Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The One Who Was the Watcher II
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Shin Noah
4
At that time, I had more than enough reason to worry about the Saintess's well-being.
First of all, as I mentioned earlier, public safety wasn't great.
"Another one died...."
During the regular meeting, No Do-ha muttered. Quite some time had passed since she took office as the leader of the National Highway Management Corps, but her uniquely gloomy gaze, as if she hated everything in the world, remained unchanged.
"Another one? The Wheel Killer again?"
"Yes. It's the Wheel Killer. This time in Cheongju. It just went up on SG Net. Take a look yourself...."
She wasn't the type to fiddle with her smartphone during meetings, but it was a break time anyway, and since No Do-ha was urging me directly, I had no choice.
When I logged into SG Net, sure enough, all hell had broken loose.
-Anonymous: December 24th, Cheongju.
The post title on the board had no particular flair. It was posted by an anonymous user rather than a full member, with only the date and location noted.
Not just the title, but the content of the post was simple too. No fancy words—just a single video attached plainly.
Clicking the video showed a man tied to a chair in some underground parking garage.
-Uh, aaah....
The underground parking garage was already flooded up to ankle level.
Pitch-black sewage.
In the middle of the endlessly murky filth sat a chair, and the man was bound tightly to it, limbs secured.
-I-I'm Lee So-yeol, 29 years old, from Cheongju. U-Up until now, I've murdered six people. The first killing was a year ago.... There was a father and daughter in my neighborhood who looked loaded with supplies. I didn't originally plan to kill them. But when I fought the father, the daughter stabbed me in the back, so I had no choice to survive.
For some reason, the man was spilling his crimes in detail.
The video didn't continue smoothly without pause. It had clearly been edited.
For instance, the lines he just spoke were cut in the middle. There was a gap between "I've murdered four people up until now" and "The first killing was two years ago."
The reason I could tell was the large nail now driven into the back of his hand, which hadn't been there before.
In other words, whoever filmed the video was torturing the man. However, they had thoroughly deleted the footage of the "torture" and "screaming."
Thus, the man's confession appeared to flow smoothly, as if nothing had happened.
-I was angry. So angry. But I just killed them. No torture, no humiliation, nothing like that....
A large nail was driven into his right hand.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
The man's voice trembled a little thinner.
"Actually, I tormented them in front of the father and daughter until they died. The s-second killing was in Goeun. Goeun intersection. People from Cheongju pass through there often. Not with the National Highway Management Corps, but alone. Or in twos or threes.... I targeted those kinds.... In this day and age, travelers carry all their wealth in their backpacks.... Fuck! It's their fault for wandering around alone without fear!"
Large nails were driven into both forearms.
Blood flowed from where the nails were embedded. But no matter how much bloody water dripped, the color of the sewage flooding the parking garage didn't change a bit. It stayed pitch black.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry.... I didn't want to live like this either. Isn't the world to blame? A gate exploded in Seoul when I was 12. I was an elementary school kid."
-....
"My life, half my life—no, my entire life was thrown into the shit. Fuck. At least you all lived half your lives happily. You lived well. You went to school. Not me! I couldn't! It's your fault, fuck!"
"I didn't do anything wrong.... If I'd awakened, I wouldn't have done this shit. You filthy bastards. You don't even try, just awaken abilities, huh? Join some guild and live it up. Ordinary people like me are worthless, right? But what the.... "
A large nail was driven into his shoulder.
"The th-third killing."
-....
"The th-third killing... some little shit broke into my house to steal. Me, an adult who worked his bones off for that money, and they try to take it without a care? Their brain's rotten, right? I d-didn't mean to kill. Just starve 'em a bit. I tied them up for three days, planning to let them go, but the kid died on their own after two days. Really. I was gonna let them go. Ah. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Spare me! Please! Stop, no. Spare m...."
In the next instant, something strange was embedded in the man's head.
It was a car wheel.
Ever since gasoline became a relic of ancient civilization, cars scattered across the world held no more meaning than dolmens. But the one who filmed the video had spotted new potential in the wreckage of scrapped vehicles.
"He's dead."
"Yeah. Neatly croaked. Or... messily?"
The trademark of the serial killings.
The killer always drove a large nail into the victim's skull after death. And then hung a car wheel on the nail.
Hence "Wheel Killer." Or simply "Wheel."
"Isn't this the 16th already?"
"Roughly around there. If we're just counting videos, it's 16, but there are way more killings not uploaded as footage. Last time we found a body with a wheel on its head that wasn't in any video...."
