An Exorcist Magical Girl!

I counted on my strength to open the portal, more than the ghost’s strength to close it.

 

I raise my hand to eye level, and with more force than I’ve ever used before, I slam it open.

 

 【Talent: Exorcist (Aspiring)】【Status: Utilized】【Account – Open ▾■■■■■■■■◧□ …85%】 

 

In one fell swoop, I opened the account as wide as I could.

 

For a moment, the image of a child in a white dress came into view.

 

But it was only a moment.

 

The ghost began to exude power to block my vision.

 【 Account -open ▾■■■■■■■■◧□ …85%】【 ■■□□□□□□□□ …20%】【 ■■■■■□□□□□ …50】 

 

This was the beginning of a real power struggle.

 

The forces that wanted to close and the forces that wanted to open were in a tense conflict, and the degree of opening fluctuated back and forth between 20% and 60%.

 

As a result, the spirit in front of me kept appearing as a white blob and then turning into a concrete form.

 

But my persistence prevented it from closing completely.

 

“Let me help you.”

 

Seo Jun, who was standing behind me, noticed that I was struggling with the portal and asked quietly.

 

If there are two exorcists who have opened the account, the power of the ghost trying to close it will be dispersed and weakened.

 

It would make things easier for me, and I could use the Simple Clairvoyance skill I hadn’t gotten around to using because I was too concerned with securing my sensory freedom.

 

But I shook my head.

 

This isn’t just borrowing an amulet.

 

It’s a much more direct intervention.

 

It was unclear how much progress I would make in my defenses with the active help of another exorcist.

 

It was better to do as much as I could on my own, even if it was difficult, than to rely on someone else’s help and watch my progress go as fast as an ant’s claw.

 “I thought you were going to ask me to do something big, but all you asked me to do was open the account for a test?”

Seo Jun muttered under her breath.

 “No, I didn’t realize that the solution to the problem of the account automatically closing was so simple.” 

I had asked them to put their heads together and find out why my account was being closed.

 

This tug-of-war, in which neither side was able to push back, ended up being as futile as spitting on a class assignment.

 

It’s a club with a bad reputation, and if one of its members hangs out in the club room during class, it’s a double whammy.

 

It hurts my pride, but this time I had to take the initiative and back down.

 

To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be able to exorcise it if I keep arguing with it, because I’m already having a hard time just trying to come up with a solution.

 

I’m going to have to learn how to use the “Simple Clairvoyance” skill with minimal force to get this job done.

 

I only have until Friday of this week to do the exorcism, so I’ll have a few days to practice and then I’ll face it again.

 

I didn’t want to face the ghost again until I was fully prepared.

It would be a shame if I fought a useless battle and the ghost grew stronger than me.

 

I’ve retreated before, so it’s in my best interest to let it think I’ve made a clean getaway and keep it off guard.

 

So I won’t go near the new clubroom until the day of the exorcism.

 

That’s my strategic retreat.

 

 

***

 

 

“You were right, this is getting really personal and messy.” 

At the training center, I briefly explained to Senior Shin what happened at school today.

 

Starting with the story of the third function of the mirror, the

“Incorruptible Treasure Trove”

, and ending with the ambulance ride.

 

“That Hanbyul friend of yours must have been really scared, huh?” “Yes. She deserved an ambulance, so I went to the hospital and got an IV.” “Hahahahaha! You weren’t even really sick?” “Yes. I’m a little healthier now. No, that’s not the point, the mirror!”

 

It was just as the Senior had said the day before.

 

The mirror was working on a very personal principle: the experience in this room.

 

Perhaps the

“Mirror of Truth”

function was born from hearing the truth of the exorcism mission at the high-speed terminal station, and the

“The surface of a calm lake is like a mirror”

function was born from the transparent wall of the tunnel turning into a lake-like exit.

 

The

“Incorruptible Treasure Trove”

feature is based on the experience of being trapped in the mirror itself.

 

We took a cue from the fact that the inventory storage condition

“will fix the contradiction in the given sentence”

.

 

It’s a complete mishmash of the escape experience, this one.

 

By deconstructing and reversing the sentence,

“Create a contradiction with reality in the mirror to get out,”

the storage condition becomes,

“When the contradiction is removed, go back in.”

 “Oh, you figured out the principle!” “Yeah, but can we call it a principle, it’s so arbitrary, I guess it’s just a mirror of truth, and just because the exit looks like a little rippling water doesn’t mean it’s some kind of fire helicopter fighting a forest fire.”

 

I still laugh out loud when I think back to that scene.

 

It was like a dam or a reservoir that had been lifted into the air and then a few holes were drilled in the bottom and water poured out.

 

I ended the story by saying that I couldn’t wait to figure out how to use the mirror, and I brought up the story of the ghost closing the door to the club room.

 

“So I can’t use my clairvoyance because I’m wrestling with a ghost to open my account.” “Well, if your account is only 10% open, you can still use your clairvoyance skill. You won’t be able to see it very clearly, but you will be able to sense the energy of the core.” “That’s true, but the attack won’t work well with only 10% open.”

 

Senior Shin smiled at my words.

 “I guess I’ll just use what I have today?” 

 

***

  

The next day, Wednesday, lunchtime.

 

I was half dozing with my jaw clenched when someone tapped me on the shoulder.

 

“Hey, can you come over?”

