Chapter 003 — Inhwang Chasa Protocol
That was the voice of Arang, the Woljik Chasa.
Hey, Arang. Why are you suddenly talking like a subway announcement? Just talk normally like you were before.
I tried speaking to her in my mind the same way.
—……
Still, there was no response.
Hmm... Is this only one-way communication? But what exactly is the Inhwang Chasa Protocol? They said I needed to recover the abilities of the Inhwang Chasa. Is it related to that?
—The basic ability of the Inhwang Chasa, Ghost Eye, will now be activated. Do you accept?
Arang completely ignored my question and simply continued saying whatever she wanted.
But what exactly is this Ghost Eye?
Something about it felt suspicious.
No.
So I rejected it without hesitation.
I remembered the important lesson that you should never blindly accept something suspicious when you did not even know what it was.
—Please accept it. Otherwise, I cannot activate it.
Hmm... So this really is two-way communication. Then why did you pretend you couldn't hear me earlier?
For several reasons, I wasn't feeling particularly cooperative.
Blindly doing whatever someone ordered wasn't really my style.
Still no.
—This requires the use of your own Soul Power, so it cannot be activated without your consent. Please accept it.
No.
—Aaaagh! Lord Yeomra! I seriously can't work with this human! What is wrong with him?! Please replace him with someone else immediately!
Unlike her beautiful and calm appearance, Arang seemed to have a fiery temper and was easily provoked.
—Huff... Huff... Lord Yeomra says that if you refuse to listen obediently……
What happens if I don't listen? And without me, what are you going to do about Taerang and the Three Evils of the Underworld?
—……
It seemed I had hit the nail directly on the head.
Arang couldn't answer.
—Lord Yeomra says that when you eventually die and come to the Underworld, you'd better remember this.
Seeing them come at me so strongly made me wonder if perhaps I had gone a little too far.
Fine. I accept.
Although I wasn't happy about it, I accepted.
It wasn't because I wanted to torment Arang.
If I accepted this, I had a feeling I would eventually be forced to fight creatures far stronger than that brat-like evil spirit from earlier.
But what exactly is the Soul Power you mentioned?
—Soul Power refers to the strength possessed by a soul. Every soul's Soul Power has its own unique characteristics. In the case of the Inhwang, your Soul Power is called Black Spirit.
Hmm, Black Spirit... In martial arts novels, they'd probably call something like this internal energy. I guess it's similar.
Arang's explanation sounded complicated, but I could understand the general idea.
—...Then I will activate Ghost Eye.
But Arang, do you always have to talk like that? Do you have some kind of script you're reading from?
—……
Sorry.
I decided that apologizing at moments like this was probably better for my health.
By now, I had already realized that whenever Arang became silent, she was desperately suppressing her anger with incredible patience.
—Ghost Eye is an essential basic ability of the Inhwang Chasa that allows you to investigate another person's soul. It also allows you to see ghosts—that is, souls. To activate Ghost Eye, look directly at the target and call out the ability's name in your mind.
She spoke so smoothly that I really started thinking she had a script.
The moment Arang finished speaking, I felt a strange red energy gathering around my eyes.
Wondering if this was Ghost Eye, I glared at Detective Park beside me and shouted the ability's name inside my head.
Ghost Eye.
Letters suddenly appeared before my eyes.
[Type of Soul: Not applicable — Target is not deceased]
[Type of Evil Spirit: Not applicable]
[Rank of Evil Spirit: Not applicable]
—The information provided by Ghost Eye will increase in level whenever the Black Spirit energy, the Soul Power of the Inhwang Chasa, grows stronger. Higher levels will provide more detailed information.
Then what's the maximum level?
—Level 10.
Since Arang understood the phrase maximum level, it seemed even the Underworld had some concept of video games.
“Senior, why are you standing there silently staring into space? Are you feeling sick or something?”
“No, it's nothing. But why are there people gathered inside the police line? Isn't anyone controlling the area?”
Yellow police tape had been placed around the entrance to the apartment building.
Yet I could clearly see around ten men and women standing inside it.
Every one of them had a blank, absent-minded expression as they stared in the same direction.
“What are you talking about? There's nobody there……”
“What? You can't see those people?”
“Have you suddenly gone crazy? First you were staring into space, and now you're seeing things that aren't even there?”
Detective Park stared at me like I was ridiculous.
