Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Chapter 14. Learn While Getting Beaten

Wakan Tanka spoke.

《I told you before that something was getting in the way, didn't I? The little thing stirring inside this vessel.》

“Ah, yes. That's... another spirit that used to dwell in my body.”

《It seems that one will... open its eyes soon.》

Do-jun's eyes widened.

‘Did you just say... the White Tiger Spirit is waking up?’

《No. It hasn't fully awakened yet. It's merely stirring. It still... lacks nourishment. But it won't be long.》

The corners of Do-jun's mouth twitched upward.

The White Tiger Spirit who had spent his entire life beside him... the being who was practically his only family.

The thought that he might meet him again soon filled him with anticipation.

《You're going to attack those vampires soon, aren't you?》

‘You heard all of that?’

《You were talking so loudly that it was impossible not to. Anyway, if I can consume more of their souls, this one too... should wake soon.》

Perfect.

There just happened to be a batch of sacrifices ready for reviving his former partner.

Do-jun smiled and lifted the tablet beside him.

The Underworld Shop.

He intended to buy everything he would need for the upcoming vampire hunt.

***

Inside the enormous castle in the misty forests of the Hudson Valley, a place reminiscent of Dracula's fortress.

Roaring echoed through the castle from early morning.

“You useless bastards! If I'm paying you that much, then earn your fucking keep!”

George Goldwyn sat on an antique sofa, shouting in rage.

The bodyguards and exorcists lined up before him could only bow their heads and tremble.

“I got shaken down by some nameless yellow bastard! He threatened me to my face for more money, and you all just watched? You're bodyguards? You're decorative dolls!”

George's face flushed red as he continued huffing in fury.

The youngest son of the prestigious Goldwyn family.

The fact that he had been beaten by some underworld exorcist and forced to hand over money was a humiliation he would remember for the rest of his life.

“W-We're sorry, young master. He was simply too powerful...”

“Powerful? Fuck, that's your excuse? You think I pay you ridiculous salaries so you can get your asses kicked and make excuses?”

While he continued ranting hysterically, a maid cautiously knocked on the door.

“Young master, someone has arrived for an interview after seeing the recruitment notice.”

George roughly swept his hair back and gestured with his chin.

“Haaaa... Let him in. If this one's garbage too, all of you are fired.”

The Annabelle incident had taught him something painfully clear.

If he wanted to maintain his hobby of collecting occult artifacts, he needed overwhelming force.

Being humiliated by some unknown Asian and having to beg him for help because he couldn't suppress Annabelle... It had all happened because the people around him were mediocre.

He intended to hire someone truly capable and replace all the existing trash.

The heavy door opened and a man walked in.

“Good morning.”

A Latino man with dark brown skin.

His abnormally long nose and bloodshot red eyes, as if blood might drip from them at any moment, gave him an unsettling aura.

The man approached George with both hands in his pockets and an arrogant stride.

“Who are you?”

“Ah, I'm... Mateo. For now, I hold a C-rank exorcist license.”

George frowned.

“C-rank? You came here with only that much ability? Haaaa, fuck. Another mediocre bastard.”

The exorcists standing beside him flinched and glanced at Mateo.

Several of them were C-rank themselves... so his words had effectively dismissed everyone present as trash.

Then Mateo responded by sniffing the air.

It was a bizarre movement, as if he were tasting particles in the atmosphere.

“Ranks are only numbers. People often say I'm quite capable for my grade. You won't regret hiring me.”

“Really? You talk a good game.”

George smiled unpleasantly and pointed toward the twenty or so exorcists standing throughout the room.

“Prove it. Beat every one of them and I'll hire you.”

The guards looked stunned.

Even for a C-rank, twenty against one was impossible.

But Mateo tilted his head as though bored.

“Fine. It's not anything difficult. All of you look like deadweight anyway.”

Step, step.

Mateo walked forward with his hands still in his pockets.

“Grrr!”

That bastard thinks we're idiots?

One irritated exorcist charged first.

The instant he threw a punch.

“Huh?”

Mateo's form seemed to blur, and the charging man's jaw twisted at a grotesque angle before he crashed to the floor.

Before anyone could even process what had happened, Mateo tore through them like a storm.

His fists and feet sliced through the air too quickly to see.

“G-Guhhh!”

“Aaaagh!”

Screams and the sound of breaking bones filled the living room.

Despite the twenty-to-one numbers, it was a completely one-sided slaughter.

‘W-What the hell? He definitely said C-rank...’

Even George, who had initially been clapping at the sight, gradually lost color from his face.

Mateo wasn't merely subduing his opponents.

He crushed the limbs of people already on the ground and mercilessly stomped the faces of those who had lost consciousness.

It looked less like a human fight and more like a starving hunting dog tearing into prey.

At last, Mateo was the only person still standing in the room.

Twenty exorcists lay on the floor in bloody heaps.

Mateo flared his nostrils and approached George.

“G-Great! You're hired immediately! Name your salary and—”

“I don't need that crap.”

Mateo grabbed George by the collar and lifted him up.

