Chapter : 07
The Abandoned Building
Teheran-ro in Gangnam, Seoul—the financial and business hub of the city, densely packed with skyscrapers, giant corporations, and IT startups. Gangnam was infamous for its astronomical real estate prices.
On the eighth basement floor of Asung Building, the tallest structure on Teheran-ro, a young woman was walking briskly down a corridor toward the Abnormal Phenomenon Investigation Office’s 3rd Division.
Rather than running, she was walking at a frantic pace. She had to strictly follow one of the three rules of the eighth basement floor: Do not run.
“Ugh… Why does something like this have to happen on the exact day I’m trying to take a leave?”
She had blue hair, was in her early twenties, and held the status of a 3rd-grade Hunter. She served as a junior intelligence officer at the Hunter Administration’s Gangnam Headquarters—Deputy Lee Hye-rin, a five-year veteran of the Intelligence Bureau.
Her exceptional beauty usually prompted male colleagues to offer their help, but today was entirely different.
The moment any male employee glanced at the document she was holding, their demeanor flipped.
“…Oh! I just remembered I have something urgent to handle today! Haha… my nephew asked me to go fishing!”
“Huh? A sudden call? Ah, Mom… Uncle? What? Uncle collapsed?! Ahem, Hye-rin, I’ll help you next time. I need to leave early today!”
“H-Hye-rin, please pretend I didn’t see this. I’m so sorry…!”
Every single reaction was identical. Terrified, they sputtered out absurd excuses as if screaming, before bolting away.
It was pathetic, but Hye-rin understood. Had she been in their shoes, she would have reacted the exact same way.
Her hurried steps came to a stop in front of a door. A nameplate hung on it:
<Abnormal 3 Division Investigation Office, Phenomenon>
It was the specialized division responsible for handling the most convoluted and terrifying occurrences among all abnormal phenomena nationwide—a notoriously horrific place. Division 3 single-handedly accounted for 37% of all transfers and 57% of all resignations in the entire Intelligence Bureau. Its infamy easily dwarfed that of Division 1 and Division 2.
Knock, knock—
“…Section Chief, it’s Lee Hye-rin.”
“Mmm… Come in.” A heavy, deep voice echoed from inside.
Instead of opening the door immediately, Hye-rin checked above the handle. A round, iron ring-shaped handle was attached to the door: a door knocker.
It was an archaic device. A mounting plate was fixed to the door frame, connected to a ring handle via a hinge. Striking the ring against the plate signaled to anyone inside that a visitor had arrived.
Every door in the Intelligence Bureau—including Division 3—was equipped with one. Its purpose was to distinguish humans from non-humans: the mysteries, or what were known as abnormal phenomena. It was a failsafe designed to identify those horrific entities whenever they attempted to mimic humanity.
The Bureau’s Intelligence Division enforced explicit rules, including: “Do not run,” and “Any entity incapable of using the door knocker shall not be classified as human.”
Knock, knock, knock—
Hye-rin struck the door knocker precisely three times before pushing the door open.
Inside, screens filled the walls. Not just a single wall, but all four walls were completely covered in grid-like displays of varying sizes, densely packed together. Hundreds of live feeds from different locations across the country were broadcasting simultaneously.
Every single screen showed a site where an abnormal phenomenon was currently taking place.
Hye-rin swallowed hard at the sight of Division 3’s screens, which she hadn’t seen in a long time. Just looking at them caused her fingertips to tremble slightly.
On one screen, a dead woman lying by a riverbank crawled forward, digging her fingernails into the ground before dissolving into nothingness.
On another, a wooden doll abandoned in a forest suddenly began to groan, vomiting a waterfall of maggot-like larvae that devoured a passing animal.
On an empty, closed highway, a rusted sedan abruptly materialized, played an old jazz song, stopped, and burst into flames.
The screens captured an endless loop of terrifying anomalies occurring across the nation.
And in the center of the office:
“…Ahem. Apologies. I’ve been rather exhausted lately. Haha… please understand.”
A middle-aged man sat in an office chair, scratching his stubbled chin while shrugging.
