NoveLight ™
The promised third day.
The final day at the "Horizon Lodge" had arrived.
"......"
The government worker rose from the bed.
He didn’t feel great.
It felt like things had started to unravel at some point…
And if the events themselves weren’t unpleasant enough, it was no surprise his mood wasn’t any better.
But since his shift wasn’t over yet, he donned his prepared work clothes, strapped on his equipment, and grabbed his tools before stepping out of the room.
And then he was greeted with something he wasn’t eager to see.
"......Huff."
The first-floor living room was drenched in blood.
As if someone had performed some grotesque ritual, there were bloody body parts scattered across the floor, positioned like offerings.
And on the only clean sofa, a woman, unconscious, lay sprawled.
She was the wife of the couple.
"......"
The government worker hesitated for a moment, but then decided to proceed as planned.
He knew the dangers of deviating from the set course.
And…
"Ugh... huh?"
The woman on the sofa suddenly regained consciousness and screamed.
Before her stood a tall man, clad in a black waterproof coat, holding a butcher’s knife that was at least 35 cm long!
The man with the butcher knife took a deep breath.
‘Of course…’
She wakes up now.
He was exhausted.
More than usual.
No, how could things have gone this wrong, this far from the plan…?
The government worker instinctively recalled the first day at the lodge.
His initial target had been one of the couple.
They were an easy target, driven by greed, and killing one of them would create fear, making the subsequent work easier, according to the disaster management department’s analysis.
He had been lured to the kitchen, planning to carry out the clues from the picture frame...
‘The corpse will go into the hearth.’
But someone had beaten him to it.
‘...!’
The body was already in the hearth.
In fact, it had been arranged in a rather avant-garde fashion.
...??
A question mark hovered in his mind.
The disaster management department had, using their expertise, selected him to be the serial killer, giving him the cassette tape with the necessary instructions.
So why was there another killer showing up?
By now, he had started to wonder if the irregularities of the supernatural disaster were flaring up again.
That was, until he discovered the shredded clothes of the two university students in the backyard at lunch.
‘......’
At that point, he had no choice but to put the large hammer back in the closet.
It was clear now.
Someone insane was already one step ahead, killing and playing the game his way.
It was maddening.
And today, on the final day, a dismembered murder had been committed before he could even act, and the headache was unavoidable.
What kind of madness was this?
But his job hadn’t changed.
Even in this chaotic situation, he had to complete his last task as per the protocol.
That was the decision of the disaster management department.
"Eeek..."
His brief reflection ended.
The government worker saw his prey below, unable to resist.
With a deep sense of exhaustion for what was to come, he readied the knife to strike.
"Agent 007."
"......"
At the sound of the voice, he turned his head.
From the second-floor railing, someone was watching the scene.
It was the company worker.
The seller from the salmon market.
"You don’t have to kill her."
Kim Soleum looked down from above.
The person believed they were the heir to the legacy of a legendary serial killer, convinced of their inheritance and undergoing both mental and physical transformations.
Indeed, the government worker, dressed in a black raincoat and carrying a gleaming butcher’s knife, looked every bit like a serial killer.
Anyone would believe this disaster had appointed him as its killer.
But Kim Soleum knew better.
‘Even with this look, we can still communicate.’
I’m sure.
‘Disaster management agents are always prepared with contingency plans for any disaster.’
Just like the holster peeking out from under the raincoat, near the worker’s chest.
-----------------------
Dark Exploration Records / Supernatural Disaster Management Department
/ Item
Line Catcher
An equipment item resembling a black holster.
When worn, it provides resistance to supernatural mental disturbances of the solid (刳形) grade or lower.
Item Usage Condition: Must be a level 8 or higher government employee of the Supernatural Disaster Management Department.
-----------------------
That was a piece of mental defense equipment.
Not all government officials are fools. They wouldn't send someone into a deadly ghost story capable of turning them into a serial killer without any protection.
"They’d never send anyone in here unarmed."
These officials were already dealing with high-risk ghost stories where death was practically guaranteed.
“Imagine meeting a cunning pharmaceutical rep using charm-enhancing items like those smiley stickers. That would be a disaster.”
Exactly.
Kim Soleum turned to the official standing expressionless before him.
“You really don’t need to kill anyone. The groundwork has already been laid.”
“…”
“I’ve handled everything.”
Silence.
“Did you kill them?”
Hmm.
This disaster wouldn’t end unless the serial killings occurred.
According to the Dark Exploration Records, if no murders happened through direct intervention, things would end in utter chaos with people killing each other over inheritance disputes.
“That’s why they’ve set the stage for the official to do the killing.”
To avoid the risk of the official themselves dying, they orchestrate events so that the official would become a serial killer instead.
That was the rule.
Commit serial killings, or—
“No.”
“…!”
“Make it seem like it.”
So it could still be judged as equivalent to serial killings!
“But there was a body.”
“Well, yes, but…”
Kim Soleum scratched the back of his neck.
“But it wasn’t one I made.”
“…!”
“Do you know there’s a basement in this lodge?”
Kim Soleum recalled a stanza from the poem in the golden frame.
It wasn’t just foreshadowing about the method of killing.
There were other hints.
A hopping, laughing sound
Underfoot, wooden floors echo
A feast awaits the table
A cheerful tune hums.
