Chapter 68
Chapter 68
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 68
Chapter Title: CHAPTER 2 - Shipboard Murder Case
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The view visible through the open elevator doors.
People stood in a line along the long corridor.
As if some incident had occurred, they gathered at the entrance to the dining hall, whispering among themselves.
“What happened?”
“They say someone’s dead. Found in a gruesome state in their room.”
“What? Is that for real?”
The conversation sounded like it was coming from living people who weren’t—more like awkward exchanges between NPCs in a game. He glanced at the various roles hovering above the chattering civilians’ heads, then walked toward the dining hall with Lee Seo-ah.
“Oh, it’s Detective Shin Ian.”
“Is he famous? They say he’s the best in the field. No case unsolved.”
“Really? And next to him... that’s the gambler. His assistant?”
“Who knows. Maybe she got caught.”
Ignoring the blatant whispers, the two entered the dining hall with stern expressions.
The dining hall was swarming with people. As Ian pushed through them toward the back, someone tapped his shoulder.
Ian reflexively slipped a hand inside his coat and whipped his head around.
“Detective. We’ve been waiting for you.”
The hand belonged to a rather intimidating-looking middle-aged man. Seeing Ian’s rigid expression, he gave an awkward smile, stepped back, and scratched his head.
“Whoops. Didn’t mean to startle you, sorry. Given the situation...”
“......”
“Ah, I’m a detective from the violent crimes unit. Name’s Bae Do-hyun.”
He bowed politely to Ian. Instead of responding right away, Ian checked the role floating above his head.
[Detective Bae Do-hyun]
The words matched exactly what had come out of his mouth. Confirming the man wasn’t lying, Ian took a moment to choose his words carefully.
‘Private detectives don’t hold much status in Korea. No reason for a cop to be this deferential.’
He didn’t know how serious the anomaly was about this role-playing game, but it clearly lacked sufficient background knowledge.
Of course. These things obsessed over ways to kill humans but didn’t care much about crafting a tight plot. That’s why they had flaws, why strategies could be written. If anomalies were meticulous and intelligent, humanity would’ve fallen to them already.
Anyway.
Since it had shown its hand first, there was no reason not to exploit it.
A violent crimes detective bowing to a private eye—an odd situation indeed.
Plenty of value to leverage.
“What’s this about?”
Having finished his thoughts, Ian replied with a deliberately intellectual, composed expression. Lee Seo-ah narrowed her eyes for a split second at the sudden shift in his demeanor, then quickly adopted her own haughty look.
“Oh my, Officer. You know how valuable our detective’s time is, right? Wasting it on nothing important puts us in a bind.”
“......Gambler, stay quiet. I’m talking to the detective.”
Bae Do-hyun growled through gritted teeth. Overt hostility. But Lee Seo-ah just shrugged, unperturbed.
“Then spit it out already. I’m hungry.”
“......What kind of attitude—”
“Officer.”
Ian cut off the detective as he started to snap.
“Get to the point.”
“......Understood.”
Bae Do-hyun dipped his head slightly and led him out of the dining hall. Ian told Lee Seo-ah to wait there, keeping one hand ready in the air as he followed, prepared for anything.
“It’s a murder.”
Bae Do-hyun said.
Ian had already known from the chapter title, “Shipboard Murder Case,” but he feigned a grave expression and let out a groan.
“......A murder.”
“Yes. A woman in her twenties, found in a gruesome state. Scene’s preserved. Want to take a look?”
“Lead the way.”
The detective nodded at Ian’s immediate response and started down the corridor.
Moments later, they arrived at a small room on the cruise ship’s third deck. He turned to Ian.
“Here.”
“No police guarding the scene?”
“No. Can’t be helped. Cops can’t just barge in here.”
Fair point. How could police seal off and control a murder scene on a cruise ship instantly?
If it had happened in Korean waters, maybe, but unfortunately, this was the Atlantic. Korean police storming in was impossible.
“Going in?”
Bae Do-hyun gripped the doorknob. Ian put a cigarette in his mouth and nodded.
Creak.
An ominous sound accompanied the door opening, wafting out thick blood stench mixed with the salty sea air. Blood pooled thickly on the floor, visible through the gap.
“Never gets any less fucked up.”
Bae Do-hyun muttered as he swung the door fully open. Ian lit his cigarette and stepped inside.
Click.
Light filled the room. The full scene came into view.
“......”
