MAEPG: Episode 26
Episode 26 Hahoe Mask (4)
Click! Click!
Inside the park in the early morning, just before dawn.
Bright lights illuminated the darkness.
“What happened here…”
Park Han-cheol, an agent from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau, smoked a cigarette under a streetlight, looking at the scene.
A police line was set up on one side of the park, and several people were busy moving around inside.
In the center of the scene, where evidence markers were placed on the ground, a sentence was written in blood.
-Execution complete
“Execution complete, my ass…”
Park Han-cheol sighed and put out his cigarette butt in a portable ashtray.
He walked towards the police line and approached the person who was making a phone call in a corner.
“…Yes, I understand. Then please continue.”
He put his smartphone in his pocket after finishing the call. Park Han-cheol tapped him on the shoulder and spoke.
“Did you find anything?”
“Ah, senior.”
Immediately after the dispatched 119 paramedics discovered the scene, the incident was reported to the police and then to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau.
“First of all, it’s confirmed to be human blood. And it’s all from one person.”
“…Then he must be dead.”
The amount of blood left at the scene far exceeded the lethal dose.
The results of the forensic investigation, following the preservation of the scene and evidence collection, were coming in one by one.
“And a large amount of dark magic power was detected in the blood.”
“Dark magic power? Was the owner of the blood a dark magic user?”
“It doesn’t seem so. The cells necrotized due to excessive exposure to dark magic power… It’s highly likely that was the cause of the bleeding.”
“…Don’t tell me it’s a Devil?”
Devil, a returnee who gained inhuman power in another world.
At first, it referred to vampires, werewolves, etc., but these days, it also referred to those who abused powers like curses and necromancy.
After all, if you used unholy power for a long time, your mind would often become contaminated and you would become a criminal.
“The results of the nearby CCTV investigation are… as expected, clean. There’s nothing but the female victim.”
“It’s only natural considering they committed the crime so openly. But the fact that there’s no body is bothering me.”
Buzz~
Park Han-cheol’s smartphone vibrated in his pocket.
He took out his phone, checked the message, and nodded.
“The victim regained consciousness. They’re going to try to understand the situation while comforting her, as she’s terrified.”
“That’s a relief. We were stuck because we had no information.”
The woman, who was found unconscious at the scene, was immediately transported to the hospital.
They had been anxiously waiting because she hadn’t regained consciousness, but now it seemed like there would be some progress in the case.
As they were talking while looking at the crime scene, one of the forensic investigators approached them.
“The fingerprints from the belongings and the residence match. We found a lot of evidence of murder there and started analyzing them.”
The items left at the scene.
The items, excluding the smartphone that seemed to belong to the female victim, contained various evidence of murder.
A voice recorder with recordings of the victims’ screams, a smartphone with pictures, a wallet containing the ID card of the person who seemed to be the owner.
As soon as they confirmed it, they identified him and his address and sent an investigation team, and now the results were in.
“A serial killer, he deserved to die.”
“Tsk, even so, vigilantism… It’s not like they’re kids, there’s nothing more dangerous than someone with power getting caught up in playing hero.”
Ignoring the law and prioritizing their own beliefs in a country ruled by law.
From the perspective of those who had to maintain order, they were dangerous elements comparable to terrorists.
Soon, another call came in.
“I see. Yes, yes. I understand. Good work.”
Park Han-cheol finished the call and looked around the scene again.
“…We got the victim’s statement.”
“What did she say?”
“Well, as expected. She was passing through the park when the killer appeared, and someone seemed to have appeared and saved her right before she was killed.”
“Seemed to have saved her? That’s not certain.”
“Well, the thing is… the victim’s reaction is a bit strange.”
Park Han-cheol frowned, scratched his head, and sighed.
“She said she lost consciousness as soon as she saw him, but judging by her statement, she seemed to be more afraid of that person than the killer.”
“…Was he that scary-looking?”
“No, she said she didn’t see his face. He was wearing a mask.”
He paused for a moment and then pointed to one side of the scene.
There was a message written in blood.
“A Hahoe mask.”
A drawing next to the message.
His junior carefully examined it for a moment and then scratched his head.
“Ah~ so that was a Hahoe mask? I thought it was some weird smiling face.”
“I just realized it after hearing about it.”
