Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Chapter 9. Annabelle

Inside Hataałii Tso's room, I cautiously asked a question.

“Elder, what exactly is an Áłtsé Hataałii?”

“It refers to the great mother of the tribe, the only medium capable of serving ‘Wakan Tanka,’ the supreme god of the Navajo people—the Great Spirit—and one who drives out evil.”

“The Great Spirit...”

He pointed toward my lower abdomen as he spoke.

“A god who is the very source of order, existence, survival, and death. Simply put, to First Nations people like us, the Great Spirit is the supreme deity.”

“The supreme... deity.”

My mouth fell open on its own.

‘The supreme god... is dwelling inside me?’

Only then did it make sense.

That crushing presence I'd felt the instant it entered my absurdly vast vessel, along with that ridiculous divine power.

If it was a being of that stature, everything could be explained.

I was pleased.

If that was true...

‘Then I've got more than enough potential to get revenge on Lee Seo-jin and those bastards in Korea.’

Just as the corners of my lips twitched upward, the spirit's voice sounded in my head.

《Ah... was I such a being? I feel as though some faint memories are returning.》

A hollow laugh escaped me.

The irony of a supreme god not even remembering his own name was almost absurd.

Hataałii Tso fiddled with an old pipe and continued.

“Still, this is fortunate.”

“What... is?”

“That the Great Spirit came to dwell in a kind and clever young man like you.”

My hand went slightly numb.

Here I was in America making a fortune and plotting how best to tell South Korea to go fuck itself... Hearing something like that made my conscience prick instinctively.

“I'm... not really that good of a person. I'm obsessed with money, and my personality's pretty twisted too.”

“No, you are. The scent of your soul tells me so. If that weren't true, Áłtsé Hataałii would never have entrusted the Great Spirit to you, and the Great Spirit would never have settled within you.”

“Is that so...”

Well, if it's good, it's good.

“By ‘good,’ I mean including your desires, greed, and all the worldly anguish that makes you human. We don't call someone good merely because they're nice. Usually, we call that foolish or stupid.”

“...”

“A medium serving the Great Spirit must be capable. Knowing how to look after your own interests means you're clever, and only such people can survive in this harsh world.”

“I understand.”

As I nodded, the red-haired girl sitting beside us crossed her arms and muttered with an openly dissatisfied expression.

“Tch. Why would the Great Spirit choose someone like him...”

“That's rude, Nana. Mind your manners in front of a guest.”

Without hesitation, Hataałii Tso lightly smacked the girl on the head with his pipe.

“B-But...”

The old man lit his pipe and puffed out smoke.

As the acrid smoke filled the tent, the atmosphere grew much more serious.

“So, you came to us because you want to understand the Great Spirit better and draw out its power more effectively, correct?”

“Yes. It's difficult to control in several ways.”

The old man pulled an ancient book from inside his clothes.

It had no title, and its leather cover was worn almost beyond recognition... an object clearly marked by age.

“This is a secret manual describing methods of controlling sacred energy, passed down only among a select few First Nations mediums.”

“Grandpa! Why are you giving that to an outsider? He's not even a Hataałii!”

Ignoring the girl entirely, Hataałii Tso sharpened his gaze and continued.

“In exchange for this book, I have one request.”

“Please tell me.”

“The being who killed Áłtsé Hataałii... I don't know what it was, but if the opportunity ever arises, I would like you to avenge her.”

“Avenge her?”

“I personally respected her greatly... I'm quite angry that she's dead. It's purely a personal wish.”

The image of the old woman flashed through my mind—her abdomen pierced by a massive hole as demonic corruption consumed her.

It clearly hadn't been an accident. There were definite signs of deliberate murder.

Then a voice echoed from my lower abdomen.

《Interesting. Someone did that to the child who served me her entire life. That does intrigue me.》

With things like this... the answer was simple.

“All right. Though it may take some time. I'm still lacking in ability, and there are many things I have to do first.”

“Hohoho! If you consider yourself lacking, then every mediocre exorcist in America would have to be called trash—or fleas. Excessive modesty isn't good.”

“Then I'll take my leave.”

Just as I stood with the book in hand, Hataałii Tso spoke again.

“You... are aware that your vessel contains two beings, aren't you?”

“What?”

“I don't know exactly what it is either, but I can sense two energies inside your vessel. Another being is asleep within the embrace of the Great Spirit.”

“...”

“Powerful and valiant, but not one of the spirits we served. It seems to have come from your land. Am I wrong?”

At that moment, the spirit muttered again.

《See? I told you something irritating was lying around inside the vessel.》

My mind went blank for a moment.

Could it be... him?

“When will that being... wake up?”

“I can't say for certain, but it seems extremely weakened. The Great Spirit appears to be watching over that being as well, so don't worry too much.”

《Exactly. I'm always hungry because I'm feeding that nuisance too. So, human... hunt down souls and offer them to me.》

The instant I heard Hataałii Tso and the spirit's words, something swelled inside my chest.

Suppressing the corners of my mouth from rising as much as possible, I nodded.

“Thank you very much, Hataałii Tso. You've been a tremendous help.”

“May blessings... follow your path.”

