I Got an Omnipotent Angel - Chapter 25

Chapter 25: Ghost Market (3)

TL/ED – Miso

The imp in the birdcage melted away under the holy water the shopkeeper had used as a demonstration.

It looked almost exactly like the time holy water had been splashed on a mage, right down to the way the dissolving flesh turned into a wobbling lump of gelatin.

Isn’t that a bit too grotesque…….

Anyway, an imp counted as a demon too, so I didn’t feel particularly sorry for it just because it died.

If anything, the spiritual power that had been about to scatter as the imp died got absorbed into my brass ring.

I can put this toward practicing Decarabia’s magic again.

“Wh-what just happened?”

The problem was the shopkeeper’s reaction.

“You! What the hell did you give me?! Is this sulfuric acid?! Did you just hand me sulfuric acid?!”

“If it were, your fingers would have melted, wouldn’t they, sir?”

And the birdcage was perfectly fine, too.

“What… what in the world…….”

“So there’s no holy water better than this?”

“Are you kidding me? Even if the Pope himself came and blessed it, nobody produces instant-acting acid-in-a-bottle like this!”

There’s no holy water better than the stuff an amateur like me threw together?

That’s a little disappointing.

“……Then do you have any other decent goods?”

“Goods I’ve got. A twelve-gauge shotgun that received the full rite of blessing at the cathedral, silver shell set included.”

The shopkeeper hauled out a shotgun with a flourish.

What the hell, why is something like this being sold on South Korean soil?

“This works like a dream anywhere. Easy for a beginner to aim, easy to hit with. It’s standard issue for exorcists in this country.”

“…….”

Why is something like this standard issue?

“Of course, Vatican-made gear is the best of the best. Rumor has it there’s a shotgun forged from the silver crosses of the four great basilicas of the Vatican, melted down. Just talk, probably.”

The Vatican? Isn’t that where the Pope lives?

And they make vicious things like this there?

“If you don’t like guns, how about a blade? The bayonet’s an industry standard too. The edge stays tucked away in the hilt, and the pages of the scripture inside turn into the blade. Easy to conceal, and if you carry a stack of them they work fine as throwing weapons.”

There was another version as well, he told me, a weapon called the Blackblade.

It looked like an enormously awkward sword to handle. He fitted it over his knuckles one by one, and then, whoosh! the blades sprang out.

“Looks like Wolv*rine.”

“Pretty sure that’s exactly where they got it from.”

It didn’t look remotely practical.

Well, I suppose there are people out there who use freakish weapons like that.

The shopkeeper showed me a good many other pieces of gear besides.

“This here is called a Hand Seal (結手). It raises your anti-demon power and lets you feel the waves of spiritual force through your fingertips.”

“Grade-5 holy armor built in the design of a coat. Vatican-certified Level 5 performance against bullets, blades, and demons. It’s a Vatican-certified product, so it’s easiest to handle repairs through Myeongdong Cathedral.”

“A Poison-Warding Bead, for defense against vampirism. It doesn’t just block infection from a bite, it neutralizes most poisons too.”

The equipment the shopkeeper introduced was, on the whole, somehow… not what I had imagined.

“Why would I need protection from bullets and blades?”

“Because… the other side uses them?”

“They use them?”

“What’s the most effective weapon for killing a person? A gun, right? Vampires walk around armed these days. Why would demons be any different?”

“…….”

Are the times really this brutal?

A vampire ought to be turning into a bat or slinging blood magic. What’s it doing with a gun?

“The Poison-Warding Bead will do you plenty of good too. Quite a few demons drink blood on the side. Incubi do it, and so did that imp that just kicked the bucket.”

“Hm… how much do they cost?”

“The Hand Seal, thirty million. The holy armor, eighty million. The Poison-Warding Bead, two hundred million.” [TL Note: ~$22,000, ~$60,000, and ~$150,000 USD]

That’s insane.

Why is everything so expensive?

The association’s stipend wouldn’t buy me a single piece of armor.

But it wasn’t beyond my reach.

I had over four hundred million won sitting in my account. [TL Note: ~$300,000 USD]

Should I buy them?

From the sound of it I need them…….