“Well, I guess it would be scary to see a crazy guy wearing a Hahoe mask in the middle of the night. But would it be scarier than a killer pointing a knife at you right in front of you?”
“Well… that’s only natural.”
They talked for a while, then looked at the brightening sky and sighed simultaneously.
“We stayed up all night again.”
“I didn’t even expect to sleep from the beginning. I wish they would at least give us some time to sleep.”
They then trudged away with drooping shoulders to write their reports.
Click! Click!
Inside the park in the early morning, just before dawn.
Bright lights illuminated the darkness.
“What happened here…”
Park Han-cheol, an agent from the Criminal Investigation Division of the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau, smoked a cigarette under a streetlight, looking at the scene.
A police line was set up on one side of the park, and several people were busy moving around inside.
In the center of the scene, where evidence markers were placed on the ground, a sentence was written in blood.
-Execution complete
“Execution complete, my ass…”
Park Han-cheol sighed and put out his cigarette butt in a portable ashtray.
He walked towards the police line and approached the person who was making a phone call in a corner.
“…Yes, I understand. Then please continue.”
He put his smartphone in his pocket after finishing the call. Park Han-cheol tapped him on the shoulder and spoke.
“Did you find anything?”
“Ah, senior.”
Immediately after the dispatched 119 paramedics discovered the scene, the incident was reported to the police and then to the Criminal Investigation Division of the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau.
“First of all, it’s confirmed to be human blood. And it’s all from one person.”
“…Then he must be dead.”
The amount of blood left at the scene far exceeded the lethal dose.
The results of the forensic investigation, following the preservation of the scene and evidence collection, were coming in one by one.
“And a large amount of dark magic power was detected in the blood.”
“Dark magic power? Was the owner of the blood a dark magic user?”
“It doesn’t seem so. The cells necrotized due to excessive exposure to dark magic power… It’s highly likely that was the cause of the bleeding.”
“…Don’t tell me it’s a Devil?”
Devil, a returnee who gained inhuman power in another world.
At first, it referred to vampires, werewolves, etc., but these days, it also referred to those who abused powers like curses and necromancy.
After all, if you used unholy power for a long time, your mind would often become contaminated and you would become a criminal.
“The results of the nearby CCTV investigation are… as expected, clean. There’s nothing but the female victim.”
“It’s only natural considering they committed the crime so openly. But the fact that there’s no body is bothering me.”
Buzz~
Park Han-cheol’s smartphone vibrated in his pocket.
He took out his phone, checked the message, and nodded.
“The victim regained consciousness. They’re going to try to understand the situation while comforting her, as she’s terrified.”
“That’s a relief. We were stuck because we had no information.”
The woman, who was found unconscious at the scene, was immediately transported to the hospital.
They had been anxiously waiting because she hadn’t regained consciousness, but now it seemed like there would be some progress in the case.
As they were talking while looking at the crime scene, one of the forensic investigators approached them.
“The fingerprints from the belongings and the residence match. We found a lot of evidence of murder there and started analyzing them.”
The items left at the scene.
The items, excluding the smartphone that seemed to belong to the female victim, contained various evidence of murder.
A voice recorder with recordings of the victims’ screams, a smartphone with pictures, a wallet containing the ID card of the person who seemed to be the owner.
As soon as they confirmed it, they identified him and his address and sent an investigation team, and now the results were in.
“A serial killer, he deserved to die.”
“Tsk, even so, vigilantism… It’s not like they’re kids, there’s nothing more dangerous than someone with power getting caught up in playing hero.”
Ignoring the law and prioritizing their own beliefs in a country ruled by law.
From the perspective of those who had to maintain order, they were dangerous elements comparable to terrorists.
Soon, another call came in.
“I see. Yes, yes. I understand. Good work.”
Park Han-cheol finished the call and looked around the scene again.
“…We got the victim’s statement.”
“What did she say?”
“Well, as expected. She was passing through the park when the killer appeared, and someone seemed to have appeared and saved her right before she was killed.”
“Seemed to have saved her? That’s not certain.”
“Well, the thing is… the victim’s reaction is a bit strange.”
Park Han-cheol frowned, scratched his head, and sighed.