After exchanging farewells, Do-jun left.

...

...

Afterward, the girl who had been quietly listening finally confronted the old man in frustration.

“Grandpa! Are you really allowed to tell someone like him all that? He's just some Asian exorcist! Why on earth...”

Hataałii Tso tapped the ash from his pipe and stared into the drifting smoke.

The old man's eyes followed the complicated currents twisting through the air.

“That man smells of destiny, Nana.”

“Destiny?”

“Yes. He carries the scent of a destiny that will make him greater and more powerful than any Áłtsé Hataałii—no, than any medium who has ever existed on this continent.”

A powerful expectation appeared in his eyes.

***

A few days later, inside the secret residence in Brooklyn.

I steadied my breathing while gazing at the coldly shimmering nightscape beyond the glass wall.

‘Let's really push myself.’

There was still some time before the rabbit mask brought me my next assignment.

Whenever I had time, I sat cross-legged in the living room and meditated or studied the secret manual Hataałii Tso had given me.

‘Native American sorcery actually has quite a bit in common with ours.’

They had a system of affinities somewhat similar to the basic principles of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements... But they expressed the power of the wilderness and beasts through their sorcery.

The harsh land they had lived upon had probably shaped their beliefs, which had then been systematized into this form.

If Eastern sorcery emphasized precision, theirs was somewhat crude, but possessed extraordinary destructive power.

‘If I master both, the range of tactics I can use will expand enormously.’

A rough picture formed in my mind of how to train in and master the two systems of sorcery.

My daily schedule became brutal because of it, but the corners of my mouth kept creeping upward.

There was excitement in learning something new.

And certainty that this could take me to an entirely new realm.

Of course, that would also make excellent material for my revenge.

“Hooo.”

I inhaled and drew up the energy of the earth.

As I circulated divine power along the ‘Path of the Spirit’ written in the secret manual, the tobangguri in my lower abdomen grew scorching hot.

It felt like my soul was meshing organically with the immense ocean known as Wakan Tanka, going beyond simply borrowing power.

It was similar to circulating qi through breathing exercises.

“Huuup! Huuuuup!”

After a session of sorcery training, I worked my body hard with weights.

As with everything else, my flesh had to be strong enough to fully contain the spirit's ferocious divine power.

I spent the entire day training like this, and when night fell, I went outside.

“Let's see. Today it's an abandoned subway station.”

After picking an appropriate job from the Underworld Board, I headed straight there and exterminated the evil spirits.

This wasn't only practice for the new Hataałii sorcery I'd learned, but also a kind of ‘offering.’

Blood Rats, Knuckle Murmurs, Shades... I swept up as many lesser spirits as possible and offered them to the Great Spirit.

《They smell foul, but at least there's plenty today.》

“Eat as much as you want.”

Only by feeding Wakan Tanka like this could the Great Spirit recover its full strength, and perhaps the White Tiger Spirit barely clinging to life within its embrace could awaken again too.

Serving not one but two gluttons meant ordinary lesser spirits were hardly enough.

My days remained busy like this from morning until bedtime, without even a moment's rest, yet it wasn't particularly exhausting.

Because I couldn't wait to see just how effective this new power would be against evil spirits.

【20.83 BTC】

The number inside my private Bitcoin wallet.

Nearly three billion won in Korean currency, around two million dollars.

Even though I kept buying all kinds of cutting-edge equipment and ritual tools through the Underworld Shop, and ate as much of whatever I wanted at every meal, the number only kept increasing.

I was overflowing with both power and money.

And beyond that...

‘Maybe I can save the White Tiger Spirit.’

The other energy said to be dwelling inside my tobangguri.

It most likely belonged to the White Tiger Spirit I once served.

The being who was practically my only family, who had guided a reckless bastard like me onto the right path.

Just thinking he might return made my heart pound.

‘Maybe I can really make a complete comeback. No, I might even devour all of America.’

I could genuinely see a path toward making South Korea, Cheongwa, and Lee Seo-jin—the ones who cast me aside—regret it properly.

...

...

Several more weeks passed. One afternoon, while I was vaping by the window, my smartphone began ringing loudly.

Unknown caller. But I knew instinctively.

“Hello?”

《It's me. Enjoy your vacation?》

The distorted voice belonged to the rabbit mask.

“Well, I was starting to get restless.”

《Perfect. Come to the club. A pretty big job just came in.》

I put on a black coat and left the safehouse.

After passing through Williamsburg's brilliant neon lights, I entered the familiar secret base.

The rabbit mask sat on the office sofa surrounded by hundreds of flashing screens.

“This job is on a different scale. Success fee: $3,500,000.”

About five billion won.

One mission would earn roughly the annual revenue of a respectable midsized company.

And with that money, I could immediately reach the amount I'd been aiming for.

If I could collect that payment, I'd be able to move on to the next step.

“So, what are we exorcising this time? For that price, it sounds like I'd have to beat down some Named demon.”

“No. If it were something like that, it'd actually be easier.”

The rabbit mask turned the tablet screen toward me.

A large, cute-looking stuffed doll sat on the screen.

“This is your target. Annabelle.”

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

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