Observer II
At this time, I had ample reason to worry about the Saintess's well-being.
As previously mentioned, the public order was not good.
"Another one dead..."
During the regular meeting, Noh Do-hwa muttered. Although a considerable amount of time had passed since she took office as the chief of the National Road Management Corps, her uniquely gloomy eyes, which seemed to hate everything in the world, had not changed.
"Again? Is it that murderer?"
"Yes, the Wheel Murderer. This time the death was reported in Cheongju. It just went up on SG Net. Take a look for yourself..."
It wasn't in his character to fiddle with his smartphone during meetings, but since it was also a break time and Noh Do-hwa had recommended it, there was no helping it.
When I logged into SG Net, sure enough, chaos had ensued.
-Anonymous: December 24th, Cheongju.
The post's title on the bulletin board was nondescript. It was uploaded by an anonymous user, only the date and location were mentioned.
Not only the title but the content of the post was simple as well. A single video was bluntly attached without any adornment.
Upon clicking the video, a man was tied up in an underground parking garage.
-Uh, ahh...
The underground parking garage was already flooded up to the ankles.
Black sewage.
An endlessly murky sludge surrounded a chair placed in the middle, where the man was tightly bound.
-I-I am Lee So-yeol, 29, living in Cheongju. I, until now, have killed six people. The first murder was a year ago... There was a mother and daughter in my neighborhood, they seemed to have plentiful supplies. Originally, I didn’t intend to kill, but during a fight with the father, the daughter stabbed me from behind, so, to survive, I had no choice.
The man, for some reason, droned on about his crimes.
The video did not continue seamlessly. It was unmistakably edited.
For instance, the dialogues he just mentioned were cut off in the middle. There were gaps between 'I have killed six people until now' and 'The first murder was a year ago.'
The reason I could notice this difference was that, previously, there had been no nail in the man's hand.
That is, someone who filmed the video was torturing the man. However, the 'video of being tortured' and 'video of screaming' were thoroughly deleted.
Thus, the man's confession seemed to continue smoothly, as if nothing had happened.
-I was angry. I did it because I was angry. But I just killed them. Without torturing or humiliating...
A nail was embedded in his right hand.
-I'm sorry. I'm sorry.
The man's voice trembled a bit more thinly.
-Actually, I tortured each one in front of the mother until they died. The second murder happened in Go-eun. Go-eun intersection. People often pass by there from Cheongju. Not those moving with the National Road Management Corps, but alone or maybe two or three together... I targeted those people... These days, all travelers keep their belongings in their backpacks... Shit! It's the fault of those fuckers who travel alone!
Nails were embedded in both his forearms.
Where the nails were embedded, blood flowed. However, no matter how much blood dripped, the color of the sewage flooding the parking garage did not change at all. It remained pitch black.
-I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I didn’t want to live like this. Isn't it the world's fault? When the Gate burst open in Seoul, I was 12 years old. I was a primary school student then.
-......
-Life, half of my life, no, just life itself, was completely thrown into a cesspool. Shit. At least you all lived happily for half of your lives. You lived well. You went to school. I didn’t! I couldn’t! It's your fault, shit!
-I didn’t do anything wrong... If I had been an Awakener, I wouldn't have done such things. Filthy bastards. You guys don’t even try and just awaken your abilities, huh? Join a guild and live it up. For regular people like me, we’re nothing, right? But what...
A nail was embedded in his shoulder.
-The, the third murder.
-......
-The third murder was... some bastard tried to rob my house. Me, a man. The money that an adult earned working his bones off, and he was trying to steal it just like that, isn't his head rotten? I didn’t particularly intend to kill him. Just wanted him to starve. I planned to keep him tied up for three days and then release him, but he died on his own in just two days. Really. I was going to release him. Ah. I'm sorry . I'm sorry. I'm sorry! Please save me! Please! No more. Please...
At that moment, something strange was embedded in the man's head.
It was a wheel from a car.
Since gasoline had become a relic of ancient civilizations, the countless cars scattered around the world were no more meaningful than megaliths. However, the person who filmed the video had seen new possibilities in the remains of these decommissioned cars.
"He's dead."
"Yes. He died cleanly. No, filthy..."
The serial murderer's trademark.
The culprit always nailed his victims to death and then hung a car wheel on the nail.
Known as the 'Wheel Murderer.' Or simply 'Wheel.'
"Already the 16th, isn't it?"
"Roughly around that number. Actually, if we only count the videos, it's 16, but there are many more murders that weren't recorded. Last time we found a corpse with a wheel on its head that hadn't appeared in any video..."
The murderer had stolen 'anonymity' from 'Anonymous.'
In other words, the community had no choice but to acknowledge and name him.
-[Baekwha] SixthGrader: I'm so scared... ?_?
-Anonymous: Kyaa, as expected from Wheel oppa. Nice shot again today.
-[Yuldoguk] SwordMarquess: Is this an act of righteousness, or is it a vile self-justification of an evil faction? I find it truly difficult to judge.
