Selfless

5

*Hey guys, I don't think that I intended to publish chapter 4, it looks incomplete, but since it has been posted already, I will continue as is from there.

So Mun could hardly believe....no, actually, he could fully believe what he was hearing. Spirits tend to believe themselves all-powerful after they realize that they cannot easily die, and can move to possess a new person once they lose their host.
He was not at all surprised at what was leaving this seemingly frail old man's mouth. He was simply disgusted, and wished that he could eliminate this spirit before it could cause any more harm.

"You haven't been 'granted' anything. Clawing your way out of hell to prey on others' lives is not something to be rewarded, and you will suffer all the more for it when you return." So Mun felt rage bubbling through his blood, thinking of how many people must have died for this spirit to grow. However, even in his anger, he kept his calm, having learned that no good comes from being impulsive and emotional.

The spirit stared down at him, looking vaguely amused at his words. "Ah I suppose that's true, I will suffer if I am put back in there..." He smiled an unsettling grin, and came a little closer. " But, are you going to be able to drag me back? Hm, So Mun?" He punctuated the question with a glance up and down the younger's form.

Mun ignored the shiver that went down his spine, if he was going to get through this without too much damage, then he would need to keep his wits about him. He guessed that it wasn't hard to find out his name, the old man had probably overheard him speaking to his friends and found out from that, but the idea was disconcerting, and he wondered how long the spirit had been watching them.

"I can. And I will. But even if you were to kill me, you still wouldn't be able to fulfill your plans. There are others like me all over the world, with more experience and stronger powers, who will take you down in a heartbeat."
So Mun wasn't exactly sure of what he was saying, and he hoped that his bluff wouldn't be seen through. There were other Counters, he knew that much, but whether they were stronger than his little family, and if they would come to Korea to take down this one spirit, he doubted that was the case.

But he needed to show a strong front, not necessarily because it benefitted his situation, there was very little that he could do at the moment in that regard, but more because of he didn't then he wasn't sure what he would do.
The evil spirit continued to smile in that predatory way that looked so very wrong on the old man's face. "Is that so? Well, I suppose that we shall have to wait and see. Although, I guess it will just be me waiting, since you'll be dead in this scenario that you've presented." He spoke softly, sounding almost gentle, leaning close, from an outside perspective, if So Mun weren't tied up, it might look like a kind grandfather confiding in his grandchild.

So Mun glared, wishing that he could just go home,
"If you can manage that." He hissed.
It was a truly stupid thing to say, if he hadn't responded to begin with then perhaps he would have been left alone already and could have contacted Wigen.
He was also curious though, dangerous as it was. He was curious about why he hadn't yet been killed. If he was going to kill him, then it would have benefitted him most to do so yesterday after he had first been captured. His still being alive indicated that he was useful in some way.

Perhaps a hostage?
Or maybe just for entertainment, he could easily kill him off and still blackmail the other counters, pretending that he was alive. But he seemed to get a kick out of the suspense, as most evil spirits apparently do?

The old man smirked in response to his challenge, before his eyes flashed dangerously and he reached out to wrap a withered hand around his throat, cutting off his airflow by surprise and causing him to choke.

"I can do many things, don't mistake self control for weakness. If I wanted you to die that easily, then you would not have woken up in the first place." He growled with his hand tightening around every sentence, and So Mun could feel the blood rushing to his head, vision darkening around the edges as he  did his best to stay conscious.

Don't black out again. Don't black out! I have to stay conscious...

Finally, the old man's hand released it's grip, and he stepped back,

"Aish that pissed me off! I really wasn't going to hurt you yet, but you've been grating on my nerves." He wiped his hand on his pants leg, clicking his tongue and side eyeing the boy who was now painfully gasping in air, bruises beginning to form around his throat.

"Playtime's over now, I have some adult stuff to take care of now. " He glanced at his watch, no trace of a smile on his face anymore, and Mun decided that he preferred it that way, never having liked false smiles or fake pleasantries.
The man glanced back down at him, before he turned around to grab something off the shelves. "But first..." He turned back with a dusty rag, likely used for cleaning previously.

Oh great, I'm going to be tasting that for days.

Once it had been tied securely around his mouth, tasting of dirt and grease and almost making him gag just from smelling it, the spirit stood and left the room, the click of a lock punctuating the silence.

So Mun listened in silence for a while, allowing himself to breathe freely now that he was alone. Once he had recovered himself a little, he tentatively reached for his mental link,

Wigen! Wigen are you there?

Mun? Mun what's wrong?

He could have cried with relief.

Everything? Can you contact the others? Let them know that there's an evil spirit, level two I think, looks like an old man. I didn't sense him in time.

Are you hurt?

Mun swallowed around the rag, feeling his throat protest the action, the blood from his head wound drying in his hair and eye. No use having anyone panic when there was no permanent damage.

I'm okay for now, please just contact the others.

I'll let them know.

He felt the link disconnect and tried to ignore how alone he suddenly felt. He tried passing the time by picking at the ties on his wrists, testing if he could pull them apart using his powers. He found, not surprisingly, that he could not. He had felt something off about his powers since he woke up, like they had been dampened from an adrenaline shot to a dull thrum kept deep in his bones. He wondered what had been done, or if it was related to his head injury. Either way, he was stuck here unless he could find a way to get himself untied.

With a frustrated huff he continued fiddling, deciding that powers or no powers, he would figure this out and he would take down that creature before he could hurt anyone else. That was his purpose as a Counter after all.