The Hahoe Mask (4)
Click! Click!
Inside a park just before dawn broke.
Bright lights turned on here and there illuminated the darkness.
“What kind of mess is this now…”
Park Hancheol, an agent of the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau’s Crime Investigation Division, smoked a cigarette under a streetlamp as he looked over the scene.
At the site where police tape had been strung up on one side of the park, several people were busily moving about inside.
In the center, where preservation markers dotted the ground, one sentence remained together with a sea of blood.
—Execution Complete.
“Execution, my ass…”
Park Hancheol let out a sigh and stubbed his cigarette into a portable ashtray.
Dragging his feet toward the police line, he approached someone making a phone call in a corner.
“…Yes, I understand. Then I’ll continue to count on you.”
Just as he finished his call and tucked his smartphone away, Park Hancheol tapped him on the back and spoke.
“You got anything?”
“Ah, sir.”
Immediately after responding 119 personnel discovered the scene, the incident was reported to the police and soon after relayed to the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau’s Crime Investigation Division.
“First of all, it’s confirmed human blood. And it seems to have come from only one person.”
“…Then he’s definitely dead.”
The amount of blood left at the scene far exceeded a fatal dose.
Following scene preservation and evidence collection, the forensic test results were coming out one by one.
“And they say a large amount of dark mana was detected in the blood.”
“Dark mana? Is the owner of the blood a dark mana user?”
“Doesn’t seem to be the case. The cells necrotized due to excessive dark mana exposure… There’s a high probability that was the cause of the bleeding.”
“…Could it be a Majin?”
Majin (魔人): a returnee who obtained inhuman power from another world.
At first, it was a term referring to vampires or werewolves, but these days it had become an umbrella term for those who abused powers such as curses or necromancy.
After all, when one used corrupt powers for a long time, their mind would often become tainted and turn them into a criminal.
“The nearby CCTV results… they’re clean, just as expected. Nothing came out except the female victim.”
“If they’re bold enough to pull something like this out in the open, that much is obvious. But it bothers me that there’s no body either.”
Vrrm—
A vibration rang from Park Hancheol’s pocket.
He took out his smartphone, checked the message, and nodded.
“The victim regained consciousness. She’s apparently terrified, so they plan to calm her down and get the details.”
“That’s a relief. We were at a loss with no information.”
The woman found collapsed at the scene had been immediately transported to the hospital.
She had been unable to regain consciousness until now, leaving them anxiously waiting, but now it seemed the case would move forward.
As they were chatting while looking at the crime scene, one of the forensic team members who had been investigating approached them.
“The fingerprints match those collected from his belongings and home. They also found numerous pieces of murder evidence there and have begun analysis.”
The items left at the scene.
Except for the smartphone that seemed to belong to the female victim, the other items contained evidence of several murders.
A recorder containing victims’ screams, smartphones with photos on them, and a wallet containing the ID of the person who appeared to be their owner.
The moment that was confirmed, they identified his identity and address and sent out an investigation team; those results had just come in.
“A serial killer… He was definitely someone who deserved to die.”
“Tsk, no matter the reason, this is still private sanction. Nothing’s more dangerous than a grown-up with power playing hero.”
Ignoring the law in a nation ruled by law and prioritizing one’s own beliefs.
From the standpoint of those who had to uphold order, they were dangerous elements comparable to terrorists.
Soon after, another call came in.
“I see. Yes, yes. Understood. Thank you for your hard work.”
Park Hancheol ended the call and looked around the scene once more.
“…They got the victim’s statement.”
“What does it say?”
“Well, it’s as expected. She says a killer appeared while she was passing through the park, and just as she was about to be murdered, someone appeared and seemingly saved her.”
“Seemingly saved her? It’s not certain?”
“Tsk, that’s the vague part… They say the victim’s reaction is very strange.”
Park Hancheol frowned, scratched his head roughly, and sighed before continuing.
“They say she lost consciousness the moment she saw him, but judging from her testimony, she seemed more afraid of that person than the killer.”
“…Was he that scary-looking?”
“No, she didn’t see his face. She said he was wearing a mask.”
He paused briefly and pointed to one side of the scene.
There, words written in blood remained.
“A Hahoe mask.”
A drawing next to the words.
The junior looked that way carefully for a moment and scratched his head.
“Ah~ so that was a Hahoe mask? I thought someone had just drawn some bizarre smiling face.”
“I only just realized it after being told too.”
“Well, seeing a lunatic wearing a Hahoe mask in the middle of the night would be scary. But would it be scarier than a serial killer holding a knife right in front of you?”
“Well… one would think so.”
As they conversed, they looked up at the brightening sky and sighed simultaneously.
“In the end, we pulled an all-nighter again today.”
“I didn’t expect anything from the start. I wish they’d at least give us time to sleep.”
They soon trudged off with slumped shoulders to write their reports.
***Korean Returnees Association Seoul Southern Branch.
“Branch Chief, a request for cooperation has come in from the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau.”
“Again? They’re always like that. What’s the problem now?”
Branch Chief Yun Jiyun grumbled and began slowly reading the document the secretary handed her.
“Hm? This… seems somehow familiar.”
“I’ve investigated the related materials and attached them to the back.”
“Oh! As expected of Secretary Kim. Very competent?”
The branch chief flipped through the papers and paused briefly.
“The arrest of the three-man precious metals robbery gang… That’s right, it came up in their statements too. The Hahoe Mask.”
“I believe there’s a high probability it’s the same person.”
“Yeah, it probably is. For now, hand over our materials and cooperate as requested.”
She lowered the documents, gave instructions to the secretary, and leaned back against the chair.
