< 107. Shock and Terror (5) >
***
The wizard, Kim Cheol-su, shouted happily.
“No, how long has it been? I never thought I’d see you here… You haven’t changed at all, have you? I knew you were a quarter elf, but I’m still surprised. The expression “a face that looks like it’s been eroded by time” is used to refer to you, sir!”
Minjun also smiled. He had unexpectedly encountered an old acquaintance. It was a student he had taught decades ago.
Their faces overlapped each other when they were young, overlapping their wrinkled skin. They were teacher and student, but their official ages were not that different, and they looked similar at the time. However, the passage of time had widened the gap in their appearances.
Kim Cheol-su felt the transience of time, and Min-jun realized the transience of a single life.
“So, what’s going on here?”
Minjun explains the situation. Then, Kim Cheolsu is shocked.
“Huh?! What did you just say?”
It was a similar reaction to the Omansik I encountered at the old Witches’ Cooperative.
Looking at him in shock, Minjun calmly repeated that he was currently working as an immigration agent and was searching for a longsword-shaped artifact that was presumed to have been illegally imported from outer space.
The illegal inflow was an excuse, but if it was indeed a fragment of Asif-1, it wasn’t completely wrong.
Kim Cheol-soo also knew about the sword that was possessing people and recognized the possibility that the murderer of the congressman was controlled by it. However, he was surprised because he could not believe Min-jun’s occupation.
“Agent? An agent?”
A “whoosh!” sound comes up from the bottom of my throat.
“Are you saying that you are currently working as an immigration contract agent?”
The tone was desolate.
“No, an agent… A person with such a gentle heart as a teacher, what a world.”
Now, Jeongpal opened his eyes wide. What? Are you open-minded?
who?
The wizard continued speaking while the orc gaped.
“I still remember. When the teacher saw the students catching dogs on Boknal, he stopped them, saying that they shouldn’t do such cruel things to animals. How could someone who couldn’t even properly catch an animal do such a cruel thing….”
Minjun clicked his tongue inwardly.
When he was teaching, he had just finished his Earth-specific socialization training and was nothing but a bundle of pretense.
Those who remember that appearance cannot help but feel a sense of disconnect.
He stopped the cruel slaughter by beating them with sticks because he had learned that doing so was the right thing to do by universal standards. The other person misunderstood that as Min-jun being weak-hearted.
In fact, if we talk about slaughter, it is not a problem of catching dogs, but if you know that when you were young, you used to burst dragon heads, it might make you go crazy and start a fight.
Minjun, feeling embarrassed, changed the subject.
“Anyway, can I see it?”
“Oh, of course. If you want to check with the immigration office, why would the police stop you? But why don’t you come in right away and just stand there? I heard your voice getting louder.”
Minjun silently pointed to the team leader standing next to him. At that, the detective’s face turned red. At the same time, the smile disappeared from Kim Cheolsu’s mouth.
“Were you holding it back?”
“Ah··· I··· If we strictly follow the procedure, an official document is needed···.”
“If we strictly follow the procedure, am I in charge here right now?”
“······.”
“When the immigration office requested cooperation, you know that permission can be granted without an official document and at the discretion of the field commander. Why didn’t you come to me first and report it? Why are you judging and making decisions instead of me? This is also a kind of overstepping of authority. Am I wrong?”
The tone of his questioning was monotonous and gentle, but his eyes were sharp. Team Leader 2 looked at him with a shit-eating expression, then eventually lowered his gaze and muttered.
“···sorry.”
The benefactor who helped Team Leader 2 secure the Chungyang Dolgi was only then taken off guard. The achievement was buried without either the benefactor or the recipient knowing about it.
“I was so focused on the inspection that I couldn’t take care of everything. If it was inconvenient, please understand, sir.”
Then he points to the scene and says.
“Actually, I was in trouble too. When I see a normal person being possessed, it’s clearly a terrible curse, but there’s no trace of it. Could you please take a look?”
A scene was created where a high-ranking police magician asked the immigration office for cooperation. The old man’s eyes looking at Min-jun were filled with anticipation.
“That’s what I came for, of course.”
Minjun followed the instructions and went inside, where he saw the troll lying on the floor. As he had heard, the weapon was not there.
The killer’s whole body was twisted, swollen, and his skin was dyed purple. Blood was splattered around him. Unlike Kwak Do-chul’s wife and the forensic team who barely managed to survive, the ‘sword host’ discovered this time was dead.
It is said that he was emitting a black aura as he decapitated a member of the National Assembly in the CCTV footage before he died. However, he is said to not have been registered as a person with supernatural powers.
‘Unregistered Weapon Master. Is that really necessary in this day and age?’
While feeling puzzled, I first looked for traces of the sword.
Hurrah!
He looked around with white flames in his eyes. After examining the corpse of the troll that had been holding the sword, he declared.
“There is no trace in the spiritual world.”
Kim Cheol-su sighed.
“If you can’t see it, it’s not magic.”
“Yeah, it’s not like there’s a curse attached to that sword.”