The killer's flair naturally stripped the "anonymous" poster of their anonymity.
In short, they had no choice but to become named in the community.
-[Baekhwa]High School 6th Grader: So so scary.... ㅠ_ㅠ
-Anonymous: Kyaa, Wheel boss as expected. Nice shot today too.
-[Yuldo Nation]Sword Marquis: Is this vigilantism, or the self-justification of a vile demonic cultist? This Seat finds it truly hard to discern.
└Goryeo Jang: Wrong
-Anonymous: Cheongju father-daughter murder, a year ago? I think I know what that is. The bodies were butchered brutally back then, rumors spread inside Cheongju.
-Anonymous: I support you. Kill more.
-dolLHoUse: Neutral.
-[Three Thousand]Historian: Which guild manages Cheongju? If not for Wheel, they'd never catch that bastard. Can't even manage security properly? The awakeners in that guild should feel ashamed.
Comments were pouring in real-time on the board.
"I'm back.... Huh? What's this? Why's the mood like this?"
Just then, Seo-gyu opened the meeting room door and entered.
The regular meeting usually consisted of three: No Do-ha, me, and the Saintess. But Seo-gyu joined occasionally. While No Do-ha commanded the yang roads of the highway network, Seo-gyu managed the yin ones.
"Seo-gyu, the Wheel Killer posted again."
"Ah...."
Seo-gyu wore a subtle expression. Regret, shame—such emotions flickered in his eyes.
"Should I delete it?"
"No, public opinion-wise, deleting it arbitrarily might backfire. More importantly, is this anonymous really that hard to track?"
"Yes, they're not a full member.... I checked the access logs, and they only log in right when posting, never otherwise."
"So not the type who kills for the thrill of comments."
"Yep. Maybe they don't even look at comments. Or they have some super special stealth ability my skills can't detect."
"...That's possible too."
I nodded.
All sorts of abilities existed in the world.
"Killer talk?"
The Saintess followed Seo-gyu in. They had both stepped out during the break and returned.
"Ah, yes."
"I saw the post that just went up on SG Net too."
The Saintess sat down. As always, she spoke expressionlessly.
"They're definitely an awakener since they accessed SG Net to post.... But no matter how much I scan with Clairvoyance, the culprit doesn't appear in my sight for some reason."
So, stealth-type ability after all.
"Elusive bastard."
After the meeting ended and we sent Seo-gyu off, the three of us held another strategy session.
The topic was, of course, the Wheel Killer.
"With public authority collapsed, there's no way to stop private sanctions anyway. No justification or reason. The problem is...."
"Whether this killer is truly a good person, with no guarantee...."
No Do-ha continued.
"So far, they've only judged clear villains. But with the same power, they could kill anyone unnoticed. Maybe they already have, just without attaching a wheel...."
-....
"At the very least, we need to figure out who this person is from our perspective. Awakener, is this the first time a killer like this has appeared in your regressions...?"
"Yes. First in my regression life. This is the first run to progress this stably up to year 16, so not that surprising."
This run had been lucky in many ways.
Usually by now, beings called estranged gods would interfere with our world and turn everything into chaos. But for some reason, the 107th run was quiet.
A near-miraculous run.
Thus, all the more precious.
"Then, Undertaker Awakener, at least get detailed info on the killer's identity this run.... That way we can plan how to handle them next time. Recruit or eliminate...."
"I was planning to anyway."
"Some guild leaders suspect the Wheel Killer might be an assassin we're raising. If we had one like that, things would be much easier, heh...."
We were doing our best.
By year 16, the National Highway Management Corps had succeeded in linking almost all major cities with single lanes.
Guild leaders lorded over their cities like feudal lords, but No Do-ha reigned as king over the lords. She monopolized the trade networks between cities, an inevitable outcome.
Above all, Busan—the largest city on the peninsula—was in the hands of Three Thousand Worlds' Dang Seo-rin. As is well known, Dang Seo-rin was one of the key figures in founding the National Highway Management Corps and extremely favorable to us.
Her forces were strong enough for her to declare herself alliance leader of the guild leaders if needed. With her backing, no one could ignore the National Highway Management Corps. Hmm. Like the French royals securing Burgundy loyalty in the medieval era.
Even so, the National Highway Management Corps' limits were clear.
We couldn't secure the entire peninsula's public safety. Couldn't handle administration. Couldn't manage the judiciary.
We couldn't even govern the peninsula's surface area. At best, we controlled the lines connecting cities.
In the voids the web couldn't cover, monsters and anomalies always lurked.
