NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
Hahoe Mask (4)
Chak chak! Chak chak!
In the park just before dawn.
Bright lights illuminated the darkness in various places.
“What the hell is going on…?”
Park Han-cheol, an agent from the Crime Investigation Division of the Ability Management Bureau, watched the scene while smoking a cigarette under a streetlamp.
At one end of the park, a police line was set up, and several people were bustling around inside.
In the center, where numerous preservation markers dotted the floor, a pool of blood accompanied a sentence.
-Execution completed
“Execution, my ass…”
Park Han-cheol sighed and stubbed out his cigarette in a portable ashtray.
He trudged towards the police line and approached someone talking on the phone in a corner.
“…Yes, understood. Please keep me updated.”
As if he just finished the call, the person tucked their smartphone away. Park Han-cheol patted his back and asked,
“Anything come up?”
“Oh, senior.”
After the 119 emergency responders discovered the scene, the case was reported to the police and subsequently to the Crime Investigation Division.
“We can confirm that it’s human blood. And it’s entirely from one person.”
“…So they’re definitely dead.”
The amount of blood left at the scene far exceeded lethal levels.
Results from the forensic examination were starting to come in after preserving the scene and collecting evidence.
“And a large amount of black magic was detected in the blood.”
“Black magic? Was the owner of the blood a user of black magic?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. It appears the cells died from excessive exposure to black magic… that’s likely the cause of the bleeding.”
“…Could it be a demon?”
Demon, someone who returned gaining otherworldly power.
Initially referring to vampires or werewolves, the term now broadly includes those who abuse curses or necromantic powers.
Using unholy powers for extended periods often leads to mental corruption, turning the user into a criminal.
“Any updates on the nearby CCTV… as expected, it’s clean. Nothing except the female victim.”
“If they’re so brazen as to commit such an act, that’s to be expected. But the fact that there’s no corpse bothers me.”
Uwooong~
Park Han-cheol’s pocket vibrated.
He took out his smartphone to check a message, nodding.
“The victim has regained consciousness. They’re terrified but will take their time piecing together what happened.”
“Thank goodness. We were feeling lost without any intel.”
The woman found unconscious at the scene was immediately transported to the hospital.
She had been in a daze until now, but it seemed like progress was finally being made.
As they continued their chat while observing the crime scene, one of the forensic team approached them.
“The belongings and fingerprints collected from the victim’s home match. Numerous murder evidence has been found there and is currently being analyzed.”
Items left at the scene.
Aside from a smartphone belonging to the victim, other items contained multiple evidences of murder.
A recording device capturing the victims’ screams, photos on a smartphone, and an ID card from the suspected owner’s wallet.
The moment they confirmed that, they identified the individual and sent investigative teams to their address, and the results were now coming in.
“A serial killer, certainly a scumbag that deserved to die.”
“Tsk, still, taking personal revenge like that. It’s as dangerous as a kid playing superhero with real powers.”
In a country governed by law, prioritizing personal beliefs over the law made one comparable to a terrorist.
Soon, another call came through.
“I see. Yes, yes. Thank you for your hard work.”
Finishing the call, Park Han-cheol glanced around the scene once more.
“…They’ve taken the victim’s statement.”
“What did they say?”
“Well, as expected. They said a murderer appeared while they were walking through the park, and just before being killed, someone came and saved them.”
“Saved them? That sounds uncertain?”
“Sigh, it’s ambiguous… The victim’s response seemed oddly fearful of that person rather than the actual murderer.”
“…Were they that scary?”
“No, they didn’t see their face. They mentioned the person was wearing a mask.”
He paused for a moment and pointed to one side of the scene.
There were words written in blood.
“That was a Hahoe Mask.”
Next to the writing was a drawing.
The younger agent studied it briefly before scratching his head.
“Ah~ So that’s a Hahoe Mask? I thought it was some strange smiling face.”
“I just realized it from hearing it a moment ago.”
“Well, seeing a lunatic wearing a Hahoe Mask at midnight would indeed be scary. But wouldn’t that be worse than the murderer brandishing a knife right in front?”
“Who knows… that definitely should be the case.”
As they talked, they glanced at the dawn sky that was slowly brightening, both releasing sighs.
“In the end, we pulled an all-nighter again.”
“I didn’t expect anything from the start. I just wish I could get some sleep.”
They then trudged away with drooping shoulders to prepare their reports.
*
Korea’s Returnee Association, Southern Branch of Seoul.
“Branch Chief, the Ability Management Bureau has requested cooperation.”
“Again? They’re always doing that. What’s the problem this time?”
Branch Chief Yoon Ji-yoon grumbled as she took the documents handed by her secretary and began reading them slowly.
“Hmm? This feels familiar…”
“I’ve attached related materials and conducted further investigation at the end.”
“Oh! As expected of Secretary Kim. Very capable?”
The Branch Chief flipped through the papers, pausing for a moment.
“A jewelry robbery incident involving three suspects… Yes, their statements mentioned it too. Hahoe Mask.”
“There’s a high possibility it’s the same individual.”
“Yeah, that makes sense. Let’s hand over our information, and fulfill their request for cooperation.”
