I'm Completely Innocent
"Haa... haa... This is definitely the place. The emotional resonance lingers strongest here."
A woman with wavy blonde hair and sea-deep blue eyes—Elissa Hayes of Eden Guild—caught her breath on the Han River bank. As soon as she pinpointed the location, a massive team sprang into disciplined action.
"Everyone, scour this area thoroughly! Control team, set up a perimeter about a kilometer around—no civilians get in!"
"Detection team, install MDMs every ten meters. Log every tiny energy fluctuation without fail!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Hurry! It's past midnight already. We can't afford more delays!"
Dawn's Light investigation squad: 150 strong. Eden Guild combatants: 100. Eternal Guardians detachment: 50. Over 300 elite personnel mobilized to the Han River in the dead of night—all because two key figures had vanished here.
'Eden Guild Master Victoria: Missing after ghost story investigation.'
'Eternal Guardians Chief Researcher Emilia: Vanished mid-investigation.'
Not just any guilds—the top guild master from Britain and a genius researcher from America, gone while probing in Korea? This could spark an international incident if mishandled.
·····Though some random office drone seemed to have vanished alongside them, he wasn't important, so let's gloss over that for now.
"It's my fault... I never should've let my sister go alone."
Elissa regretted brushing off the faint premonition she'd felt earlier.
'Even if it was subtle, I shouldn't have overlooked it...!'
Maybe complacency had set in with no major mass-casualty ghost stories lately. An elite like her making such a blunder?
'If something happened to my sister... I...!'
—Crunch.
Unable to contain her anxiety, Elissa bit her nail. Then, a large shadow approached the self-reproaching woman.
"Elissa, don't be too down. Dawn's Light elites are combing every inch—they'll find Master Victoria soon. Emilia too. ······And Si-hyun while we're at it."
Han Do-jin, with his sturdy build and neatly half-upped hair, offered casual comfort as he drew near.
"Ah... I let my worry show. Anything involving my sister gets me emotional, it seems."
"I get it. Even I'd lose it if someone precious was involved. Not a top priority, but... like my daughter over there throwing a fit to find Si-hyun."
Do-jin sighed softly, pointing with his finger.
There—
"Si-hyun oppa!! Where are you?! Did you sprout wings and fly off?! Why'd your scent cut off here??"
Han Ga-eun, fox ears and tail swishing wildly, was unleashing her full Fox Shrine powers. She sniffed furiously around the grass where three scents had vanished.
"I barely talked her out of tagging along with Si-hyun, and now this side effect..."
"Hehe, Ga-eun really likes Si-hyun, huh."
"Yeah, but she's extra twitchy since Emilia vanished with him. Something about 'love rivals' or whatever."
"Guild Master Do-jin, you don't seem too worried about Si-hyun? A regular guy caught in a ghost story—no concerns?"
Do-jin stroked his chin thoughtfully, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"Sure, I'm worried. No awakening powers or anything. But... that guy's got this vibe like cockroaches—even if you kill him, he won't die. Feels like he'll pull through somehow."
Do-jin had known Si-hyun since childhood. Sure, the kid's sword genius eased some fears, but there was more: Si-hyun's uncanny knack—or dirty tricks, if you were unkind.
"That punk could talk a ghost story into submission with his mouth alone. Swordplay aside, his silver tongue's no joke. Haha."
"Come to think of it, Si-hyun does have a way with words. Even I get suckered sometimes. Hehe."
"If he can fool you, Elissa, that's saying something."
As Do-jin chatted to ease her mind—
—Zzzzt! Zzzt!
—Beeeep!
The detection team's MDMs went haywire, blaring alarms like mad.
"What the—?! Detection?!"
"Energy density matches catastrophe-grade ghost story levels. But... something's off."
"Off how?"
"The catastrophe-grade reaction spiked, then started fading. This pattern... it's definitely being neutralized—Gaaahhh?!?!?"
The briefer glimpsed something horrific on his device and shrieked in terror.
"E-everyone, run!! Th-this energy signature... it's a mengmang-grade ghost st—!!"
No sooner had he spoken—
—Whoosh!!
A colossal black vortex erupted at the Han River bank's center.
"Brace yourselves! That wind'll blow us away!"
"Ugh! Already swamped finding Si-hyun oppa, now this crap?!"
"Ga-eun! Fall back! This is definitely—!"
As agents flailed in the sudden black maelstrom, gulp.
Do-jin swallowed dryly, steadying his racing heart.
'Been a while... Thought it'd been ages since Bosingak, but that power's still jaw-dropping.'
A man stood at the vortex's heart, blacker than night sky, eyes deeper than the abyss, hair like pitch.
The top-tier ghost story rumored to have erased multiple catastrophes—even the mengmang-grade Collector.
"Mengmang-grade... Phantom."
No sightings for months—some whispered it was gone. Yet here it was, without warning.
"Damn! What the hell?! Why's Phantom showing up?!"
"You think I know?! Quit whining and grab your weapons! Form up—no panicking! Slack off and it's demerit reports!"
"Boss, we gotta survive to write those!"