His red eyes flashed over George's dangling face.

“Ghk! W-What are you doing?!”

Bam!

A merciless fist drove into George's abdomen.

George retched without even managing a scream.

Mateo threw him to the floor like a doll, climbed on top of him, and grabbed his hair roughly.

“I have a few questions. Someone recently sealed that cursed doll you owned, correct?”

“H-How do you know that?”

“Shut up and answer. If you don't want to die, tell me who sealed it and hand over the doll.”

“B-But...”

“Don't make me repeat myself. I'll kill you.”

H-He's serious.

Feeling death approaching, George could no longer cling to his pride.

With trembling hands, he took Annabelle from the safe and handed it over while speaking hurriedly.

“We only hired some organization called ‘Alice’! An Asian exorcist showed up... I don't know anything exact about those people!”

Mateo accepted the Annabelle doll from the safe and pressed his nose close to the red talisman stuck to it, inhaling deeply.

Sniff, sniff.

Tiny traces of spiritual energy lingered on the doll's surface and the talisman.

The instant Mateo caught that foul, cold scent, a cruel smile spread across his lips.

It matched perfectly with the unpleasant scent of blood left by the one who had massacred his kin at the abandoned factory in New Jersey.

“Found you.”

BAM!

George Goldwyn's body rolled backward across the floor after Mateo kicked him away.

***

Inside the hall of the closed club ‘Alice in Wonderland.’

Instead of colorful lights and music, a cold tension filled the space.

On the stage, boxes containing freshly delivered silver weapons and enhanced holy water from the Underworld Shop were piled haphazardly.

“All right, everyone pay attention.”

Kang Do-jun kicked one of the boxes lightly as he spoke.

The dozen or so exorcists gathered in the hall—members with codenames such as ‘Cheshire Cat’ and ‘Queen of Hearts’—all turned toward him.

“The weapons you'll be issued from now on are specialized for anti-vampire combat. Bullets with silver content raised to ninety percent and specially coated melee weapons. Use them properly. And the rules are simple. Unless you destroy the heart or take off the head, they'll get back up. Confirm every kill.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved.

“Put this over there.”

He placed talisman traps infused with sorcery in every blind spot throughout the club, setting traps in ventilation ducts, drains, and even sprinklers.

‘What the hell is that?’

‘What's that yellow paper... supposed to do?’

But the organization's members watching him looked thoroughly skeptical.

“What should we call you?”

“Just call me Asian or whatever.”

“Haaa... Asian, then let me ask one thing.”

A man wearing a cat mask, ‘Cheshire Cat,’ crossed his arms and sneered.

“How exactly are vampires supposed to find us? Our ‘Alice’ is famous even in New York's underworld for airtight information security. We left no traces, yet you claim they're going to storm this place? Honestly, aren't you overreacting?”

Queen of Hearts beside him joined in.

“Exactly. I know Master thinks highly of you... but isn't it a bit much to waste the staff's time like this without evidence? We're also losing plenty of revenue by keeping the club closed. Vampires aren't gods.”

They were only cooperating because their master, ‘Clock Rabbit,’ had ordered them to.

To those who had never properly witnessed Kang Do-jun's abilities, these precautions seemed like excessive paranoia.

Alice had never once been successfully tracked by another organization or evil spirit... and even if someone did come, they were confident they could crush them.

‘No, that Asian is probably right.’

‘Best keep quiet.’

But the Tea Party members, who had witnessed Kang Do-jun's power multiple times, kept their mouths firmly shut.

After finishing the traps, Do-jun spoke.

“Doubt it'll take long. Honestly, I'd be more surprised if they couldn't find us.”

“Ha! What gives you so much confidence? And why the hell does Master trust every word this guy says? This is insane—”

Cheshire Cat's shouting never reached the end.

Do-jun shrugged.

“They're here.”

“What?”

“They're already outside the door.”

Click.

The tightly shut front door of the club opened as naturally as though someone were entering their own home.

In an instant, the air in the hall was contaminated by the stench of blood.

Step, step.

Slow footsteps echoed down the dark corridor.

The man who appeared beneath the hall lights was Mateo, with dark brown skin. He sniffed with his long nose, then twisted his lips grotesquely as he looked at everyone assembled.

“So the rats... were all gathered here.”

His eyes were already burning red.

In one hand, he held the bloodstained Annabelle doll taken from George Goldwyn's castle.

The exorcists instantly froze and raised their weapons in confusion.

“W-Who are you?!”

Cheshire Cat stammered as he backed away, while the others gripped their weapons.

Anyone could tell... their visitor radiated a suspicious presence.

Do-jun rubbed his chin.

“Got here faster than I expected.”

The tension inside the club pulled taut.

The Catastrophe-Class Exorcist Is Too Strong in America

Author

: Gisigami

Production Date

: September 15, 2026

Publisher

: ACES Media Co., Ltd.

Editor

: ACES Media Editorial Team

Address

: 12F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

Email

: acesmedia9@gmail.com

※ This work was published by ACES Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder,

and its contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.

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UCI

: G720:N+A129-20260914068