An Incomprehensible Kindness
Dan Gayeon could not understand Comet. What on earth was her intention? Had she not just offered to help destroy the very footage that would prove her own guilt? No, that didn’t seem right. Comet had taken the lead in securing the videos herself. She had even pointed out details Dan Gayeon had overlooked.
“Oh, look over there! There’s another one inside the shopping arcade. I’ll handle this one. Officer Dan, could you check for any other cameras nearby?”
Comet flashed a bright smile and slipped into the building.
“…Yes.”
Even as she answered, Dan Gayeon stood frozen, staring at Comet’s retreating back. The air felt icy against her skin, and her fingertips trembled. What was that strange being planning? Was she waiting until every last video was gathered before killing her? But if that was the case, she could simply kill her now. The investigation was already over; once Dan Gayeon was dead, it would end there. Given the overwhelming gap in skill and stats, what could possibly make her hesitate? Public authority? If she killed her and needed to flee, escaping would be easy enough. The Comet who had survived the Empire’s extermination order during her gaming days—what could she fear that would make her pause? Guns? Dan Gayeon recalled the rankers working under the government. Combat data and analysis footage she had reviewed after joining the Disaster Response Committee flickered through her mind. Even with a low synchronization rate, top-tier rankers could block bullets, couldn’t they? Or perhaps she planned to lure her to an isolated spot after sunset, since they had met by chance during daylight. That was possible. She would want to avoid drawing unnecessary suspicion.
Then why had she spared her during their last sparring match? Why had she protected her in the mountains?
Comet emerged from the arcade waving a portable storage device, then stopped short. Her expression shifted into one of concern.
Why is she being so kind?
“Are you all right? You’ve seemed distracted since earlier.”
It’s because of you.
“…I think I might be a little anemic.”
Unable to speak her true thoughts, Dan Gayeon pressed her forehead and offered a plausible excuse.
“Then let’s rest for a while. Securing the footage is important, but your health matters more, Officer Dan. You seem to have forgotten, but you were discharged today.”
“Haha…”
Dan Gayeon wanted nothing more than to remove the being before her for the sake of her mental stability. The only problem was that the human in question was far too strong for that to be realistic.
“Aren’t you busy, Comet…?”
“I’m a civilian, after all. No job, nothing to do. It might surprise you, but I don’t usually go around helping others either.”
It wasn’t surprising in the slightest. Dan Gayeon walked toward a nearby bench. Comet followed at her side. Thoughts raced through her head, tangling together as she tried to grasp and predict the other woman’s intentions.
Deciding she might as well test her, Dan Gayeon spoke up.
“Actually, before I came here, I told one of my colleagues at the committee that if I die, they should handle my affairs. I left them the name of the prime suspect and asked them to look into it.”
It was a lie. With her strong suspicion that the chairman was shielding Comet, the committee could not be trusted. Asking family or friends would have been far too dangerous.
“That was wise. It’s comforting to have someone to entrust with those matters.”
Comet simply nodded.
“…Aren’t you curious?”
“Not particularly.”
She should have been curious about either the colleague’s name or the suspect’s. Why wasn’t she asking? If Comet wanted to end the investigation completely by killing her, the colleague should have become a target as well. Conversely, if she was truly cooperating, there was no reason not to ask for the name of the suspect now narrowed down to one. Perhaps she intended for the chairman to handle the committee side, allowing her to focus solely on Dan Gayeon.
Too many suspicions had piled up. Their weight pressed down on her until she felt crushed.
“I’ll review the footage while you rest. May I open your bag?”
Comet pulled the laptop from Dan Gayeon’s bag and powered it on. The storage device containing the surveillance footage was inserted, and the video began to play. It was nighttime, and the quality was predictably poor, as was typical for such cameras. Now they had to isolate the few seconds in which the culprit appeared and then trace the path backward. That would reveal the culprit’s residence. It would take hours, but the police had already completed the initial work, confirming the exact time of the crime. They only needed to review footage from that window. The police had stopped there, unable to waste manpower on a single murderer, but Dan Gayeon would continue from this point.
“Found it. I seem pretty capable, don’t I? Maybe I should have gone into prosecution or policing instead of accounting.”
This, coming from the prime suspect herself.
The paused footage showed the culprit in a coat, blurry but visible. The build appeared roughly similar to Comet’s.
Dan Gayeon could not understand Comet. Why was she treating her with such kindness right here, right now?
Comet pulled a map from Dan Gayeon’s bag.
“I just draw a line from the convenience store—the crime scene—to the location where we obtained this footage, right?”
“…Yes.”
A red line appeared on the map. Dan Gayeon stared at it blankly. Could I have been wrong? Maybe Comet really didn’t commit the crime and is simply helping?
“It came out a bit crooked. I should have drawn it on a flat surface.”
Comet looked at the map with mild regret before turning to Dan Gayeon. Her short black hair swayed, and her red eyes curved into a smile.
