Chapter 22: The Assassin in the Mirror

The bustling school had quieted down.

Hwaseo and Doryeong slipped into the girls’ bathroom.

“Nothing stands out,” Doryeong said, scanning warily.

This was where Seol Haru was last seen.

No sightings after the bathroom—if it was the other side, she’d met trouble here.

“No spirits either,” Hwaseo said, checking every stall.

Doryeong rubbed his chin. “Wouldn’t be that easy.”

“What now?”

“Out of sight doesn’t mean absent. I’ll probe this area. Help me.”

“Got it.”

From his coat, Doryeong drew a long golden cord—his artifact.

Artifacts, objects with mystical power, were exorcists’ weapons.

If a dragon’s orb existed, it’d be one too.

Whoosh—

Spiritual energy spread from the artifact.

Hwaseo backed him up.

Eyes closed, Doryeong focused, shifting directions, then snapped his eyes open.

“Something’s in the mirror.”

“The mirror?”

“Yeah. Residual thoughts… laced with spiritual energy.”

Clear proof of the other side’s involvement.

One downside:

“If only we could read those thoughts,” Hwaseo sighed.

“Psychometry’s rare. Divination exorcists rarely work field ops.”

“Still, this confirms it. Our job.”

Touching the mirror revealed only traces of energy—nothing special about it.

As they peered closer, a head popped out.

“…!”

With a creepy grin, it reached out.

Doryeong barely dodged.

He readied his cord, Hwaseo drew her artifact.

The figure emerging from the mirror was eerily familiar.

“…My face?!” Hwaseo gasped.

A ghost mimicking Doryeong’s face grotesquely.

Then—

Swish—

Another ghost, Hwaseo’s likeness, emerged from a nearby mirror.

“Doryeong!”

“I know.”

Normal people would’ve fainted, but for exorcists, doppelgangers—fakes—weren’t new.

Not too strong, their speed and strength were threats, but no match for exorcists wielding spiritual power.

One fake fell, the other bolted for the door.

“It’s escaping! Chase it!”

They couldn’t let it harm others or cause chaos.

The exorcists closed in fast.

As the fake rounded a corner, it collided with someone.

“Agh!”

Pinning and exorcising it in one move, a new problem arose.

Their eyes met the newcomer’s, mutual shock registering.

“…Yoo Kishin?”

My eyes saw more than most.

The girl was surrounded by far stronger spiritual energy than the others in the classroom.

“Practically screaming ‘key figure.’”

Couldn’t leave her be.

Approaching, the energy turned hostile, blocking me.

Whoosh—

A fierce wind, like a storm’s edge, pushed me back.

“Wanna fight?”

A wave of my hand unleashed a force that scattered the wind.

Spiritual power versus spiritual power.

Even weakened, I wasn’t losing to this.

Reaching the girl, the energy had dissipated.

“So, who’s she? The evil spirit’s core?”

No malevolence came from the sleeping girl—just a human vibe.

Maybe she summoned the spirit.

Luckily, I could peek into the past.

“Let me check. Don’t hate me—I’m helping.”

My consciousness slipped elsewhere.

An ordinary day.

Except for one small thing.

Strolling the school, Lee Daom found a strange hand mirror in a corner.

“Pretty.”

New to Paradise High, everything was fascinating.

The dusty mirror felt abandoned but captivated her.

She’d just broken her usual one.

Daom took it back to class.

Ding-dong-deng—

Lunch ended; chattering students returned to their seats.

Friendless, she stroked the mirror.

“Wish I was at Sua’s school.”

Her middle school friend, Choi Sua, a diligent student, got into prestigious Paradise High.

Should’ve studied harder.

Even with the grades, it was too far from home.

“Wish Sua could visit~”

Texting on her bed, a chilling voice whispered.

– I’ll come now.

“Huh…?”

She looked around.

No one.

Misheard?

The sound came from her desk, holding only a workbook and the mirror.

Brushing it off, a doorbell rang later.

“No one’s supposed to come?”

At the intercom, an unexpected guest—her best friend, Choi Sua.

As if reading her wish, Sua had come.

Ecstatic, Daom texted her.

– What? I’m home.

Even joking, Sua’s firm denials chilled her.

Backing away, Daom’s trembling hand reached for the police.

Crack!

A shattering sound startled her.

In the bathroom, she froze.

Sua was in the cracked mirror—or something pretending to be her, screaming with rage.

– I’m here, why won’t you open? I’m here, why won’t you open?!

Daom fainted.

“That’s how it happened.”

Nodding after the chilling memory, I understood.

The hand mirror Daom found.

That was the culprit.

No official name, but call it a mirror ghost.

A cursed object causing trouble.

Similar to events in Spirit Exorcism.

“Don’t just pick up stuff off the ground.”

Cursed items could bring harm.

Now I knew the situation’s roots.

From Daom to Sua, then her friends, spreading like a plague.

Like a disease, but simpler to fix than a real one.

Eliminate the source.

In this case…

“The hand mirror.”

Searching Daom’s body, I found it in her last pocket, slipping out on its own.

As if alive, it evaded my grasp.

Then—

—!

A massive force surged, making every mirror in the auditorium vibrate.

“Not going down easy, huh?”

As faces formed in the mirrors, the floating hand mirror wailed.

– Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?

A voice echoing in my head, not my ears.

– Why’s a ghost stopping me?

In my unmasked ghost form, the mirror seethed with confusion and rage.

“Harsh words.”

“You messed with me first.”

“I’ve got my reasons. Replacing students with fakes? The school can’t function like that.”

– Need more. More. Not enough. Won’t be alone. Must get out…

Its voice sank, cold and low, chilling the air.

‘Loneliness?’

Cursed objects always had a story.

This one had its reasons.

But…

“What ghost doesn’t have a story?”

I had mine too.

Raw spiritual power charged my fist.

– Don’t interfere. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.

Countless fakes poured from the mirrors—mostly familiar students.

I swung my fist.

Boom—!

The blast scattered many into mist, but they kept coming, zombie-like, desperate to stop me.

My raw power outmatched them, but their numbers were the issue.

Neutralizing them without damage would take time.

Using stored power would be faster, but that was a last resort.

The ghost-on-ghost stalemate dragged on.

Then, a heavy bang—the auditorium doors flew open, revealing familiar faces.

“Hwaseo… and Doryeong?”

Why were they here?