Money Loving CEO's Detective Lover

Chapter 375: Seance (2)

Their eyes were closed while Shinjin was chanting the summoning spell. During the seance, once Suna temporarily took over Shinjin's body, Minho would be able to ask her questions. But Minho was quite nervous. His mind was blank and even though he tried to concentrate on the ritual at hand, he was wondering how he was going to react. 

For many years, he had secretly longed to catch one glimpse of his mother. Talk to her for one last time and tell her that they were not fine without her. He had spent so many years hating his father for something he did not do. How was Suna going to react to that? What if she hated Minho for his behavior?

"Oh you who have been denied the gates of the afterlife," Shinjin muttered with his eyes closed. "Your soul is wandering on Earth, seeking fulfillment and closure. Come to us and tell your tale. Come"

Gayoon felt a gush of cold air pass by but she kept her eyes closed and did not move. Minho, too, felt the breeze and a familiar presence was engulfing the area. A mixture of happiness and sadness was erupting in his heart but he kept his emotions under control. Completing the ritual was important and he did not want to jeopardize this moment at any cost.

"Come to us" Shinjin summoned. His voice was distant and slowly fading. "Come"

His head hung low. Gayoon and Minho opened their eyes to find him in a deep trance. 

"What's happening?" Minho asked.

"I think she's here," Gayoon replied. "Don't remove your finger from the disk."

Minho nodded and waited for Shinjin to speak. He was still quiet and still.

"Shinjin?" Minho called but there was no response. He glanced at Gayoon who was observing the shaman carefully.

"Minho, call your mother," she suggested. "By her name."

He hesitated but turned back to Shinjin. "Are you...Are you Kim Suna?" he finally asked. "My mother, Kim Suna?"

Slowly Shinjin raised his head and opened his eyes. To their slight shock, his pupils were completely white and when he opened his mouth, a female's voice came out.

"Minho"

Suna was now communicating with him via Shinjin. She raised a left hand and touched his cheek. 

"You've grown up," she commented, feeling happy. Her son, her dear son, came to meet her! She had waited for so long to see the faces of her children and now her son was here. 

"Where is Mina?" she asked. "Why didn't she come?"

"Mina is in the hospital" Minho revealed. "Someone tried to kill her but she's safe now."

Suna was now worried for her daughter. What happened to her? Why was she being targeted?

"Tell me everything," she demanded. "What happened to my daughter?"

Minho and Gayoon explained to her what happened to Mina along with how Anyal had taken over her lover's body after killing him off. They also told her how the ghost of Kanji was still lingering around and they could not free him until they could give him a proper cremation.

"We must exorcise that demon out of him!" Gayoon exclaimed. "Anyal demanded for Jina to come to him so that she can open the Gates of Hell!"

Suna listened to them. A fiery anger was burning in her and she wanted to rip that demon apart with her own hands. He had destroyed her entire family, forced her husband to become a fugitive and her children were brought up as orphans. She could never spare that monster.

"He can't possess anyone from this family anymore," she said quietly. "Last time, I was weakened due to postpartum complications so I was an easy target. But now, he can't possess either of you because everyone knows his name by now and are alert. Even if he tried, he would be easily exorcised. If Junho threw him out of Yeeun's body, then he can do it again. The demon wouldn't dare to hurt any of you."

"But why did he choose Kanji?" Minho asked.

"To force you guys to confront him," Suna stated. "It's what he wants but it's also the only way. You'll have to face him, that too in the World of the Dead. The Gates of Hell are hidden there."

"Why are the gates hidden there?" Gayoon asked.

"After a person dies, there are three possible places he or she could go to," Suna explained. "A person who decides to leave the world in peace and embrace death as reality, they'll go to the Afterlife. No one knows what happens there because those who go there, can never come back. There are rumors of reincarnation but I don't know how true those rumors are. No one knows."

"Those who have sinned or are seeking redemption for their actions in life," she went on. "Move to the World of the Dead. Most souls trapped in there go through a period of redemption. They live in a limbo at the place where they died, seeking solace in the silence. Maybe one day, they'll move on to the Afterlife but no one knows if that really happens. There's so many things about the dead we can't find out. The living can never find out the secrets of the dead until they're dead themselves. That's the rule of nature."