└OldManGoryeo: ew
-Anonymous: A mother-daughter murder in Chungju, and that was from a year ago, right? I think I know what this is about. There were rumors going around inside Chungju because the bodies were brutally mutilated then. -Anonymous: I'm rooting for you. Kill more.
-dolLHoUse: Neutral.
-[Samcheon] Officer: Who's managing Chungju? If it weren't for Wheel, this bastard wouldn't have been caught until the end. Can't they manage security properly? The Awakeners affiliated with that guild should feel ashamed.
Comments were continuously being posted on the bulletin board.
"I'm back... Huh? What's going on? Why the atmosphere?"
Just then, Seo Gyu entered the conference room.
The regular meeting members were Noh Do-hwa, me, and the Saintess, although occasionally Seo Gyu also participated. If Noh Do-hwa controlled the aboveground road network, Seo Gyu managed the underground network.
"Seo Gyu, another post by the Wheel Murderer went up."
"Ah..."
Seo Gyu made a subtle expression. It was a look that seemed to convey both apology and a lack of face.
"Should I delete it?"
"No, the public reaction suggests that arbitrarily deleting it could backfire. More importantly, is this Anonymous really that difficult to track?"
"Yes, for now he's not a regular member... When I checked the access logs, he only logs in to post and doesn't enter SG Net at any other time."
"So, he's not the type who commits crimes for the comments."
"Yep. He might not even be looking at the comments at all. Or maybe he has some kind of unusual stealth ability that my powers can't detect."
"...That's also a possibility."
I nodded.
There really are a variety of abilities in this world.
"Is it about the murderer?"
The Saintess followed Seo Gyu into the room. Both had stepped out of the conference room during the break and had just returned.
"Yes."
"I also just saw the post on SG Net."
The Saintess took her seat, speaking as impassively as usual.
"Even though I keep using my Clairvoyance, somehow I just can’t catch the criminal in my sight."
Then, it must be some kind of stealth ability.
"Truly elusive."
After the meeting ended, Seo Gyu was sent away, and we three entered another strategy meeting.
Of course, the topic was the Wheel Murderer.
"With public authority collapsed, there’s no way to prevent private sanctions. There's neither justification nor reason. The problem is..."
"Really, where's the guarantee that this murderer is truly a benevolent being?"
Noh Do-hwa took over the conversation.
"So far, he's really only targeted clear villains. But with the same ability, he could kill someone else without anyone knowing. Maybe he already has, just without attaching a wheel to the body..."
"......"
"At the very least, we need to understand who this person is from our perspective. Mr. Undertaker, is this the first time such a type of murderer has appeared in your regressions?"
"Yes. This is a first in all my lives. It’s the first time a run has proceeded this smoothly up to the 16th year, so it's not that surprising."
This run had been unusually fortunate.
Normally by this time, beings called the Outer Gods would have interfered in our world, causing utter chaos. However, for some reason, the 107th cycle was quiet.
It was almost like a miracle.
Therefore, it was all the more precious.
"Then, Mr. Undertaker, please try to gather more detailed information on the criminal this cycle... That way, we can plan how to handle this going forward, whether we recruit or eliminate."
"I was planning on that anyway."
"Some guild leaders suspect the Wheel Murderer might be an assassin we're cultivating. Things would have been much easier if we had such an assassin, huh..."
We were doing our best.
By the 16th year, the National Road Management Corps had successfully connected nearly all major cities with primary roads.
Guild leaders holed up in each city like feudal lords, but Noh Do-hwa reigned over these lords as a king. She monopolized the distribution networks from city to city, which was a natural consequence.
Most importantly, Busan, the largest city on the Korean peninsula, had fallen into the hands of Dang Seo-rin of Samcheon. As you know, Dang Seo-rin was one of the key figures behind the establishment of the National Road Management Corps, and she was extremely favorable towards us.
If necessary, Dang Seo-rin could even reign as the supreme leader of the guild leaders, such was the strength of his forces. With such a person's cooperation behind us, no one could ignore the National Road Management Corps. Hmm, it would be like the French royal family securing the loyalty of Burgundy in the Middle Ages.
Despite all this, the limits of the National Road Management Corps were clear.
We could not take responsibility for the security of the entire Korean peninsula. We could not manage the administration. We could not handle the judiciary.
Originally, we couldn't even govern the surface area of the Korean peninsula. At best, we controlled the lines connecting city to city.
In the voids that the spider web could not envelop, monsters and anomalies always lurked.
Whenever these things tried to tear through the spiderweb and invade humanity's lines, I had to respond. The military power of the National Road Management Corps was formidable, but moving as swiftly as me was inevitably difficult.
This was also fundamentally why I lacked time.
"We just don't have the capacity. We don't."
"......"
The meeting adjourned, and we each returned to our respective lodgings.
The reason I turned my steps this way was entirely capricious.
Since the Saintess had ended her reclusive training and started wandering outside, my visits to Yongsan Dongbinggo-dong, which used to be the Saintess's hideout, had become infrequent.