Red. That was the first impression—nothing else.
Blood covered walls, floor, and ceiling without distinction, like someone had slapped on red paint everywhere.
Blood on the ceiling still held warmth, dripping steadily, while chunks of flesh and organs lay slumped near the corpse, not far at all.
A revolting space. But Ian stayed calm, scanning the scene methodically.
“Cause of death—exsanguination?”
He asked. Bae Do-hyun nodded.
“That’s my take for now. Just too much blood.”
“Hm.”
Instead of replying, Ian approached the body and carefully examined her condition.
No signs of stripping. No obvious beating marks. The empty eye sockets suggested enucleation, but no traces of struggle.
[Discovered Clue 1. Missing Eyeballs]
The status window popped up as he thought it. Ian frowned sharply and dismissed it.
A small hole pierced the body’s abdomen. Intestines spilled out from it, stretching to the doorway, faint outlines of torn organs visible beyond.
‘Internal injury.’
Organ rupture without any external trauma.
Definitely not human work. Ian straightened up, staring into the corpse’s open mouth at the severed tongue, his lips moving slightly.
“What’s the captain doing?”
“Trying to find the nearest port and stop the ship. But we’re in the middle of the ocean, so it’ll take time.”
“Spoken to him directly?”
“Yes. Briefly.”
Ian nodded as if satisfied and left the room. Bae Do-hyun followed.
“Well, Detective? Get anything?”
Instead of answering right away, Ian exhaled a plume of cigarette smoke.
Get anything? Hell no, not a clue.
He wasn’t a real detective—what did he expect to solve just from eyeballing the scene?
But he didn’t show it. Pretending to deduce, Ian leaned against the wall and gazed at the ceiling. The detective bought the act, stepping back without interrupting.
Lucky for Ian. He stroked the grimoire’s cover in his pocket, organizing his thoughts.
‘No need to follow the anomaly’s scripted scenario.’
He wasn’t a Management Bureau agent. No reason to investigate the anomaly’s traits, dig up strategies. His task was clear from the start.
Find it and kill it.
What mages did best—the best solution.
He didn’t know the anomaly’s true form or what caused this, but once it got active, finding it was just a matter of time. Searching the whole ship would turn up traces eventually.
Especially that woman he’d seen first thing that morning.
Legs split into three tentacles writhing between shreds of flesh—that didn’t belong in a standard shipboard mystery game. Too many visual issues.
Could a mystery game with a monster still function as a mystery game? Nah, it’d just be a monster evasion game.
So something else had to be at play. Ian thought so as he stubbed out his cigarette on the wall and flicked it away.
“Hey, the butt...”
“Not the time.”
Brushing off the detective’s scolding, Ian ran a hand through his hair.
“I’ll talk to Lee Seo-ah. Officer, gather everyone on board and send them to the theater.”
“Everyone...? By myself?”
He asked with a dumbfounded look.
Ian patted his shoulder affirmatively and headed back to the dining hall where Lee Seo-ah waited.
In the elevator, the newlyweds were still locked in a fierce kiss.
Blood oozed from their burst lips, but they kept biting and sucking lower lips like they felt no pain.
No life-threatening risk if left alone, so Ian ignored them and pressed the button.
Moments later, the elevator reached its floor.
Ian walked past the murmuring crowd to where Lee Seo-ah sat, untouched by food. She spotted him and moved her lips.
“How was it?”
“Not good. Looks like the anomaly killed her.”
Scrape.
Ian pulled out a chair and sat.
“Room’s a bloodbath, tongue missing. Eyes gouged, organs ruptured and spilling out.”
“......Killed her pretty viciously. Good it didn’t hide the evidence, though. A tongue? That’s a huge hint.”
Lee Seo-ah leaned back. Ian stared out at the dark ocean and asked.
“Any guesses?”
“Kinda. Probably the ‘Blood-Dripping Tongue Cult’ or something.”
“Blood-Dripping what?”
Ian furrowed his brow at the unfamiliar cult name. Lee Seo-ah shrugged it off, propping her chin on her hand as she pulled out the bone dust vial.
“Blood-Dripping Tongue Cult. From the Cthulhu Mythos, but it exists in reality too. They do human sacrifices, kill brutally and cut out tongues. A few famous historical figures were in it. Like Hitler, Goebbels, and the rest of the Nazi officers?”
Ian’s words caught in his throat at the bigger names than expected.