It was Section Chief Kim Man-soo of the Hunter Administration’s Intelligence Bureau.
Hye-rin immediately snapped to attention, assuming a rigid posture. Though he looked like a scruffy middle-aged man on the surface, Kim Man-soo was a legendary elite.
He had graduated at the top of his class from Korea University—the country’s most prestigious institution—and was a monster who quickly reached the 5th-grade realm thanks to his innate talent. Despite having the potential to earn astronomical wealth, he retired as an active Hunter without a second thought. Ignoring everyone’s pleas, he chose to join the Korean Administration’s Intelligence Bureau—a low-paying, high-risk job considered one of the most dangerous in the country.
A High-Rank Hunter, known as the Executioner in White.
To the Hunters of the Intelligence Bureau, Kim Man-soo was a figure of absolute respect. Yet this man, who had never shown a single sign of fatigue over the past few years, was currently sighing in complete exhaustion.
Even after Hye-rin entered, he continued muttering to himself. If one listened closely, his internal monologue sounded unhinged:
“Is this really the right choice? It’s better to keep my mouth shut than to provoke a monster like that…”
“No, wait. Should I prepare for the worst right now? Should I call the Illusory Dream Funeral Home to make final arrangements…? Damn it, what good is a funeral service after the world ends?!”
“I heard Russia has a decent memory playback device. If I retrieve it and dig into his past… No, no. Even with a Triple-Numbering Artifact, using a mere toy like that against that man…? Ha! That’s a insane idea.”
It was a baffling stream of self-talk. Unable to make sense of it, Hye-rin could only stare at him in confusion.
Then, Kim Man-soo stopped his frantic muttering, wiped his face with both hands, and stood up.
“Forgive me, Deputy Lee Hye-rin. Right, what brings you here? Did an incident break out?”
“Ah, yes! A powerful surge of mana waves has been detected at Mount Bomun in Daejeon. It appears the Wizard of Ah-hihil from Mount Bomun has begun to move…”
“What? Ah-hihil?”
In an instant, Kim Man-soo’s tired expression vanished, his brows furrowing. He began radiating a sharp, deadly aura that contrasted sharply with his demeanor just moments ago.
“Dammit. What a pain. My head is already spinning because of that taxi passenger, and now a monster from Ah-hihil decides to throw a tantrum too?”
“S-Section Chief?”
“Ah, apologies. Could you hand me that report?”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
At his gesture, Hye-rin handed over the files.
The report detailed the magic power surge that had begun at Mount Bomun a few hours ago, logging the strength and resonance of the periodic waves. It even included satellite photography captured during the sudden, explosive spikes in mana.
“This… is a Wave Form?”
Attached to the report was a photograph depicting a giant, blood-red cloud made entirely of concentrated mana.
It was an authority known as Waveform—a terrifying cloud composed of dark red, ominous mana. It was an extremely dangerous power, so risky that even High-Rank Hunters in the modern era rarely dared to utilize it.
If a Waveform originated from Mount Bomun, there was no need to ask who was behind it.
“…Has the 7th High Priest of Ah-hihil crawled out of that ominous pit? It’s likely not his main body, but rather a modified dummy vessel…”
Mired in complex thoughts, Kim Man-soo pondered for a moment before stepping forward quickly. It was practically a run—in fact, he took two or three running steps.
And at that exact moment—
CRACK—
The normal steel ceiling of Division 3 split open vertically. It ripped apart irregularly, as if gouged out by a jagged blade.
From the gap in the fractured ceiling—
Squulch… Clack…
Something resembling a finger dropped onto the floor with a thud.
It was indeed a finger, composed of seven joints. Where the fingernail should have been, there was no hard keratin, but rather a tiny, bloodshot eyeball pulsing with prominent veins.
It was a gruesome creature.
The eyeball darted around as if searching for something, then froze the moment it locked onto Kim Man-soo.
“…S-Section Chief Kim Man-soo?” Hye-rin stammered.
“Hah… What a hassle, seriously.”
The Intelligence Bureau on the 8th basement floor had three rules:
-
Do not run.
-
Any entity incapable of using the door knocker shall not be classified as human.