Even though the Saintess herself didn't mind at all, it didn't look good for a man to be frequently visiting the home of a woman living alone. Previously, since the Saintess had been confined at home, it couldn’t be helped, but now the situation had changed.
We could always communicate via [Telepathy].
"But because of the Wheel Murderer, the Saintess must also be feeling uneasy."
No one was more fastidious about ethics than her.
In a situation where public power had crumbled, she still guarded against private sanctions. The reason was simple: without a system, a single deviation could lead to a major error.
The reason judgments were made through three courts—first, second, and third—by different people was not unrelated to this situation. It was unrealistic to expect one person to be absolutely fair and error-free forever.
Because of these various concerns, the Saintess's mind must also be in turmoil.
"I've just gotten a rare fish, too. She'd be happy with a gift."
December 24th. Christmas Eve.
I put the tropical fish in a plastic bag and headed for Dongbinggo-dong.
Thump, a silent touch settled on my forehead. White snowflakes. Even though the roads had turned into snow paths with last night's heavy snowfall, it seemed they were about to snow again.
"Hmm."
Worried that it might be too cold for the tropical fish, I wrapped the plastic bag with my palms. I also did not forget to skillfully raise an aura to maintain the temperature.
Footprints were double-pressed into the path leading to Dongbinggo-dong. Likely, all of them were the Saintess's footprints.
"Saintess, are you there?"
Knock, knock.
I knocked on the door, but there was no response.
'She should have gone home right after the meeting...'
I tilted my head and turned the doorknob. The shoes the Saintess had worn during the meeting were in the entrance. This meant she had at least stopped by the house once.
"Saintess?"
Still no answer.
"Hmm."
...I decided to enter the house, even at the risk of being rude. The memory of what had happened to the Saintess at the hands of Go Yuri lingered somewhat traumatically.
If the Saintess was alright, I could just apologize immediately. She was someone who knew how to accept an apology.
I stepped into the living room and...
"…?"
Soon, I witnessed an unbelievable scene.
The tanks that had surrounded the Saintess's living room like a fortress.
The tanks that always shimmered a brilliant blue were now completely empty.
"What?"
I opened my mouth unwittingly.
Raising fish was the Saintess's unique hobby. Even until the end of the world, she would never give up on her fish. That had been proven even back during the 90th cycle when I was running a convenience store.
But the tanks were empty.
Well, actually, two tanks were still filled with water. However, it seemed like a long time had passed since the water filter had been working, as the water color was murky.
A few tropical fish lay belly-up in the murky water, transformed into debris.
Coincidentally, all the fish corpses left were the ones I had gifted her before.
"Mr. Undertaker?"
At that moment, a voice came from behind me.
I turned around, and there was the Saintess, just coming through the front door.
I looked at the Saintess, holding the plastic bag with the tropical fish I intended to gift her.
"What happened?"
"...Ah. I'm sorry for entering without permission. Someone gifted me some tropical fish, and I thought it would be better to give them to you, Saintess, so I came without notifying you first. But... are you not keeping fish anymore?"
The Saintess blinked.
"...Yes."
"Why? You liked them so much..."
"I did, but most of the original fish had died, and maintaining the tanks became increasingly burdensome. I planned to clean up the remaining tanks at some point, but I just haven't got around to it yet."
I looked over the Saintess's attire.
A double coat. Not exactly comfortable attire for moving around. It was different from what she had worn at the meeting.
It wasn’t her usual fashion choice either.
"...I see. Were you coming back from a walk?"
"Yes. If I had known you were coming, Mr. Undertaker, I would have prepared some tea. It seems you visited while I was briefly out."
In other words,
'I had returned home once before going out again, and there’s nothing much I could do in this outfit except for a simple walk.'
Outside, it was snowing. Snow clung to her double coat, but it looked somewhat unnatural. As if, maybe,
if you shook the double coat lightly on snow-covered ground, it would not have such snow marks.
"……"
"Undertaker?"
I looked past the Saintess to the snow on the ground outside.
Until I entered, the footprints had only been double-pressed. One set was from my arrival, and the other must have been from when the Saintess returned.
I picked up the shoes the Saintess had just taken off at the entrance, examining the soles.
The pattern of the soles did not match the footprints in the snow.
"Undertaker? What are you doing?"
"Saintess."
It was a kind of intuition.
It was hard to call it deduction, given the lack of evidence. There were no physical proofs., but a kind of flash, like a lightning strike, flickered in my mind.
The fish belly-up. The empty tanks. The Saintess occasionally gazing blankly into space. Seo Gyu's apologetic eyes. The double coat. The footprints.
An unlikely possibility, never before considered, suddenly clicked together like a puzzle and slipped out of my mouth.
"Could it be, Saintess, that you are the Wheel Murderer?"
Silence.
A moment that felt like eternity passed.
As if the world had hit the pause button.
When it seemed that impression was about to lift,
"Mr. Undertaker."
The Saintess's lips parted.
"You really know me well."
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