That stanza held clues.
Underfoot, wooden floors echo meant there was a hollow space beneath.
And…
A feast awaits the table implied something abundant related to the serial killings.
As expected.
“In the basement, I found preserved body parts and organs on display.”
“…!”
There was a workshop.
“It seems this lodge has witnessed serial killings in the past. I almost fainted.”
Truly.
The remains were likely leftovers from previous cycles of serial killings.
In any case, Kim Soleum, braving the thought of “there are no ghosts here,” had ventured into the basement at night and discovered that horrifying sight… let’s skip over his emotional state.
What mattered was that he found a creative use for those grisly props.
The official caught on.
“…The bodies so far.”
“Yes.”
Kim Soleum awkwardly admitted, “None of them were in pristine condition, right?”
He had reused the pieces from the basement to stage the murders as if they were recent.
That’s why Baek Saheon had to be the first “victim.”
‘…No way I could’ve done it without help.’
Handling preserved, dismembered corpses barehanded at night to stage a murder scene? Just imagining it made him want to quit life.
Still, Baek Saheon had reluctantly agreed to help after being given the ultimate choice: “Cooperate to survive, or die right here.”
He had grudgingly become an excellent assistant in staging the killings.
Together, they crafted the scenes with great effort.
They stuffed wood into the kitchen stove, burned it to simulate an explosion, and placed a foot wearing Baek Saheon’s sneaker nearby. The bones and meat scattered in the backyard were actually frozen food from the storage freezer. They stripped some clothing and spread it around for added effect.
The dismembered body parts scattered across the living room were staged similarly.
However, the kidnappings and initial setup of the scenes? Kim Soleum had handled all of that alone.
“With Braun’s ability, the abductions went smoothly.”
In the end, Kim Soleum shrugged.
“I hid everyone and made it look like they were dead. The real body parts helped sell it.”
“…”
“I thought that would be enough to startle the killer into staying put.”
But then…
“Still, someone actually killed people.”
“…”
“The allergy and the landslide, for instance.”
Both happened before he could intervene.
The landslide could be blamed on supernatural phenomena, but the allergy? That was no coincidence.
No one could determine a stranger’s fatal allergy after less than a day of observation—unless they were Sherlock Holmes.
‘Even I only found out after a casual conversation.’
There was no way anyone could have predicted and prepared for that.
So…
It had to be someone who knew the victims’ profiles beforehand and came prepared to kill.
“Was it you who triggered the allergic reaction?”
“…”
The official didn’t deny it.
And Kim Soleum?
‘Well, as expected.’
He wasn’t shocked at all.
Couldn’t he feel some sympathy for the innocent victims? No. Because they weren’t exactly “innocent.”
‘The government doesn’t pick victims for these scenarios at random.’
The Agency for Supernatural Disaster Management selects civilians through a process known as the “Scale of Evil.”
The scale measures crimes by their gravity, selecting those deemed worse than random acts of violence.
In other words, only individuals guilty of unspeakable acts were chosen for these ghost stories.
‘If they have to sustain this disaster periodically, might as well use people who deserve it.’
It was an official organization’s attempt to preserve some sense of ethics.
‘This group must also fit that criteria.’
Kim Soleum’s assumptions were correct.
The couple, who appeared to be married, were actually having an affair. The wife’s original family—her husband and young son—had died in a murder-suicide after financial struggles and heartbreak.
The college students were perpetrators of school bullying that resulted in a classmate’s death. Although acquitted due to insufficient evidence, they continued their lives as if nothing had happened.
And even an unidentified pedophile among them, who had been evading the law.
Kim Soleum might not have known these exact details, but he had a rough idea.
‘It’s probably a lineup of nightmares.’
The government clearly arranged for them to receive tapes for this scenario.
‘And they inserted one official to supervise it all.’
The official standing before him now.
The official spoke calmly.
“They’re all criminals.”
“…”
“Everyone in this lodge has committed crimes so heinous that, in some countries, they’d be sentenced to death.”
Except for you, who don’t have a tape.
Even so, the official wasn’t confident these words would resonate.
From past experience dealing with civilians in such situations, he felt especially unsure now.
He looked up with heavy fatigue.
However…
“Hmm, I see. That makes sense. I had a hunch.”
“…!”
To his surprise, the man on the second floor nodded without protest.
“Anyway, except for those two, everyone else is alive and well.”
Kim Soleum, looking slightly awkward, added nonchalantly, “Well, even if they’re villains, killing someone is a heavy burden. So, it’s not a bad outcome.”
“…”
Finally, the official asked.
“Who are you?”
Someone who worries about murders happening and stages fake murder scenes to prevent them. Someone who calmly gains the trust of a suspiciously dressed government official through sheer reasoning.
This wasn’t normal.
“Hmm.”
The man before him sighed deeply.
“I’m just someone who has a knack for getting tangled up in situations like this.”
“Are you affiliated with the Disaster Management Agency?”
“Of course not. I’ve heard of it, but it’s my first time meeting an agent in person. It’s fascinating… Ah.”
The man turned his head.
Creak.
The back door to the kitchen was opening.
Just like on the first day.
“The lodge keeper seems to have returned.”
The ending scene of the disaster was approaching.