Whenever they tore through the web and invaded human lines, I had to respond. The Corps' forces were formidable, but not as swift as me.
That was why my time was fundamentally insufficient.
"No leeway. No leeway."
-....
The meeting adjourned, and we returned to our lodgings.
Where I headed then was pure whim.
After the Saintess ended her secluded training and started going out, I rarely visited Yongsan Dongbinggo-dong, her former hideout.
No matter how much the Saintess herself didn't care, a man frequently visiting a woman's home alone didn't look good. Previously unavoidable since she holed up, but circumstances had changed.
We could communicate anytime via [Telepathy].
'But with the Wheel Killer, her mind must be troubled.'
She was pickier about ethics than anyone.
The reason she cautioned against private sanctions even without public authority was simple: In a systemless world, one person's deviation could cause major errors.
Having different people judge in first, second, and third trials wasn't unrelated. We couldn't expect one human to be perfectly fair and flawless forever.
Her head must be spinning with such worries.
'Perfect timing. Got a rare fish too. She'll be happy.'
December 24th. Christmas Eve.
I put the tropical fish in a plastic bag and headed to Dongbinggo-dong.
Thud. A silent sensation settled on my forehead. White snowflakes. Heavy snow had fallen last night, turning the road to snow, and more was coming.
"Hm."
Worried it might be too cold for the fish, I cupped the bag in my palm. I didn't forget to finely manipulate aura to maintain the temperature.
The path to Dongbinggo-dong had two sets of footprints. Probably both the Saintess's.
"Saintess? You there?"
Knock knock.
No response.
'She should've come straight home after the meeting?'
I tilted my head and turned the doorknob. Her shoes from the meeting were in the entryway. Meaning she'd been home at least once.
"Saintess?"
Still silence.
"Hm."
...I entered anyway, risking rudeness. Lingering trauma from when Go Yo-ri once got to the Saintess.
If she was fine, I'd just apologize right away. She was the type to accept apologies.
I stepped into the living room.
-...?
And soon witnessed an unbelievable sight.
The aquariums that had walled off the Saintess's living room like battlements.
The tanks, always gleaming blue, stood empty.
"Huh?"
I unwittingly opened my mouth.
Raising fish was the Saintess's one and only hobby. Even on the day the world ended, she never gave them up. Proven fact even in the 90th run, when I was a convenience store manager.
Yet the tanks held nothing.
No, looking closely, two tanks still had water. But the filters for purifying it hadn't run in ages, turning the water murky.
In the filth-turned water, a few tropical fish floated belly-up, dead.
Coincidentally, the corpses were all fish I'd gifted her before.
"Undertaker?"
A voice came from behind.
Turning, the Saintess was just entering through the front door.
I looked at her, still holding the plastic bag of fish I'd meant as a gift.
"What brings you?"
"...Ah. Sorry for barging in. An acquaintance gifted me tropical fish, but I thought you'd like them more, so I came without notice. But.... Are you not raising fish anymore?"
The Saintess blinked.
"...Yes."
"Why? You loved them so much...."
"Most of the ones I had died, and maintaining the tanks got too burdensome. I meant to sort out the remaining ones eventually, but just kept putting off the cleaning."
I examined her outfit.
Double coat. Not exactly comfortable for moving. Different from what she'd worn to the meeting.
Not her usual style either.
"...I see. Out for a walk?"
"Yes. If I'd known you were coming, I'd have prepared tea. You visited while I was out."
In other words.
'I came home once, then went out, and this outfit only suits a quick walk, nothing else.'
Snow was falling outside. Snow dusted her double coat. But it felt somewhat unnatural. Like, yeah.
If she shook off the snow from the coat onto the snowy ground, it'd leave traces like that.
-....
"Undertaker?"
I passed the Saintess and looked at the snow in front of the house.
The footprints, only two sets before entering, were now "four." One from my arrival. The other from her return.
I picked up the shoes she'd just taken off in the entryway and checked the soles.
They didn't match the prints in the snow.
"Undertaker? What are you doing?"
"Saintess."
―――It was a kind of instinct.
Too scant evidence for deduction. No material proof. But a flash like lightning flickered in my mind.
Dead fish belly-up. Empty tanks. The Saintess occasionally staring blankly into space. Seo-gyu's apologetic eyes. Double coat. Footprints.
A possibility I'd never considered pieced together like a puzzle and tumbled from my mouth.
"Could it be... you're the Wheel Killer, Saintess?"
Silence.
An eternity seemed to pass.
Just as I felt the world had hit pause.
"Undertaker."
The Saintess's lips parted.
"You really know me well."