“She said she lost consciousness as soon as she saw him, but judging by her statement, she seemed to be more afraid of that person than the killer.”
“…Was he that scary-looking?”
“No, she said she didn’t see his face. He was wearing a mask.”
He paused for a moment and then pointed to one side of the scene.
There was a message written in blood.
“A Hahoe mask.”
A drawing next to the message.
His junior carefully examined it for a moment and then scratched his head.
“Ah~ so that was a Hahoe mask? I thought it was some weird smiling face.”
“I just realized it after hearing about it.”
“Well, I guess it would be scary to see a crazy guy wearing a Hahoe mask in the middle of the night. But would it be scarier than a killer pointing a knife at you right in front of you?”
“Well… that’s only natural.”
They talked for a while, then looked at the brightening sky and sighed simultaneously.
“We stayed up all night again.”
“I didn’t even expect to sleep from the beginning. I wish they would at least give us some time to sleep.”
They then trudged away with drooping shoulders to write their reports.
____________________
Southern Seoul Branch of the Korean Returnee Association.
“Branch Manager, we received a request for cooperation from the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau.”
“Again? They always do that. What’s the problem this time?”
Branch Manager Yoon Ji-yoon grumbled and received the document handed to her by her secretary, slowly starting to read it.
“Hmm? This… looks familiar.”
“I’ve attached related materials to the back after investigating.”
“Oh! As expected of Secretary Kim. You’re very competent.”
The branch manager flipped through the documents and read them, then paused for a moment.
“The case of the three jewelry robbers… It definitely came up in their statements too. Hahoe mask.”
“It’s highly likely that it’s the same person.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Just hand over our materials and cooperate with them.”
She put down the documents, gave instructions to her secretary, and leaned back in her chair.
After the secretary left, she put her feet up on the desk and tilted her head back.
‘Well, to be honest, I don’t think Hahoe Mask is bad…’
Public order was becoming increasingly chaotic, and there weren’t enough people to protect it.
If they could reduce the number of bad guys by punishing them like this, it wasn’t a bad thing.
And it was true that she had received help from him last time.
‘But he had to kill someone. It would have been better for everyone if he had just subdued them and handed them over like last time.’
Murder through vigilantism.
Even though the opponent was a heinous serial killer, the country couldn’t help but be sensitive about it.
‘I wish he would join our Guardians if he’s going to be active anyway.’
Even if the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau, a government agency, found him, they wouldn’t punish him severely.
They would probably try to recruit him, offering him a pardon.
He had abilities and a sense of justice, so if they could just keep him on a leash, he would be a valuable asset.
“Sigh, I have to work. Work.”
She sat up straight in her chair and started working.
With the recent deterioration of public order, she had more work to do.
And the complaints from the Guardians under her command were also increasing.
‘Ah, I want to smash everything.’
That was her honest feeling.
Southern Seoul Branch of the Korean Returnee Association.
“Branch Manager, we received a request for cooperation from the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau.”
“Again? They always do that. What’s the problem this time?”
Branch Manager Yoon Ji-yoon grumbled and received the document handed to her by her secretary, slowly starting to read it.
“Hmm? This… looks familiar.”
“I’ve attached related materials to the back after investigating.”
“Oh! As expected of Secretary Kim. You’re very competent.”
The branch manager flipped through the documents and read them, then paused for a moment.
“The case of the three jewelry robbers… It definitely came up in their statements too. Hahoe mask.”
“It’s highly likely that it’s the same person.”
“Yeah, that’s right. Just hand over our materials and cooperate with them.”
She put down the documents, gave instructions to her secretary, and leaned back in her chair.
After the secretary left, she put her feet up on the desk and tilted her head back.
‘Well, to be honest, I don’t think Hahoe Mask is bad…’
Public order was becoming increasingly chaotic, and there weren’t enough people to protect it.
If they could reduce the number of bad guys by punishing them like this, it wasn’t a bad thing.
And it was true that she had received help from him last time.
‘But he had to kill someone. It would have been better for everyone if he had just subdued them and handed them over like last time.’
Murder through vigilantism.
Even though the opponent was a heinous serial killer, the country couldn’t help but be sensitive about it.
‘I wish he would join our Guardians if he’s going to be active anyway.’
Even if the Supernatural Ability Management Bureau, a government agency, found him, they wouldn’t punish him severely.