It was a moment when the hypothesis of mind control by the soul became almost certain. Therefore, the reason to find the sword became clearer.
“Then, in this state, there is no way to track the sword.”
“Just wait a minute.”
Minjun focused his mind after speaking in an old-fashioned tone without realizing it.
Although trolls are said to be able to withstand pain well, judging from the condition of their corpses, they must have suffered tremendous pain before they died. And the more brutally they died, the harder it was for them to attain Buddhahood.
So if Minjun’s prediction is correct, the soul of that troll is probably…
‘It’s still in there.’
The agent stares at something that the others cannot see. As he applies his power, a smoky aura flows out of the troll’s body. And slowly it takes shape. It is similar to that of the corpse. It looks like a rag that has been wrung out and dried without being stretched out.
=Ahhh! Aahhhh!=
The agent recited the spell and subdued the troll’s ghost. His memories and Minjun’s consciousness were connected. Since he was not a proper spirit, his inner world was close to a mess. Minjun concentrated as much as he could and examined the meaningful pieces within it.
And I can barely salvage my most recent memories.
“Jeongpal-ah.”
——————
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“yes?”
“I am currently looking into this gentleman’s memories from when he was alive.”
Gasp! I could hear Kim Cheol-su gasping in shock. ‘Yes, so you even learned psychometry in the meantime?’ I couldn’t even imagine that this person would have dabbled in black magic or necromancy, and I could only be amazed.
“That forensic team that stabbed a wizard and ran away, then was caught right away. Were they orcs?”
Jeongpal shook his head.
“No, I’m human.”
“Then that means there is at least one intermediate host that we don’t know about.”
“yes?”
Minjun tells the scene he saw in his memory.
“I just looked into how this guy got his sword.”
“no way?!”
“Yes. The author who held the sword just before this troll obtained it was an orc.”
The longsword was transmitted to the troll after the forensics team was knocked unconscious and at least one intermediate host, including an orc, was passed on to him.
“It’s getting more complicated than I thought.”
Nodding, Minjun stares at the jumbled memories of the deceased.
After barely piecing together the pieces, the record of the day he obtained the sword was completed.
***
That day, the troll was guarding the tobacco shop he was running. Looking at the surrounding scenery, it seemed like an orc community.
A remote place with hardly any pedestrians, let alone customers.
An orc approaches a troll who is killing time for free. In fact, he had noticed the opponent walking 1km ahead. It was because of the footsteps he had never heard before, the unnatural breathing sound… and the strange presence.
I thought about hiding, but eventually decided to face him. I wondered if he was a ‘customer’.
However, the orc who had revealed himself was holding a longsword in his hand. Feeling the sudden explosion of murderous intent, the troll quickly reached out his hand. He took out the troll-specific large sword hidden under the counter.
And then the fight began.
The troll was shocked. There was not a single strand of sword spirit on the opponent’s sword. On that note, he blocked his own aura as a Weapon Master. He could only use his sword, but his movements were just like a Weapon Master’s.
Moreover, it did not break even after colliding with the orc’s black sword several times. This was something that could not happen in common sense.
The moment when the battle, which was originally not supposed to be intense, became excessively intense.
-Tingle!
The orc dropped his sword to the ground. It was too vulnerable to be an intentional attack. There were hundreds of paths he could have taken to defeat the troll, but he hesitated before attacking.
That moment.
-Whew!
The orc fell, blood gushing from his eyes, ears, and nose.
And then he died.
The troll couldn’t understand English. He was confused, but he had to get rid of the body first. If he left it like that, his disguise might be revealed.
He took out the chemicals hidden behind the cigarette display case and skillfully dissolved the body. Fortunately, there were no witnesses as the place was just like a ruin.
After finishing the processing, the troll looked at the sword. It looked like an ordinary sword that could be found anywhere. There are probably thousands of similar swords floating around in Korea.
However, he experienced firsthand that its performance was extraordinary. He carefully tore through a few scrolls, but no special spells were detected. The secret to its hardness, which could withstand even the sword, was not magic, but the material itself.
‘What on earth is this?’ Greed surged through the troll’s mind. He approached and grabbed the sword’s handle.
At that moment, the world turned blood red. And then a sacred, very noble voice reached his ears.
***
“Hmm.”
Minjun frowned as he read the ghost’s image. He had no memories left after that point. It seemed like his mind was completely taken over.
So the agent decided to go back a bit further, because there were too many suspicious things in the troll’s memories.
‘Why would the Weapon Master set up a cigarette shop in a neighborhood where no one passes by and sit there all day? And what are the suspicious items he’s hiding all over the place?’
Minjun, who was piecing together the various scenes that came to mind, retrieved one word.
And ask the question.
“‘Abrams Helper Service?’ What the heck?”
“······!”
Kim Cheol-su’s face hardened in an instant. Then he quickly joined the conversation.
“Is there such a word in your troll memory?”
The wizard explained.
It is the name of a relatively recently known assassination organization.