That's when I wondered if this was the ability of Ghost Eye.
I selected one middle-aged man among the people, focused my eyes on him, and activated it again.
Ghost Eye.
[Type of Soul: Vengeful Spirit]
[Type of Evil Spirit: Not applicable]
[Rank of Evil Spirit: Not applicable]
Unlike Detective Park, this man was identified as a Vengeful Spirit.
That meant he wasn't a living person.
He was the soul of someone who had died.
I swallowed hard.
For the first time in my life, I was seeing ghosts—or rather, souls.
My entire body stiffened from tension.
Just to make sure, I activated Ghost Eye on the others as well.
The result was the same as with the middle-aged man.
Every single person here was a Vengeful Spirit.
Hey, Arang. What's a Vengeful Spirit?
—A Vengeful Spirit is the soul of a deceased person who died unjustly during their lifetime.
Then why are these souls still here? Normally, when someone dies, aren't Grim Reapers supposed to take their souls to the Underworld?
—For a deceased soul to reincarnate, its memories from its previous life must first be erased. However, in the case of Vengeful Spirits, their intense resentment makes those memories difficult to erase. Therefore, Grim Reapers do not guide them to the Underworld until their resentment gradually fades.
Damn it.
If my guess was correct, all of these people were victims murdered by Jang Cheonsu.
How painful must it have been to suddenly be killed for absolutely no reason...?
Just thinking about it made my chest ache.
But I heard everything discovered in Jang Cheonsu's room was women's underwear…….
It was strange that there was a middle-aged man among the Vengeful Spirits.
Gathering my courage, I decided to speak to him.
“Excuse me, sir.”
It wasn't as though I could greet a dead person—especially a murdered Vengeful Spirit—with something like Hello or How have you been?
Then again, saying Excuse me didn't exactly seem like the perfect greeting either.
Even after I spoke to him, the middle-aged Vengeful Spirit didn't look at me.
He didn't answer either.
Wasn't that a little rude, even for a Vengeful Spirit?
—Vengeful Spirits have poor awareness because of their intense resentment.
Yeah, I'm already starting to notice that.
—You're not joking around anymore.
I can at least tell right from wrong. I'm not enough of an idiot to joke around in front of dead people.
—……
“Sir, where do you live? Could you tell me?”
Even if he was a Vengeful Spirit, I thought he should at least be able to provide simple information like that.
—Over... there.
At my question, the middle-aged man's spirit slowly raised his hand and pointed somewhere.
The place he pointed toward was the same direction he and all the other Vengeful Spirits had been staring at.
It was the fourth and highest floor of the apartment building where Jang Cheonsu lived.
That's Room 404... Why would a man living there have been murdered?
At that moment, an idea suddenly flashed through my mind.
I returned to where I had been standing earlier and called out to Detective Park.
“Hey, Detective Park! When you were questioning people around here, did you check Room 404?”
“Yes, we did. But nobody was home, so we left.”
“I knew it. Go tell Team Leader Kim that I've figured out where Jang Cheonsu's murder victims are. Tell everyone to gather at Room 404.”
“What? Seriously? Come on, there's no way. What are you, some kind of fortune-telling monk……?”
“This punk! Do you want to leave after getting hit once, or do you want to leave after getting beaten to a pulp?”
“Fine, fine. I'm going.”
Only then did Detective Park run off to find Team Leader Kim.
The reason that bastard didn't believe me was probably my own fault.
Normally, I was always fooling around and saying things without much seriousness.
After Detective Park left, I slowly entered the apartment building and climbed the stairs to the fourth floor.
My theory about Jang Cheonsu went like this.
That bastard was a psychopath from the roots.
He was constantly consumed by frustration.
As a day laborer, he had developed a persecution complex, believing society looked down on him.
While resentment and violent tendencies continued building inside him, Jang Cheonsu had gotten into some kind of conflict with the middle-aged man from Room 404, the owner of the semi-basement room he rented.
Most likely, the landlord had pressured him about overdue rent.
At that moment, Jang Cheonsu's psychopathic tendencies probably exploded, causing him to commit an impulsive murder.
Then, after going that far, he had likely murdered the landlord's entire family as well and started living in Room 404 as though it were his own home.
Once Jang Cheonsu experienced killing someone, the frustrations inside him would have temporarily disappeared.