They would probably try to recruit him, offering him a pardon.
He had abilities and a sense of justice, so if they could just keep him on a leash, he would be a valuable asset.
“Sigh, I have to work. Work.”
She sat up straight in her chair and started working.
With the recent deterioration of public order, she had more work to do.
And the complaints from the Guardians under her command were also increasing.
‘Ah, I want to smash everything.’
That was her honest feeling.
_____________________
“As expected, it’s refreshing to smash everything.”
I nodded in satisfaction, looking at Hans, who had returned from his night patrol.
The first real-world deployment of the Familiar magic was very satisfying.
At first, I focused only on movement, casting the magic as evenly as possible.
This magic was because the completeness of the detection network increased over time.
The number of individuals affected by the magic through contagion would continue to increase, and I just had to selectively maintain the useful ones.
Therefore, at this early stage, I had no choice but to narrow the detection range.
‘But even though I did that, there were over five incidents last night.’
The biggest incident was, of course, punishing the serial killer.
The rest were dealt with by implanting curses of fear and giving them appropriate punishments.
Castrating a rapist, that was appropriate, wasn’t it?
‘I didn’t even kill him.’
I was truly merciful.
I looked at Hans for a moment and then sent him back out to maintain the detection network.
It was said to grow over time, but I could expand it faster if I intervened directly.
‘I need to at least cover the entire Seoul area.’
This incident made me realize something for sure.
That public order had deteriorated terribly.
‘And I need to find out about those guys.’
The cause of this mess.
The villain organization that had gained power.
“Well~ I’ll leave that to Hans. Now it’s time to take care of that other world.”
I stretched and checked on Heinz the Second’s situation.
It had been over a month since he left Azantu.
Since he was with young children, they didn’t travel in a hurry.
They stayed in comfortable lodgings whenever they passed through villages and cities, toured with the kids, and moved slowly.
But I couldn’t keep wandering around like this with the kids forever.
They were a considerable distance away from Azantu, so it was time to find a place for the kids to settle down.
While I was worrying about the siblings’ whereabouts, Diana told me something.
‘Um… mister. I’m not sure, but I heard that my uncle runs a small shop in Raffella City.’
‘I had forgotten because we didn’t have the means to go that far from Azantu, but I remembered it when I heard that Raffella City is on our way…’
She said she had heard it from her parents a few years ago.
At first, they headed towards the center of the kingdom, just to get away from Azantu, but after hearing that, they set Raffella City as their destination.
They didn’t know if he was still running the shop or the exact location, but it was much better than having no plan at all.
I couldn’t take care of them for the rest of their lives.
I had some plans, but it would still be better for them to be with their blood relatives.
The uncle’s family might not welcome their suddenly appearing niece and nephew…
‘I just need to give them a little warning and a hefty sum of money for child support. I’m planning to visit them periodically anyway.’
Money was always good, whether they were running a business or not.
If I said I would support them periodically after assessing the situation, wouldn’t they treat them better than their own children?
It was the first real connection I had made in this world.
It wasn’t a big deal to use the transfer formation, so I could do this much.
Of course, there was a possibility that they wouldn’t be able to find their relatives, so I had to prepare other options.
I looked at the avatar who had returned from exercising outside.
The avatar I could use with “Persona”.
“Hmm… should I call this one ‘Heinrich’?”
-Individual Name: Heinrich
-Common Traits: “Mind Hub”, “Persona”, “Super Recovery”, “Clear Mind”
-Individual Traits: “Martial Bones”
-Special Notes: Han Seong-hyeon’s fourth avatar. “Martial Bones” increases the effects of training and provides additional bonuses to physical combat and skill acquisition.
It was getting difficult for Heinz the Second to move around in broad daylight.
After all, he was a race that lived hidden in the darkness.
It was just luck that he hadn’t been caught yet.
Of course, it took a lot of effort to avoid that.
‘An Arch-Lich and a vampire. All the powers I can use are biased towards the shadows. I have to raise Heinrich to be suitable for the light.’
I had a plan for that.
The skill he was given was also suitable for raising him as a physical type, so it was a perfect match.
As I was preparing for Heinrich’s deployment, I focused my consciousness on Heinz the Second, who had just arrived in Raffella City.