The sums are big enough to make me hesitate, but this is gear that might save my life.

And skimping on money would be idiotic.

Just as I steeled myself to pay, I happened to notice the cross necklace hanging at the man’s throat.

“Are you a Father?”

“That’s ancient history. I quit.”

Apparently the shopkeeper had been a Catholic priest once. Was that why he dealt in goods like these?

Come to think of it, I called myself a Christian and had never worn so much as a single cross.

I remembered the first time I had ever run into an evil spirit.

When I made the sign of the cross without a cross to my name, that thing had asked what my cross was even made of.

Having one on me at a moment like that would have been reassuring.

While I was thinking that, the shopkeeper fiddled with his cross and grinned.

“Need a rosary? It announces your affiliation for all to see, but honestly, there’s no sacred object quite like a cross.”

“Crosses actually work?”

“Naturally. Religious symbols only work for believers, but for a believer they work all the harder. You’re a Christian yourself, right?”

“I am.”

The man disappeared into the back and returned with something new.

It was a cross made of wood.

“A rosary made of rowan. It carries the effect of granting ‘peaceful dreams’, but against an incubus that means it can handle mental attacks as well.”

“Whoa~ it does that too?”

“It’s only anti-demon power layered on top, so don’t get your hopes too high.”

“How much?”

“Three hundred million.” [TL Note: ~$225,000 USD]

“…….”

That’s the most insane price I’ve seen yet.

Is inflation the default setting around here?

Anyone watching would think I printed money at home.

“That’s a century-old rowan rosary. A piece with history behind it. Stands to reason the older an object is, the more spiritual power it takes on.”

I see.

A whole hundred years old, though; put that way, maybe it does look impressive?

“Hm… I’m short on cash.”

“By how much?”

“About two hundred million, if I want all of it.” [TL Note: ~$150,000 USD]

Of course, there was also the option of buying less.

All I had to do was give up either the rosary or the Poison-Warding Bead.

But both of them seem like good items.

As I mulled it over, the shopkeeper put a question to me.

“Then… any chance you’d be willing to sell that holy water?”

“My holy water?”

“That’s right. Whoever blessed that was no ordinary holy man, but at the end of the day holy water’s a consumable, isn’t it. Gear like this you stock once and use forever… so, what do you say?”

The shopkeeper had taken an enormous interest in the holy water I had shown him.

He had watched an imp melt right in front of his eyes, so I supposed that was only natural.

I had assumed this was the normal state of things, but apparently not.

“How much would you give me for it?”

“Four million a bottle… no, five! That’s ten times the going rate for ordinary holy water!” [TL Note: ~$3,800 USD per bottle]

“Sold!”

I snatched up the offer.

He was going to pay five million won a bottle for something that cost less than five hundred won to produce!

“C-cool of you, I like that! H-how many can you sell?”

“I’ve got about forty bottles. Oh, do you buy holy oil too?”

“Holy oil as well?”

I snapped my fingers and had Gari bring out the cooler.

Thud!

The shopkeeper jumped when a cooler suddenly dropped out of thin air, but he caught on quickly.

“You’ve got a shikigami working for you or something?”

“Something like that.”

He priced the holy oil the same as the holy water and bought the lot for four hundred million won. [TL Note: ~$300,000 USD]

“Hoo…! Th-these are the real thing.”

“Thank you for the good business.”

So between the Hand Seal, the holy armor, the Poison-Warding Bead, and the rosary I spent the enormous sum of six hundred ten million won, and still had over two hundred million left in my account. [TL Note: ~$460,000 USD spent]

This really is insane.

And on top of it all, I can produce holy water and holy oil without limit.

“Ah, friend. Will you be able to keep getting hold of holy water and holy oil?”

At that, I hesitated to answer.

It seemed my holy water and holy oil were far more powerful items than I had imagined.

If I said I could keep supplying them, someone might get bad ideas.

Most threats would get cut short at the Gari or Eight-Foot Noona line, but it never hurt to be careful.

“I just happened to get lucky with these.”

“I see. Fair enough. It wouldn’t be good for sacred objects on that level to flood the market anyway. Draws too many eyes. Perfect way to attract the wrong sort of vermin. You keep that attitude of yours.”