"And then there is a different dimension," Suna stated. "The Gates of Hell. These are hidden within the World of the Dead but only a Transporter can harness the energy to open it. The souls trapped in there are not ordinary ones."

"What do you mean?" Minho demanded.

"Those are the souls of the Devil worshippers," Suna revealed. "They've abandoned all humanity and sold their souls to the Devil for their own greed. And once the Devil fulfilled their wishes, he sent his minions like Anyal to fetch their souls. They do not know the horrors of hell until they reach there. There's a reason why Transporters and Seers were given special powers. Seers act as mediums to help souls move on to the Afterlife while Transporters are like the ferry guards who hover between the different worlds to make sure the balance between the living and the dead is maintained. The process of opening the Gates of Hell will kill the Transporter. My grandmother once tried it and she died. Before dying, she trapped the energy she released in that ring I gave you. If released, that energy can reopen the gates again."

"Why did she open the gates?" Minho asked.

"She was almost lured by Anyal," Suna revealed. "But backed out at the last minute. She saw the horrors of Hell during the ritual and she stopped it. Using her remaining energy, she closed the gates again, foiling his plan."

"I also entered that world once when I was really young," she recalled. "I heard a lot of stories from my grandmother about that place so I was curious. I opened the portal and entered it only to be almost ambushed by reapers. Luckily, my grandmother saved me on time otherwise I'd have been stuck in there as a Mindless."

Minho listened to her very carefully. By opening the portal, both he and Jina had fulfilled the conditions of Anyal, making them the demon's targets.

"Now, there's only one chance you'll get to exorcise him for once and for all," Suna went on. "Within 5 days, there will be a red moon night. But this night is special. It comes after every hundred years. Exactly at midnight, an eclipse will take place and the red moon will be hidden for five minutes. During that time, Anyal will cast the spell and force Jina to open the Gates of Hell. Once he does that, he'll be able to pull out his lover but in the process many evil souls will escape. We can't let that happen because if they escape, they'll create havoc in the world. Crimes and killings will increase and they'll even possess random people. It'll be a disaster."

"But there is one way.  At exactly the fifth minute, the powers of all demons will be weakened for one minute. You will get only one minute to exorcise him from Kanji's body. Once that happens, the ritual to open the Gates will fail and reapers will cut him down."

"He's going to be in the World of the Dead though," Gayoon pointed out. "Other than Minho and Jina, none of us can survive there!"

"One of you will have to open the portal at that point," Suna sighed. "And have an exorcist on this side of the portal to rip the demon apart from Kanji's body. You'll have to make sure the portal is kept open for that minute. Once the exorcism is complete, get out of there as quickly as possible otherwise the reapers will attack you as well."

"And make sure the ring is with you," she continued. "Use it to close the Gates if it opens."

"But where will he conduct this ritual?" Minho asked. "And is he going to use anymore temporary bodies?"

"He won't," Suna said. "He doesn't need to for the Red Moon Night. Because during the eclipse, the usual defenses around the Gates will fall and even the energy required to open it will be greatly lessened. His usual way to possess the Transporters and force them to open the Gates is no longer needed as long as he could open it on this one night. But to exorcise him from his permanent body, you'll need two things."

She held up a finger. "One, is his name," she stated. "Which you already have. And second is the name of that one thing which makes him weak. In Anyal's case, it's the name of his lover. You must find out her name."

Minho and Gayoon looked at each other, confused.

"How are we gonna find that out?" Gayoon asked. 

"His servant might know," Minho suggested. "She was a princess right? We can look up old history records and check if there was any princess who dabbled in dark arts."

Just then Suna took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "My time is coming to an end," she revealed. "Minho"

She turned to her son. "My last wish is to see your father one last time," she begged. "And Mina too. If all this is over, can you bring them to me? Please? And also my granddaughter"

Tears rolled from her eyes and she stroked her son's cheek again. Minho also had teary eyes but he was smiling.

"I will," he promised. "You'll see your entire family before you are set free. But for now, mom. Take care of yourself."

Suna smiled as her son said, "Goodbye mom"