“Interpol is tracking him with bloodshot eyes, but they say it’s not easy to find his whereabouts. Even though they’ve captured and interrogated a few killers, they haven’t been able to find any information about the command center.”
“Hey, aren’t you the kid who worked there? Your memory is too vivid to be dismissed as an unrelated word.”
“······!”
The police officers’ faces became more serious.
What if the identity of the murderer of the congressman was a killer belonging to a nationwide contract organization?
“If that’s true, then that explains why I wasn’t registered as a person with superpowers!
“Teacher, then could it not have been an accidental crime?”
“I can’t say for sure until then. The moment I picked up the sword, I clearly lost my sense of reason.”
It’s true that the killer killed the congressman, but he killed him while possessed by a sword?
It is difficult to accept this from a common sense perspective. Killers kill people in exchange for money, and they tend to maintain a cool head even when killing and afterward. However, in this case, it is difficult to find any quid pro quo or planning.
Minjun searched through older memories, but they were all similar records. A scene of guarding a store with no customers all day. The agent didn’t give up and continued to dig into the pool of memories. As he went back in time, the scenes became more incomplete and it was difficult to understand the context and meaning as if there were holes.
Meanwhile.
“uh?”
Minjun barely managed to salvage one more scene.
Someone came to the tobacco shop.
A foreign car that didn’t fit in with the neighborhood stopped and opened its door. A woman who didn’t seem to be a resident got out. She was thin and frail, and looked like she might break if the wind blew. She had a sickly complexion.
She approached the store and handed over a neatly folded bill, which the troll snatched away and handed over a pack of cigarettes.
It was the end.
‘It doesn’t have much nutritional value.’
His imperfect necromancy could no longer hold the wraith in place, so he lifted the spell. The freed troll wraith screamed and ran away instead of returning to the corpse.
***
Kim Cheol-su immediately shared the information Min-jun had provided within the police force. After that, he seemed to want to move with Min-jun, but he said goodbye there for the time being.
If they moved separately and happened to get the knife first, it wouldn’t be bad for Minjun. He could officially request to view the evidence, and if necessary, it wouldn’t be a problem to secretly intercept it.
The next place they headed was the house of the murdered congressman. Unfortunately, however, they could not find any clues there.
Minjun, who returned to the car, was lost in thought.
“It’s a difficult task. It would be difficult to ask Lakefield to search for it with the spirit. It’s such a common-looking sword.”
Since there are no magical traces, observation and tracking through the spirit world are impossible. After a moment of hesitation, the agent decided on his next destination.
“Jeongpal, you’re off today anyway? If you have time, would you like to work part-time with me? How are you feeling?”
The orc’s eyes sparkled.
“I felt like I was going to die until this morning, but strangely I’m not tired. I’m fine. Where should I take you?”
If he needed a simple chauffeur, he would have taken Cassie with him. Minjun needed a police officer to accompany him.
“Kwak Do-chul’s wife, where are you now?”
Jeongpal recited the name of a university hospital that was once owned by Changcheon but has now passed over to Red Dragon.
“Let’s go there. We need to see that woman.”
The murder she committed was the first incident that brought the knife to light. It may have held the most important clue.
But Jeongpal’s reaction was ambiguous.
“The investigation seems like it will be difficult.”
Unlike the forensic team, Kwak Do-chul’s wife fainted at the scene and has not regained consciousness since. She is in a state where questioning is impossible.
Minjun said as if it wasn’t a big deal.
“doesn’t care.”
“Oh, are you going to get information in some other way besides through conversation?”
Jeongpal, who is not a magician, guessed that Minjun might have a way that he did not know about.
Despite this, the reaction remains negative.
“The guardians probably won’t allow it. The girl’s father is a four-term congressman. I’m sure you’ve heard of his name. If you were to let an agent into the unconscious daughter’s hospital room, he’d be resolutely opposed to it… Since he’s a powerful figure, I don’t know if the immigration office would be able to influence him.”
Jeong-pal tried to dissuade him. He thought that it was a completely different level of difficulty from grilling a few police officers. However, Min-jun didn’t seem to care.
“A member of the National Assembly? That’s great. Among my friends, there’s a guy who can make any member of the National Assembly do anything with just a snap of his fingernails.”
“······?!”
“How badly was that woman hurt?”
Jung Pal looked through the documents and explained that with fractures all over his spine and brain damage, there was almost no chance of him waking up without treatment from a high-ranking priest.
“As you know, priests at that level have to make reservations three years in advance. Even if they are members of the National Assembly, it seems like they can’t do anything about it. Unless you are a dragon supporting the religious order, you have no choice but to put your name at the bottom of the waiting list and wait endlessly.”
Minjun snatched the documents and glanced through them.
“Is this the extent of your injury? That’s fortunate.”
“yes?”
Contrary to Jeong-pal’s guess, Min-jun planned to interrogate her himself.
After you wake up.
“Let’s stop by my house for a bit before going to the hospital. I need to get something from the basement.”
“······?!”
Jeongpal started the engine in doubt.
< 107. Shock and Terror (5) > End