Oh no.

The shopkeeper had already caught on.

Still, the fact that he offered advice anyway suggested he was a decent man.

As I finished my shopping at the shopkeeper’s store and stepped outside, I ran back over everything I had bought.

The Hand Seal.

Said to raise anti-demon power and let me feel the waves of spiritual force.

The holy armor coat.

It was a full-length longcoat, and it protected the entire body evenly.

There was nothing like the ballistic plating I knew of inside it, yet it stopped bullets, so some kind of sorcerous power? must have gone into it.

The Poison-Warding Bead, for defense against vampirism.

It provides resistance to infection from bites and neutralizes poison.

Holding it in the mouth is most effective, but apparently it works just from being carried on the body.

The century-old rowan rosary.

It grants peaceful dreams, and against an incubus it apparently works as something close to a hard counter.

“That’s what I call a proper shopping trip.”

For someone who had been fighting with nothing but a spirit knife and holy water, this was as good as a full gear set.

And above all, on top of all that…….

“You like it?”

【Po~】

The iron staff of Musashibo Benkei, warrior monk of Japan.

I had won a treasure said to fetch billions of won for a mere ten million, so that really was the jackpot. [TL Note: ~$7,500 USD]

“Now that I think about it, I never looked into what effects the iron staff actually has.”

Well, even swung around as a plain lump of metal it would be plenty powerful.

Once I got home, I looked down at the day’s shopping haul.

“…….”

Clack clack?

【Po~?】

Quietly, I connected my phone to the Bluetooth speaker──

(Recommended BGM: Fight Against the Devils)

“Fight against the devilsobrothersfreedfromsiiiin!!”

Clack clack clack clack clack clack clack clack! Clack clack clack clack!Clack clack clack!!

【Po~?】

“Fight with a bold heart, against the wicked foe yonder~! Eight-Foot Noona, sing along!!”

【Po…! Po po po po! Po po po?!】

Clack clack clack clack clack clack clack clack! Clack clack clack clack! Clack cla-claaack~!!

“Sparrow, you too! Glo~ry, glory, hallelujaaah!!”

Chirp? Chirp~chirp chirp chirp chirp-chirp-chiiirp~chirp!

Clack~clack clack clack clack cla-claaack~clack!

【Po~po po po po po pooo~po!】

“Glory glory hallelujaaah~! Soon! We shall be victoriou~us!”

Enchant, let’s gooo~!

***

Holy sword, holy water, holy oil, holy armor, holy rosary, the full set.

Ahh~ that’s reassuring.

With this much I could take down not just a demon but a demon’s granddaddy.

Fully armed, I arrived at a club in Itaewon.

This was the club where incubi had reportedly been showing up.

Apparently they appeared at other clubs besides this one as well.

Which meant leaving it up to luck, but I had no need for that.

“It reeks, it absolutely reeks. The foul stench of demons!”

I made a full circuit of the Itaewon clubs where incubi were said to appear, and on the third one I found the stink.

In other words, if I walked into the club that smelled, the odds were high there would be an incubus inside.

“Whew… my first time at a club.”

There had been the occasional classmate at university who said they went clubbing.

But in a Christian household, how easy was it to visit a debauched, licentious place like a club?

I had no interest in them either, so I had never so much as glanced at one.

And now here I was, going to a club.

Standing in front of the club, I first told the two of them to wait.

The reason was that they stood out far too much.

“An incubus can see spirit bodies too, right? We could get spotted for nothing if you come along, so I think it’s better if you wait outside.”

【Po~】

Clack clack!

The demon Decarabia had clearly been able to perceive Gari.

If there was an incubus inside the club, there was no way it would fail to notice Gari or Eight-Foot Noona.

“If anything happens, I’ll send word through Chirpy.”

Taking only the inconspicuous Chirpy along, I entered the club.

To be precise, I tried to enter.

“Denied.”

“Urk.”

The entrance to the club.

I had stood in line for a full hour, and at the very moment I was about to walk in, guards in black suits stepped into my path.

“Turn around. Shoo, shoo~”

But whyyy?!