Chapter 9: Dan Ga-yeon(3)

Dan Ga-yeon could not understand Comet.

What on earth could his intentions be?

Could it be that he offered to help destroy evidence that would prove his own guilt?

That didn’t seem likely.

Comet took the initiative and secured the footage.

He even helped find what Dan Ga-yeon had missed.

“Oh, look over there! There’s one inside the shopping center too. This time, I’ll go check it out. But please check if there are any other cameras, Officer Danga.”

Comet smiled and entered the shopping center.

Dan Ga-yeon stood frozen, looking at Comet’s back.

The air felt chilly, and her fingertips trembled.

What could that strange being’s intentions be?

Could he be planning to kill her after collecting all the footage?

If that were the case, he could just kill her now without any need for that.

The investigation had already concluded, so if she were dead, it would all be over.

With the difference in their skills and stats, what was he hesitating for?

Was it the authority of the state?

Killing her and fleeing when he thought he might get caught was entirely possible.

What could Comet, who survived even under the Imperial Assassination Edict during the game days, be afraid of?

A gun?

Dan Ga-yeon recalled the ranked individuals under the government.

The combat data and analysis videos she had seen after joining the Disaster Response Committee flashed through her mind.

If he were a top-ranked individual, even with a low rate of transformation, he could block bullets.

Or was he thinking of luring her to a remote place after they accidentally ran into each other during the day?

That could be possible.

He would likely avoid undue suspicion.

Then why did he spare her during their last duel?

Why did he protect her in the mountains?

Comet halted as he exited the shopping center, shaking a portable storage device.

His expression turned worried.

Why on earth was he being so kind?

“Are you alright? You seem a bit out of it since earlier.”

It’s because of you.

“I think I might be a bit anemic.”

Dan Ga-yeon, unable to express her true feelings, pressed her forehead and came up with a plausible reason.

“Then let’s take a short break. Securing the footage is important, but your health is more important, Officer Danga. You seem to have forgotten, but you were discharged today.”

“Haha…”

Dan Ga-yeon wanted to remove the presence in front of her for her mental stability.

But he was too strong of a human for that to be a feasible option.

“Aren’t you busy, Comet…?”

“Well, I’m just a civilian. I don’t have a job or anything to do. It might be surprising, but I don’t go around helping others.”

That was not surprising at all.

Dan Ga-yeon headed toward a nearby bench.

Comet followed beside her.

Thoughts of trying to understand his intentions swirled chaotically in her mind.

Feeling overwhelmed, Dan Ga-yeon decided to test Comet.

“Actually, before I came here, I told one of my colleagues in the committee that if I die, I’d ask them to take care of things. I mentioned one main suspect and asked them to review it.”

It was a lie.

Given that she had suspicions that the chairman was protecting Comet, she couldn’t trust the committee, and it was too dangerous to ask family or friends for help.

“You did well. It’s comforting to have someone to entrust your future to.”

Comet merely nodded.

“Don’t you want to know?”

“Well…”

He should have been curious, whether it was the name of her colleague or the name of the main suspect.

Why wasn’t he asking?

If he wanted complete closure of the investigation by killing Dan Ga-yeon, then her colleague should also be a target.

On the other hand, if Comet was truly cooperating, there was no reason for him not to ask about the name of the suspect, which had now decreased by one.

Perhaps the chairman would handle her colleague, so Comet intended to focus solely on Dan Ga-yeon.

Too many suspicions were piling up.

The weight of these accumulated suspicions pressed down on Dan Ga-yeon.

“While you take a break, I’ll watch the footage. Is it okay if I open your bag?”

Comet took out a laptop from Dan Ga-yeon’s bag and turned it on.

The storage device containing the surveillance footage was plugged in, and the video started playing on the laptop screen.

It was nighttime, and as with most surveillance cameras, the quality was poor.

Now, she needed to capture a few seconds of the perpetrator appearing in the footage from that day and then trace back their route.

Then the perpetrator’s residence would be revealed.

It would take a few hours, but the initial work had already been done by the police, so the time of the crime was certain.

She just needed to rewind to that time frame.

The police had stopped there, unable to waste resources on catching a single murderer, but from now on, it would be Dan Ga-yeon continuing the investigation.

“I found it. I think I’m quite competent, don’t you? Maybe I should have pursued a career in the prosecution or police instead of accounting.”

Though it was Comet, the main suspect, who was doing this.

The paused video showed a blurry figure in a coat that resembled Comet’s physique.

Dan Ga-yeon couldn’t understand Comet.

Why was he being so kind, right now, here, like this?

Comet took out a map from Dan Ga-yeon’s bag.

“Should I draw a line from the convenience store, where the crime took place, to the location where we got this footage?”

“…Yes.”

A red line was drawn on the map.

Dan Ga-yeon thought blankly.

Could it be that I’ve been misjudging?

What if Comet hadn’t committed a crime and was just helping?

“It’s a bit crooked. You should have drawn it on a flat surface.”

Comet said this regretfully while looking at the map before turning to Dan Ga-yeon.

His black bobbed hair swayed, and his red eyes narrowed.

A smile returned to his face.

Dan Ga-yeon stared blankly at Comet.

There’s no way such a kind person could be the perpetrator.