Outmatched against mengmang-grade, but these were cream-of-the-crop elites. Amid chaos, they gripped arms, ready to face Phantom.
"Haa... we dying now?"
"Hell if I know..."
—Whoosh.
The massive black aura ebbed, Phantom's silhouette sharpening at the center.
And as its form fully emerged—
"Wha—?!"
"Ah...? N-no way?"
"...What the hell's going on...?"
Elissa, Ga-eun, Do-jin, and the agents gaped in shock.
"Snoo... Zzz"
"Nhmm... Zzz"
The two girls they'd desperately sought—Emilia and Victoria—slumbered peacefully in Phantom's arms. In dangerously cute SD form, no less!
'C-cute...'
'No no, not the time!'
'But how're they in Phantom's arms? Shrunk like that?'
As agents puzzled over the bizarre scene—
—Clack.
"Phantom... did you save my sister...?"
"Emilia's there too? You've been keeping her safe...?"
Ga-eun and Elissa steadied trembling voices, inching toward Phantom.
Unlike the others, they could approach easier.
'Memory's fuzzy, but... Phantom saved me during the Forgotten Ones incident. Doesn't seem evil.'
'Phantom's emotions... Can't read them exactly, but they're so calm. Hard to believe it's a vicious ghost story.'
Each had solid reasons to see Phantom not as a monster, but a protector.
"Haa... ugh... Can't get used to that black aura."
"I'm about to piss myself just watching."
"How're those two getting close?"
Do-jin and the rest couldn't budge against the oppressive black energy.
—Thud.
Finally, quite near Phantom stood the two girls.
"Phantom... what happened with my sister? Or rather, why're you holding her so preciously...?"
Elissa ventured carefully.
But.
Phantom simply held Emilia and Victoria, ignoring their words.
Because he was like, 'What the fuck? What kinda bullshit situation is this?'
Too busy piecing it together to hear anything.
* * *
The notification window said it'd handle everything after a nap, so I hit 『YES』 and crashed.
'Yawwn~ Slept like a baby, but... what the hell is this?'
Hundreds of guild fighters armed to the teeth before me.
Seemed like the crap with Ciel wrapped up fine, but the 1-hour auto-hunt ended.
'Notification window, what happened while I was out?'
『Whiiiir... Sent Ciel off fine with auto-hunt, but humans were waiting at return point. Probably looking for Emilia and Victoriaaaa~』
'Yeah?'
Makes sense—they're VIPs. I vanished with 'em too, but vibe says I'm background noise.
Anyway, prime misunderstanding material right here.
《Mengmang-grade ghost story reappears + two missing girls cradled in its arms》
In other words!
'Haha, straight-up kidnapper vibes?'
In this setup, my move's obvious.
> 1: Play innocent~ Gently set girls down.
> 2: Explain kidnapping's a huge misunderstanding.
└─ 3: Shadow-step the hell outta here. ★
1 through 3, execute fast and bounce!
'Notification window, hand off Emilia and Victoria, then dip quick!'
『Hehe, got it! Timing the shadow-step perfectly~!』
* * *
"······."
"······."
Tense silence, like something huge was brewing.
A being that could level a city with a gesture, eyes gleaming right there.
"This is nuts... I'm gonna faint."
"Hang in there, guys...!"
"Why's Phantom just standing? What's its game?"
Fighters and investigators felt hearts ready to burst from dread.
Then.
—Step.
"I-it's coming...!!"
"Don't provoke it! No record of attacking humans, but it's a ghost story—could snap anytime!"
Phantom advanced slowly toward Elissa and Ga-eun. Just walking, yet suffocating pressure filled the air.
Shiver.
"Ah... grrrk!"
"H-haa... l-legs won't... m-mommy..."
Thud! Thud!
Some confronting Phantom fainted outright; others wet themselves.
The mengmang-grade terror, forgotten amid peaceful days—resurfaced vividly.
—Step.
Phantom halted before Ga-eun and Elissa.
The girls faced it up close, unafraid unlike the rest.
'Such serene calm... Phantom, are you really a ghost story...?'
Elissa read its emotions, finding no fear.
'Sniff sniff... what? Phantom smells familiar. Like I've caught it before...'
Ga-eun sensed nostalgic familiarity, curiosity outweighing dread.
A brief silence—
Swoosh—
"······!!"
"······?!"
Phantom set Emilia and Victoria gently on the grass, stepping back.
It could've handed them over, but placed them at its feet instead—Elissa knew why.
"Worried your aura might harm us... right...?"
Its emotions: worry, concern. For what? Likely humans getting hurt by its presence.
—Whoosh!!
Phantom whipped up a black vortex to vanish.
"W-wait! Phantom!! Thank you... for saving my sister and Emilia."
Elissa bowed sincerely, no expectation of reply—Phantom was famously mute.
Yet.
"······!!!"
Shoooo—!
A low, serene voice echoed, then it dissolved into mist.
"Nhmm... Si-ni oppa, where...?"
"Si-hyeo-ni... teach me sword...?"
Leaving the sleeping Emilia and Victoria behind.
·····
·····
·····Forgot that one random office guy vanished with them too, but let's skip it for now.
Night was deep, after all.