But eventually, he must have begun craving murder again.
So he selected women because they were easier targets.
And if killing women also satisfied his sexual urges, then that bastard must have enjoyed it even more.
Eventually, his twisted sexual desires grew worse, and this time he had tried laying his hands on a young girl.
That was when a resident reported him and he was finally caught.
—I'd always thought you were the kind of person who wandered through life joking around and never taking anything seriously. Apparently, you have an impressive side too.
Arang's compliment made me strangely happy.
There was something satisfying about crushing the pride of a woman who was a high-ranking official of the Underworld and looked like she only associated with upper-class people.
It felt as if I had pressed her arrogant nose flat with an iron.
This much is nothing. Graduating at the top of the Police University was the result of my natural talent combined with relentless effort. Isn't this level of deduction obvious for someone like me?
—……
Whenever things became unfavorable for her or she got annoyed, Arang simply stopped answering.
I had a feeling it would be difficult to receive another compliment from her in the future.
I stopped in front of Room 404.
The thing I was most worried about right now was whether the girl kidnapped this morning was still safe.
Fortunately, I hadn't seen the girl's spirit among the Vengeful Spirits downstairs.
If so, there was a high possibility she was still alive.
I prayed that the girl was safe.
I tried opening the door to Room 404.
Naturally, it was locked.
It was an ordinary metal door, the type commonly seen in apartment buildings.
For some reason, I suddenly felt as though I might actually be able to smash the door handle.
Nah. I'll probably just break the bones in my hand.
Waiting for the other detectives seemed like the smarter choice.
—Lord Yeomra says that even a flea would be brave enough to remove its own liver and boil it before you ever showed that much courage.
Not falling for it. Nice try.
—……
This silence wasn't because she was sulking.
They were probably holding some kind of strategy meeting among themselves, right?
—Tch... What is wrong with that human? The Inhwang Chasa Protocol is already active, so he could easily break something like that, but he refuses to listen to even a single word I say!
—Arang, calm down. Just be patient with him. If you gently coax that brat, then... Huh? It looks like the microphone is still on……
I could hear both Arang and the Chicken Grandpa.
But something sounded strange.
Arang had apparently gotten so worked up while complaining to Chicken Grandpa that she had forgotten to turn off the microphone.
But the old man wasn't treating her like a subordinate.
Instead, he seemed to treat her more like his own daughter.
And what did he mean by saying they could gently coax me?
Hey, Arang. I think I've been acting a little petty until now. Sorry about that. From now on, I'll listen carefully to what you say. So just like you suggested, I'll try breaking the door first.
—……
If someone as prideful as Arang was so angry that she had even forgotten to turn off the microphone, then naturally, as a gentleman, I should be the one to lower my head first.
This was exactly when the famous phrase strategic retreat was supposed to be used.
“Alright... Shall I give it a try? Worst case, I end up wearing a cast for four weeks, right? It'll count as a workplace injury, so I'll get paid leave. Then I can still earn money while sitting around drinking soju as a fracture patient.”
I glared at the door handle as if it were my mortal enemy and raised my fist.
“Hey, you idiot! What the hell are you trying to do?! What if you hurt your hand?!”
At that moment, Team Leader Kim shouted from the stairs while climbing up with the other detectives.
“Detective Kang! You said the victims were here?”
“Yes. That's right.”
I explained my theory about the entire case to Team Leader Kim.
Of course, I left out the part about the Vengeful Spirits.
“Hmm... That's actually pretty convincing. So the door is locked?”
“Yes. That's why I was planning to sacrifice one of my hands and smash the handle.”
“Are you serious? I suppose the dedication is admirable, but that's still pretty stupid. Hey! Somebody look around and bring me a fire extinguisher or something. In my twenty years as a cop, nothing beats a fire extinguisher when it comes to smashing a door handle.”
That's not what fire extinguishers are made for…….
Whether I liked Team Leader Kim's old-fashioned way of thinking or not tended to change depending on the situation.
One of the detectives went down the stairs.
A short while later, he returned carrying a fairly large red fire extinguisher.
Then he swung it hard at the door handle.
BANG!
The handle broke off helplessly.
“Good! Let's go inside.”
Team Leader Kim shouted confidently.
Apparently, his ankle was still hurting after the police chief had kicked him that morning, because he limped slightly as he entered the apartment.