-
If a creature is found alive after breaching the first two rules, immediately seal off the entire 8th basement floor. Any employee unable to escape must take their own life.
Kim Man-soo clicked his tongue as he watched the seven-jointed finger slither across the floor like a snake, closing the distance.
He was clearly exhausted recently. Otherwise, he never would have broken the first rule in such a foolish manner. His mind and body were worn out enough to overlook a crucial detail.
‘…It’s all because of that passenger.’
The incomprehensible, terrifying monster he had driven up the hills of Sinlim… Combined with the rampage of Ah-hihil’s High Priest, he had let his guard down for just a split second.
Fortunately, it was still manageable. Even though he had broken the rule, he had only taken two or three running steps.
“…Deputy Lee Hye-rin.”
“Yes, Section Chief!”
“If any of the Returnees are available for dispatch, send them to the scene immediately. You have permission to open the vault and offer a few High-Grade Elixirs as compensation.”
“If we touch the elixirs, won’t higher-ups throw a fit?”
“Then tell them to take it up with me. If they don’t like it, I’ll just quit. I’m underpaid anyway; driving a taxi for a living doesn’t sound so bad. In fact, it might suit my retirement years better… wait, maybe not?”
Kim Man-soo rambled recklessly, but trailed off as he remembered Do Min-hyuk, the customer he had picked up recently. If he picked up a passenger like that a few more times, his heart wouldn’t survive it.
That black-haired man was undeniably far more baffling than any anomaly in Division 3.
“…Well, for now, I need to clean this up first.”
Watching the seven-jointed finger crawl toward him, Kim Man-soo pulled out a dagger from his coat and sliced off a lock of his own hair. Infusing it with a dense charge of mana, he threw it onto the floor.
SHHH—
With the sound of crashing waves, the fallen hair began to coalesce into the shape of a living human doll.
Spotting the decoy, the seven-jointed finger—
CRACK!
It moved at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. In just three blinks, it lunged forward and began devouring the hair doll.
The eyeball replacing its nail split open horizontally, revealing a maw lined with razor-sharp teeth that aggressively tore the doll to pieces.
“Looks like I’m going to be exhausted for a week…”
Feeling the strength drain from his body, Kim Man-soo waited until the creature finished its meal and retreated before stepping forward. Exhausted as he was, he had a mountain of work to process.
The Wizard of Ah-hihil—a big shot at the priest level—was on the move. That meant countless factions would react and shift in response.
CRUNCH—
Do Min-hyuk extended his arm, his hand clamped firmly around someone’s throat.
The captive was a remarkably beautiful woman wearing a black robe. She possessed skin as pale as fresh snow, and even through the tight grip, her skin felt remarkably soft. She possessed every feature of a quintessential beauty.
“…Kgh!”
Lee Eun-rim let out a low groan against Min-hyuk’s harsh grip. Unable to withstand the force, her crimson lips trickled with a thin line of blood.
She was utterly dumbfounded.
She was a high-tier 6th-Grade Hunter—a powerful figure who had reached Ranker status. Yet, from the hand currently throttling her into submission, she couldn’t sense even a trace of mana.
Was it the power of an artifact? No, that wasn’t it either.
Do Min-hyuk was dressed in ordinary clothing: an affordable Nike t-shirt and comfortable black training pants. There was no artifact in sight.
Aside from his exceptionally handsome face that would turn heads on any street, his attire was as casual as anyone you could find in a neighborhood.
“What… are you…?” Lee Eun-rim’s eyes quivered slightly.
Just moments ago, this man had shattered the Spear of the White Snake with absurd, overwhelming force. But right now…
‘How can he feel so completely ordinary?!’
It felt as though the suffocating pressure from earlier had been a lie. Nothing emanated from him.
Lee Eun-rim stared at him in utter disbelief.
At that moment, Min-hyuk spoke.
“Well, there’s no need for a long conversation.”
“…What?”
“I dislike witches. Not enough to kill them, so I won’t kill you.”
Min-hyuk shrugged and raised his fist.
Even though that fist contained no mana whatsoever, a spine-chilling sensation ran down Lee Eun-rim’s back. Alarm bells rang frantically inside her head.