She lowered the documents, directing a command to her secretary, then leaned back in her chair.
Once the secretary left the room, she propped her legs up on the desk and tilted her head back.
‘Honestly, I don’t think the Hahoe Mask is bad…’
Law enforcement continues to be disorderly, and manpower is severely lacking.
If they could punish the bad guys like this to reduce their numbers, it wouldn’t be a bad thing, she thought.
It was also true that they had helped her before.
‘But to think they committed murder. It would have been nice if we could just subdue them like last time.’
Murder resulting from personal vengeance.
Even if the counterpart is an extremely heinous serial killer, the state cannot take it lightly.
‘I’d rather they join our Guardians since they’re gonna be active anyway.’
Even if the Ability Management Bureau finds them, they won’t be severely punished.
They’d probably attempt to recruit him under the pretext of a pardon.
They seem competent and have a sense of justice, so if they can keep them on a short leash, they’d be an excellent asset.
“Haah, time to get to work.”
She sat straight up in her chair and started her tasks.
With the recent chaos in law enforcement, her workload had increased.
Complaints from her Guardians were also on the rise.
‘Ah, I just want to smash everything.’
That was her honest feeling.
*
“Ah, smashing everything feels refreshing indeed.”
I nodded in satisfaction, watching Hans return from the night patrol.
The first practical deployment of summoning magic was incredibly satisfying.
At first, I focused solely on movement, casting spells as evenly as possible.
This magic improves its detection capabilities over time.
The number of entities affected by the spell would continue to grow, and I only needed to maintain those that proved useful.
Thus, given the initial stage, I had no choice but to keep detection range limited.
‘And yet, despite that, there were over five incidents last night.’
The biggest one was, of course, punishing the serial killer.
The rest involved instilling curses of fear and appropriately punishing them.
Castrating a rapist seemed fair enough, right?
‘I didn’t even kill them.’
Thinking back, it was incredibly merciful.
I glanced at Hans for a moment before sending him back out to repair the detection network.
While it’s true that it grows over time, a hands-on approach could expedite its expansion.
‘At least it should cover the entire Seoul area.’
I had firmly realized through this incident that law enforcement had drastically declined.
‘And I also need to investigate those guys.’
The cause behind the current state of affairs.
A villain organization that had gained power.
“Hmm, I’ll let Hans handle that. Now’s about the time to focus on the other world.”
I stretched while checking on the situation of Heinz II.
It had been more than a month since I left Azhantu.
Since there were young siblings involved, I didn’t rush my travel.
I took my time, lodging in comfortable accommodations while sightseeing with the kids as we passed through villages and cities.
However, I couldn’t keep wandering around with the kids indefinitely.
Having distanced myself from Azhantu, it was time to find a place for the children to settle down.
While pondering over their residence, I recalled something I heard from Diana.
“Um… Uncle, I’m not sure, but I heard my uncle has a small shop in Rapella City.”
“I had forgotten since I couldn’t afford to go far from Azhantu, but hearing that we’re heading towards Rapella City jogged my memory…”
It was a story he had heard from his parents years ago.
Originally, I was just blindly heading towards the kingdom’s center to distance myself from Azhantu, but after hearing that, I changed my destination to Rapella City.
I didn’t know if he was still running the shop or the exact location, but it was far better than having no plan.
After all, I couldn’t take care of them for life.
I had my own plans, but staying with blood relatives would be better.
My uncle’s family might not warmly welcome sudden visits from their nieces and nephews…
‘But I can give them a little warning and a hefty amount for raising the kids. I also plan to visit regularly.’
Money is always better in larger sums, even if one isn’t a businessman.
If I say I’ll support them regularly based on the situation, wouldn’t they cherish the kids more than their own?
It was the first genuine connection I formed after coming to this world.
Using the teleportation circle wouldn’t be too troublesome, so I could manage that much.
Of course, there was a possibility I wouldn’t find my relatives, so I had to prepare alternative methods as well.
I glanced at the avatar who returned from exercising outside.
An avatar I could use together with a “Persona.”
“Hmmm… I think I’ll name this one ‘Heinrich.’”
[Entity Information]
-Entity Name: Heinrich
-Common Traits: “Mind Hub”, “Persona”, “Super Recovery”, “Clarity of Mind”
-Entity Traits: “Mugol”
-Special Notes: The fourth avatar of Seong-hyun Han. Due to the effects of “Mugol,” training effectiveness increases, and additional bonuses are provided for combat and skill acquisition using the body.
It was becoming increasingly difficult for Heinz II to roam in the light.
After all, he came from a race that lived hidden in the shadows.
It was merely luck that he had not been discovered so far.
Of course, it took considerable effort to keep it that way.
‘An Archlich and a Vampire. All the powers I can use are leaning into the darkness. This time, Heinrich must definitely be raised to fit in with the light.’
I also had a method in mind specifically for that.
Fortuitously, this skill is also suitable for developing physical prowess, making it a win-win situation.
As I prepared for Heinrich’s deployment, I concentrated on Heinz II, who had just arrived in Rapella City.
*
At that moment, on an anonymous internet forum, information began to spread about the Hahoe Mask sightings.
-Encounter story of the Hahoe Mask monster at midnight.