Dan Gayeon gazed at her in a daze. There’s no way someone this kind could be the culprit. The whisper rose from a corner of her heart. It was a form of escape—the desire for comfort in the face of something incomprehensible. Dan Gayeon realized her mind had somehow found balance. The possibility that this person might not be the culprit allowed her to accept the current kindness with less discomfort. It was only a temporary, false reprieve, but it granted her the breathing room to act.
With her thoughts steadied, Dan Gayeon took the laptop and reviewed the footage herself. Multiple red lines accumulated on the map, and before they knew it, lunchtime had come and gone. Dan Gayeon stopped at a nearby distribution center, asked for permission, ate a quick meal, and continued gathering footage along the culprit’s route.
It wasn’t easy. The culprit hadn’t moved with a single purpose; they had circled the same area and even retraced their own steps. Each time, Dan Gayeon had to rewatch the footage and check for any missed segments.
“Why did they wander around so much?”
“The goal must have been soul collection. They didn’t come out just to kill at the convenience store. Perhaps they took walks to sightsee the neighborhood in between?”
Comet kindly offered her perspective as a necromancer.
“If obtaining souls was the purpose, why not kill just anyone? They passed several pedestrians.”
“Killing anyone is easier. Large-scale massacres might draw the government’s attention, but picking people off gradually would be fine. Still, that would be random murder.”
Dan Gayeon grew sadder by the minute. The responses carried subjective undertones. Just now, Comet had explained it all as naturally as if she were the culprit herself.
One day passed, then another. The map filled with long red lines. As the backtracking continued, the estimated location of the culprit’s residence drew closer and closer to Yeouido. Comet remained kind throughout, and Dan Gayeon gradually wavered. Is this strange being simply enjoying my confusion? Is she creating this moment purely for her own amusement?
“…Could the culprit be someone who enjoys murder itself? Not for the souls, but to savor people’s suffering. There are many like that. People who incite others’ pain and laugh from the shadows.”
“That seems unlikely. If they wanted excitement, they would hunt monsters. If they wanted screams, they would torture. In an era where murder has become commonplace, what value could killing possibly hold? Don’t overthink it. You’re doing what needs to be done, Officer Dan. Questions like that only increase confusion and serve no purpose. Look. We’re almost at Yeouido. We’ve come this far already.”
The red lines crisscrossed inside Yeouido. When one final strand reached what could only be the culprit’s residence, Dan Gayeon had no choice but to accept the truth.
“What do you think? Are you convinced now?”
Comet asked with her hands clasped behind her back.
This strange being was the culprit. She was still kind. She was still smiling.
Dan Gayeon could not understand Comet.
She stared at her blankly for a moment, then slung her bag over her shoulder and began to walk. Comet did not follow.
The steps continued until she found herself standing before the chairman’s office. Dan Gayeon looked at him with a troubled expression. The chairman leaned back in his chair, watching her in silence.
When her thoughts had finally settled and she felt the weight of the bag on her shoulder, Dan Gayeon spoke.
“I’m sorry. It seems I came to the wrong place.”
“That can happen. You’re on leave, so go rest properly. Report for duty when the time comes. When the time comes.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dan Gayeon returned to her quarters.
She was nothing more than a low-ranking member of the committee. She lacked both the knowledge and experience to doubt the chairman’s judgment. It was difficult to guess what he was trying to achieve.
Through the early morning hours, the laptop stayed on as she organized her suspicions into documents. Movement routes and the suspected residence were added. The papers were printed.
Dan Gayeon gathered the documents and left her quarters.
After asking around for Comet’s location, she found her on the rooftop of a building. Sunlight poured down beneath a wide blue sky.
Comet, standing alone and gazing out over the city, turned at her approach.
As nothing more than an ordinary citizen, Dan Gayeon held out the documents and bowed her head.
“Please turn yourself in.”
Comet accepted the papers. The soft rustle of pages turning filled the air.
“Very neatly organized. You made excellent use of your time. Impressive.”
“Please turn yourself in.”
The pages were gently rearranged.
“Lift your head. There’s no need to bow to someone like me.”
Dan Gayeon looked straight at her.
“Please turn yourself in.”
Comet smiled.
“No.”
A short refusal.
Dan Gayeon’s shoulders shook.
“Then why… why on earth…”
Emotion surged through her. If this was how it would end, why help me so kindly? Do you enjoy watching people suffer? Is mocking me to my face that entertaining? Can you truly be happy living like this?
“Look at the sky. It’s so clear. Doesn’t it feel like a waste to torment yourself on a day like this?”
Dan Gayeon continued glaring at her.
Comet smiled bitterly, then hurled the bundle of documents into the air. Dan Gayeon’s gaze followed them upward. Black flames consumed the pages, scattering ashes that vanished on the wind. Beyond them stretched a bright, cloudless sky.
“See? Beautiful weather, isn’t it? You did what you had to do, and I refused. Now shake it off and let’s go for a walk. You’re on vacation. You should rest.”
Dan Gayeon stared at her blankly.
Dan Gayeon could not understand Comet.