Yuri called out to me with a squeak.

“I’m cleaning up the club room, but I’m having a little trouble.” “Didn’t the students who helped yesterday at lunch say they could skip today?” “Well, it’s not the luggage, it’s the ghost.”

 

Yuri was the one who called me, but I was the one who led the way to the club room.

 

She followed me closely and explained the situation.

 

“Today the art and lighting teams are here to clean up, but the ghost keeps bothering them. I took all the luggage out of the storage room of the audio-visual room, and now I just have to stack the boxes in the back of the room by type and do a quick final cleanup, but the ghost keeps…” 

Yuri shook his head in disbelief.

 

The mere thought of the ghost’s misdeeds sent shivers down her spine.

 “At this rate, I won’t be able to finish it by noon today, and that’s scary. That’s why I wanted to call you as my representative.” “Um, okay, but Yuri…” “Huh?” “You moved your stuff yesterday with me, so why were you out working again? Are you just pampering the other club members?”

 

I wondered if she was so sweet that she couldn’t say no to being asked to do double the work just for her.

 

After all, hadn’t Yuri paid me to exorcise the ghost in the new club room?

 

She had also suggested that I take on the bug case.

 

But I thought she only suggested it, and the whole class paid equally.

 

Is it possible that the drama club is just ignoring her opinion?

 

Was she afraid that she would be criticized for speaking up again, so she just wanted to do it on her own?

 

“But fortunately that’s not the case,”

Yuri laughed.

 “Don’t worry, there are no bad guys in our club. I just do it because I like it.” “Because you like it?” “Yeah. Because I really care about our club.”

 

She used to sound scared, like she’d just told me about a ghost.

 

Now she sounds as confident as when she auditioned for the lead.

 

“I just want to do the best I can with the drama club, and since I’m not good at leading, I’ll do my best to help, even if it’s just a small part.”

 

Yuri’s eyes sparkle like shards of glass in the sunlight as she says this.

 

“So you really don’t have to worry, Iri. It may seem like a losing proposition to others, but I’m doing it because I love it.”

 

She looked at me and added,

 “The same goes for the request. It’s not like I can do anything spectacular for the club, but I just wanted to make sure I was paying for it.” “Why do you like this club so much?”

 

Despite the bluntness of the question, Yuri smiles brightly.

 “Because I like acting.”

 

I see. Love should be so pure and upright.

 

The person who speaks of love should be pure and beautiful.

 

I used to be as immaculate as they were.

 

There were times when I even enjoyed the effort of not knowing.

 

When I first vowed to be a magical girl, I certainly was.

 

When did this love of mine start to twist and turn?

 

Oh, fuck.

 

What’s the point of writing about it?

 

It’s already been done.

 

I shook off my rambling thoughts and walked on.

 

“Why do you like acting? Because you’re good at it?” 

The question I hadn’t gotten out was on the tip of my tongue, but I ignored it.

 

“Guys, I got her!”

 

Yuri yelled as they approached the club room on the fourth floor.

 

She grabbed the doorknob of the club room, and there was a loud thud from inside.

 

 

***

 

 

An angry scream soon followed.

 

As soon as I opened the door, I saw Hana Hyun, the head of the art team, clutching her head and falling to her knees.

 

“Hana!”

 

Hearing Yuri’s voice, Hana spotted us and ran over to us, her eyes flashing with madness.

 

“You’re back.” “Uh…” “Look.”

 

Then she turned back to her work and started stuffing the props on the floor into the empty boxes.

 

When the box was full, she lifted it up and placed it on a low cabinet at the back of the room.

 

And then.

 

Bam!

 

As if someone had pushed it, the box toppled to the floor, sending her carefully organized props flying out of the box.

 

“Holy shit, time reversal magic!”

 

Two other members of the art team whispered as they watched in disbelief.

 

“That’s the 15th time that’s happened.” “You put it away, the ghost spilled it, what the heck is going on?”

 

Just then, the front door flew open.

 “Hey, hey, hey, drama club?! I made an announcement the other day to move classrooms, and you still haven’t cleaned up? What have you been doing all this time that’s causing this mess?”

 

I turned my head and saw a familiar face.

 

It was Ms. Park Eun-kyung.

 

“You made an announcement yesterday at lunch, and we’ve been working hard to clean up, too. We’ve put everything away except for this. Look.” 

Hana was speaking in a disgruntled tone.

 

But Ms. Park Eun-kyung, who is determined to grab the pods and keep her nerves under control, doesn’t want to listen to the students’ struggles.

 

“It’s frustrating, you should just get it over with and think about studying. You don’t want to study, do you think I don’t know that you’re using this as an excuse to come to class late?”

 

At that, Hana jumped up and yelled.

 

“See for yourself!”

 

Hana throws a bunch of stuff into the box and puts it on top of her locker.

 

Something knocks on the box, and the box and its contents rush out again.

 “This is the 15th time I’ve done this.” “Ha-Hana, it’s the 16th.” “This is the 16th time I’ve done this!”

 

But while Ms. Park flinched at the ghost’s movements, the students didn’t blink an eye.

 

Instead, she made excuses, saying

“it’s because you put the box crooked, and where did you get off yelling at the teacher?”

 

“It’s because of her.”

 

Kwon Yuri whispered so that only I could hear.

 “She’s the reason we lost our club room.”