“As expected, it’s refreshing to smash everything.”
I nodded in satisfaction, looking at Hans, who had returned from his night patrol.
The first real-world deployment of the Familiar magic was very satisfying.
At first, I focused only on movement, casting the magic as evenly as possible.
This magic was because the completeness of the detection network increased over time.
The number of individuals affected by the magic through contagion would continue to increase, and I just had to selectively maintain the useful ones.
Therefore, at this early stage, I had no choice but to narrow the detection range.
‘But even though I did that, there were over five incidents last night.’
The biggest incident was, of course, punishing the serial killer.
The rest were dealt with by implanting curses of fear and giving them appropriate punishments.
Castrating a rapist, that was appropriate, wasn’t it?
‘I didn’t even kill him.’
I was truly merciful.
I looked at Hans for a moment and then sent him back out to maintain the detection network.
It was said to grow over time, but I could expand it faster if I intervened directly.
‘I need to at least cover the entire Seoul area.’
This incident made me realize something for sure.
That public order had deteriorated terribly.
‘And I need to find out about those guys.’
The cause of this mess.
The villain organization that had gained power.
“Well~ I’ll leave that to Hans. Now it’s time to take care of that other world.”
I stretched and checked on Heinz the Second’s situation.
It had been over a month since he left Azantu.
Since he was with young children, they didn’t travel in a hurry.
They stayed in comfortable lodgings whenever they passed through villages and cities, toured with the kids, and moved slowly.
But I couldn’t keep wandering around like this with the kids forever.
They were a considerable distance away from Azantu, so it was time to find a place for the kids to settle down.
While I was worrying about the siblings’ whereabouts, Diana told me something.
‘Um… mister. I’m not sure, but I heard that my uncle runs a small shop in Raffella City.’
‘I had forgotten because we didn’t have the means to go that far from Azantu, but I remembered it when I heard that Raffella City is on our way…’
She said she had heard it from her parents a few years ago.
At first, they headed towards the center of the kingdom, just to get away from Azantu, but after hearing that, they set Raffella City as their destination.
They didn’t know if he was still running the shop or the exact location, but it was much better than having no plan at all.
I couldn’t take care of them for the rest of their lives.
I had some plans, but it would still be better for them to be with their blood relatives.
The uncle’s family might not welcome their suddenly appearing niece and nephew…
‘I just need to give them a little warning and a hefty sum of money for child support. I’m planning to visit them periodically anyway.’
Money was always good, whether they were running a business or not.
If I said I would support them periodically after assessing the situation, wouldn’t they treat them better than their own children?
It was the first real connection I had made in this world.
It wasn’t a big deal to use the transfer formation, so I could do this much.
Of course, there was a possibility that they wouldn’t be able to find their relatives, so I had to prepare other options.
I looked at the avatar who had returned from exercising outside.
The avatar I could use with “Persona”.
“Hmm… should I call this one ‘Heinrich’?”
-Individual Name: Heinrich
-Common Traits: “Mind Hub”, “Persona”, “Super Recovery”, “Clear Mind”
-Individual Traits: “Martial Bones”
-Special Notes: Han Seong-hyeon’s fourth avatar. “Martial Bones” increases the effects of training and provides additional bonuses to physical combat and skill acquisition.
It was getting difficult for Heinz the Second to move around in broad daylight.
After all, he was a race that lived hidden in the darkness.
It was just luck that he hadn’t been caught yet.
Of course, it took a lot of effort to avoid that.
‘An Arch-Lich and a vampire. All the powers I can use are biased towards the shadows. I have to raise Heinrich to be suitable for the light.’
I had a plan for that.
The skill he was given was also suitable for raising him as a physical type, so it was a perfect match.
As I was preparing for Heinrich’s deployment, I focused my consciousness on Heinz the Second, who had just arrived in Raffella City.
_________________
At that time, on an anonymous internet forum.
-Sharing my experience of seeing the Hahoe Mask monster in the middle of the night.
Information about sightings of the terrifying Hahoe Mask began to spread one by one.
At that time, on an anonymous internet forum.
-Sharing my experience of seeing the Hahoe Mask monster in the middle of the night.
Information about sightings of the terrifying Hahoe Mask began to spread one by one.
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