Dodge it.
I have to dodge that fist right now!
She coated her entire body in mana to break free, but escaping the hand locked around her neck was impossible. It felt as if her entire body were sealed inside an inescapable constraint.
Crack…
The surrounding space vibrated faintly. Min-hyuk’s plain fist aimed directly at her abdomen.
BOOM!
Min-hyuk’s unleashed fist slammed ruthlessly into Lee Eun-rim’s stomach.
In that instant of dizzying agony, Lee Eun-rim’s vision went completely white.
She was a survivor who had returned from the nightmare hells of terrifying visions, yet this purely physical punch delivered a level of impact incomparable to anything she had experienced before.
It was an indescribable shock and agony. The world felt like it was spinning upside down.
A horrifying pain bypassed the protection of her blessed body, piercing straight through her defenses.
“…Where am I?”
Regaining consciousness, Lee Eun-rim narrowed her eyes. A hollow laugh escaped her lips.
Rumble… Rumble…
Her surroundings had shifted completely.
She was no longer in the office of the broker, Cha Baek-jin, but in a damp, humid realm of a completely different world.
Below the blood-red chair she sat on—a throne woven from the bones of demonic beasts—an endless river of blood flowed.
The outer edge of the Ominous Pit.
The domain she had received upon becoming the 7th High Priest of Ah-hihil had revealed itself.
“…The vessel I manifested in the real world was destroyed by a single strike?”
It was utterly absurd.
That body, crafted from countless magical reagents, was something even High Rankers couldn’t destroy easily. Yet that black-haired man accomplished it effortessly.
Furthermore, he had destroyed only her dummy body, leaving her core soul intact as she returned to her domain in the Ominous Pit.
He was an entity beyond explanation.
He possessed absurdly terrifying power, yet projected the aura of an ordinary civilian. Even by the standards of a monster like herself, that man was a bizarre anomaly—someone far too bizarre to simply describe as ‘strong.’
Lee Eun-rim fell into quiet contemplation as she recalled the black-haired man.
“…Regardless of all that, perhaps… he is a kinder person than I thought.”
The thought simply crossed her mind—a self-muttering so insane that if the broker Cha Baek-jin had heard it, he would have claimed she had lost her mind entirely.
“…FUCK!”
A man with stark white hair spat out a curse in front of a building.
This was madness. Complete and total madness.
Standing in front of an abandoned building on the hills of Sinlim—the last known location where a pervert carrying a rabbit doll had been spotted—the man swallowed hard.
“G-Guys, do we really have to go in here? Risky my life for 300 Star-Balloons is a bit much…”
He tried to make an excuse, but his chat room was having none of it.
[SweetPotatoOfTerror: Hey! You’re not trying to take donations and dive, are you? Get in there right now! I’m canceling my membership, I swear! LOL this is too much.]
[CowardHunter: Woah, crossing the line much? Why take donations if you’re gonna act like this? If no refund, canceling membership instantly.]
[BusanGuy28: Streamer-nim, I’m disappointed… Keep your promise. Otherwise, membership ends today. Ha… so annoying. Calling yourself a alpha male was all cap?]
[ChewyFishcakeUdon: I donated and you’re just standing there? Are you kidding me? Canceling next month’s payment.]
[MonkBoy: Hoho! Calmer down, donors! Who knows, maybe a real ghost lives there? Though I’ll be canceling my membership as well.]
Threats to cancel memberships flooded the broadcast chat.
Unable to withstand the pressure, the man finally took a step inside the building.
“I-I’m going in! Guys! AAAAAGH!”
Overcome by peer pressure, the streamer disappeared into the dark building.
Right at that moment, a muscular man walking by in the distance gasped and came to a halt.
“Huh? You’re not supposed to go in there…”
The muscular man was Kim Kang-baek. He was returning home carrying bags of pork belly and fresh wraps, intending to invite Do Min-hyuk and Na-hyun over for dinner.
Standing frozen, Kim Kang-baek fell into deep thought.
If he hadn’t seen it, that would be one thing. But having witnessed someone enter that building, he could hardly pretend not to notice.