As soon as the secretary left the room, she put both legs on the desk and tilted her head back.
‘Well, honestly, I don’t think the Hahoe Mask is bad, but…’
Public order continued to deteriorate, and personnel to maintain it were woefully insufficient.
If this could punish bad guys and reduce their numbers, she thought it wasn’t such a bad thing.
It was true they had received help last time too.
‘But of all things, he had to kill. If he had just subdued and handed him over like last time, it would have been better for everyone.’
A killing by private sanction.
Even if the opponent was an extremely vicious serial killer, the state couldn’t help but treat it sensitively.
‘If he’s going to be active anyway, I wish he’d join our Guardians.’
Even if the government agency, the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau, found him, they wouldn’t punish him severely.
They would likely try to scout him in exchange for a moderate pardon.
He seemed to have ability and a sense of justice of his own, so if they could only put a proper leash on him, he would make an excellent asset.
“Sigh, time to work. Work.”
She sat up straight in her chair and began working.
With public order deteriorating lately, the amount of work had increased.
Complaints from the Guardians under her command were increasing as well.
‘Ah, I want to smash everything.’
That was her honest feeling.
***“As expected, smashing everything makes me feel refreshed.”
I nodded in satisfaction as I looked at Hans, who had returned from finishing his night patrol.
The first real combat deployment of my proxy magic was incredibly satisfying.
At first, I focused only on traveling, spreading the magic as evenly as possible as I went.
That was because the detection net grew more complete over time.
The number of entities infected by the magic through contagion would continue to grow, and I only needed to maintain it by selectively keeping those that were helpful.
Therefore, in this initial stage, I had no choice but to keep the detection range narrow.
‘But even so, there were over five incidents last night.’
The biggest one was undoubtedly punishing the serial killer.
For the rest, I planted the Curse of Terror and finished them off with moderate punishment.
Castrating a rapist, well, wasn’t that appropriate enough?
‘I didn’t even kill him.’
Thinking about it again, it was endlessly merciful.
I looked at Hans for a moment, then sent him back outside to adjust the detection net.
They say it grows over time, but if I intervened directly, I could expand it faster.
‘I need to make it large enough to cover at least all of Seoul.’
This incident made me realize clearly.
That public order had fallen to an absurd degree right now.
‘And I need to look into those guys too.’
The ones responsible for public order deteriorating to this extent.
The villain organization said to have formed a faction.
“Alrighty then~ I’ll leave that matter to Hans. And now it’s about time to pay attention to that other world too.”
I stretched and checked on Heinz II’s situation.
Over a month had passed since leaving Ajantu.
Since there were young siblings, I hadn’t pushed myself moving around.
Whenever we passed through villages and cities, we stayed in comfortable inns, toured with the children, and moved slowly.
But I couldn’t wander around like this with the children forever.
Having gotten some distance from Ajantu, I needed to find a place for the kids to settle down now.
Just as I was worrying about the siblings’ residence, I heard something from Diana.
‘Um… Mister. I’m not sure, but I heard our uncle runs a small shop in Rapella City.’
‘We didn’t have the means to go far from Ajantu all this time so we’d forgotten, but when I heard Rapella City was in the direction we’re going, I remembered…’
She said it was something she’d heard from her parents a few years ago.
At first, I had headed blindly toward the kingdom’s center just to get away from Ajantu, but after hearing that story, I made Rapella City the destination and traveled there.
Whether they still ran the shop, I didn’t even know the exact location, but it was far better than having no plan at all.
I couldn’t look after them my whole life, after all.
I had my own measures, but it would still be better for them to be with blood-related relatives.
The uncle’s family might not welcome their suddenly appearing nephews and nieces warmly, but…
‘I just need to give them a hefty child support payment along with a slight warning. I’m also planning to visit periodically.’
Even if they weren’t in the business of selling, the more money the better.
If I said I’d sponsor them periodically depending on the situation, wouldn’t they cherish the children more than their own?
They were the first proper connection I had made since coming to this world.
Since using a teleportation circle didn’t take much effort, I could do at least this much.
Of course, there was a possibility we couldn’t find the relatives, so I needed to prepare other measures as well.
I looked at the Avatar that had returned from exercising outside.
An Avatar that had become usable together with 「Persona」.
“Hmm… I guess I’ll make this guy ‘Heinrich.’”
—Name: Heinrich
—Common Traits: 「Mind Hub」, 「Persona」, 「Super Regeneration」, 「Clear Mirror Still Water」
—Individual Trait: 「Martial Bone (武骨)」
—Special Notes: Han Seonghyeon’s fourth Avatar. Under the influence of 「Martial Bone」, training effects are increased, and additional corrections are given to combat using the physical body and skill acquisition.
It was slowly reaching its limit to walk about in broad daylight as Heinz II.
His kind were a race that, by their very nature, lived hidden in darkness.
The fact that he hadn’t been found out until now was luck.
Of course, considerable effort had gone into making that happen.
‘An Archlich Vampire, of all things. All the forces at my disposal are skewed toward the shadows. I absolutely have to raise Heinrich, whom I’ll be sending this time, to fit in with the light.’
I had methods thought up for that purpose too.
The skills I’d been given just happened to suit raising him as a physical-type fighter, so it would be the icing on the cake.
As I was preparing Heinrich’s deployment, I shifted my consciousness to Heinz II, who had arrived in Rapella City at the right time.
***At that same time, on an anonymous internet forum.
—[Tale] Saw the Hahoe Mask Weirdo at Midnight.
There, witness reports of the terrifying Hahoe Mask began to spread one by one.
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