A whisper rose from the corner of her mind.

It was a kind of escape.

A desire to feel comfortable in front of something incomprehensible.

Dan Ga-yeon realized that she had somehow regained her emotional balance.

The fact that this person might not be the perpetrator allowed her to accept his kindness more easily.

That was a temporary false reprieve, but it provided her with the space to act.

Having steadied her mind, Dan Ga-yeon received the laptop and checked the footage herself.

Multiple lines were drawn on the map, and before she knew it, lunch had passed.

Dan Ga-yeon stopped by a nearby distribution center to ask for permission and had her lunch before going to retrieve the footage according to the perpetrator’s route.

It wasn’t easy.

The perpetrator moved not just for murder but also strolled around the same area and retraced his steps.

Each time that happened, Dan Ga-yeon had to rewind the footage and check if she had missed any segments in between.

“Why do you think he wandered around like that?”

“The goal must be soul retrieval. He didn’t come out just to murder someone at the convenience store. Perhaps he was also taking a walk to sightsee the neighborhood?”

Comet kindly shared his thoughts from the perspective of a necromancer.

“If the goal is to obtain souls, why didn’t he just kill anyone? He encountered several pedestrians.”

“Killing anyone would be convenient. The government would be wary of mass killings, but it would be okay to kill a few at a time.

However, that would be indiscriminate murder.”

Dan Ga-yeon grew increasingly sad.

The response returned was mixed with subjective opinions.

Just now, Comet naturally added explanations as if he were the perpetrator himself.

As days passed, and then another day, the red lines on the map grew longer.

The more they traced back, the more the possible residence of the perpetrator was moving closer to Yeouido.

Comet was still kind, and Dan Ga-yeon was slowly wavering.

Was this strange being just enjoying her confusion?

Was he simply creating this moment for his own amusement and pleasure?

Could it be that the perpetrator finds pleasure in murder?

Instead of seeking souls, they enjoy the suffering of people.

There are many people like that, you know. Those who incite others’ pain and laugh from behind.

“That’s unlikely. If he wanted excitement, he would have caught a monster, and if he wanted screams, he would have tortured someone. In an era where murder has become commonplace, what value is there in killing?”

“Don’t think too much about it. You are doing what you need to do, and such questions only add to the confusion without meaning.”

“Look, we’re almost at Yeouido. We’ve come quite far.”

The red line was drawn here and there within Yeouido.

When a single red line finally reached the perpetrator’s residence, Dan Ga-yeon had to admit it.

“So, how is it? Are you convinced now?”

Comet asked with his arms crossed.

This strange being was the perpetrator.

He was still kind and still smiled.

Dan Ga-yeon couldn’t understand Comet.

She stared blankly at Comet before slinging her bag over her shoulder and moving forward.

Comet didn’t follow her.

Her steps continued, and before she knew it, she had arrived at the chairman’s office.

Dan Ga-yeon looked at the chairman with a confused expression.

The chairman silently watched Dan Ga-yeon while leaning back in his chair.

When Dan Ga-yeon felt her mind clear and the weight of the bag become noticeable, she spoke up.

“I’m sorry. I think I came to the wrong place.”

“That’s okay. It’s your vacation, so go back and take a good rest. Come back when the time comes.”

“Yes.”

Dan Ga-yeon returned to her accommodation.

Dan Ga-yeon was just a lowly member of the committee.

She lacked the knowledge and experience to doubt the chairman’s judgment.

It was hard to guess what the chairman had acted for.

Throughout the night, the laptop was on, and the suspicions were organized into documents.

The routes and residence were added, and the documents were printed.

Dan Ga-yeon gathered the documents and left her accommodation.

After inquiring about Comet’s location, she found herself on the rooftop of a building.

The sunlight shone down, and the blue sky spread wide.

Comet, who was alone on the rooftop looking down at the city, turned to face Dan Ga-yeon.

Dan Ga-yeon bowed her head as a citizen and handed over the documents.

“Please confess.”

Comet accepted the documents.

The sound of pages turning was heard.

“It’s nicely organized. You used your time well; you’re quite skilled.”

“Please confess.”

The documents being turned were neatly arranged again.

“Lift your head. There’s no need to bow to someone like me.”

Dan Ga-yeon looked directly at Comet.

“Please confess.”

Comet smiled.

“No.”

A brief refusal came back.

Dan Ga-yeon trembled her shoulders.

“Then, why on earth?”

Emotions surged.

If that were the case, then why had he helped her kindly?

Did he enjoy seeing others in pain?

Is it so enjoyable to mock someone right in front of them?

Can he really be happy living that way?

“Look at the sky. It’s sunny. Isn’t it a shame to be in agony on such a day?”

Dan Ga-yeon still glared at Comet.

Comet smiled bitterly, then threw the bundle of documents into the sky.

Dan Ga-yeon’s gaze followed the documents as they soared up.

Black flames burned the paper, and the ashes scattered before disappearing.

Beyond that, the clear sky was visible.

“See? Isn’t it nice weather? You did what you needed to do, and I refused. Now let’s shake it off and go for a walk. It’s your vacation. You should rest.”

Dan Ga-yeon stared blankly at Comet.

She couldn’t understand him.