyun or Lawrence, has purple hair and irises.

So, those irises are the devil’s eyes.

Eyes are the windows to the soul, and the corruption of the soul means most of the young lady has been taken over.

“Capricorn! Leave that body at once!”

【No!】

The demon’s scream made the bed shake, and a gust of wind blew.

Father Moro, who was reciting the prayer, almost lost his balance, so his grip on the holy necklace showed his experience.

【You, you only know my name. Do you know who I am?】

“You are a demon! A wicked being!”

【You know nothing!!】

At that moment, the eclipse Father Moro was holding caught fire.

The brass holy necklace melted in an instant, dropping onto Father Moro’s fingers, and in the dizzying moment of the burn, the demon’s voice struck Father Moro with the gust.

“Fa, Father…!”

Aaron hurried to Father Moro, who had flown several meters and crashed against the wall.

The blood flowing from his eyes, nose, and mouth starkly indicated Father Moro’s condition.

【Do you know who I am?】

“Wh, who are you…”

As Aaron asked with a voice full of fear, the demon replied with a contemptuous smile.

【I am the fallen twelve stars. The brightest star in the sky, and the darkness that flickers in the abyss.】

“Hey, the twelve stars?”

The fallen twelve stars.

They are referred to as some of the most notorious breeds within the Solar Sect.

In the language of Earth, they could be described as:

‘The Archdemons?!’

The pinnacle of the ninety-nine demons.

It was the Goat Demon, Capricorn.