It Seems I Must Go to Work Even After Falling into a Horror Story 054

The promised three days.

The last day at the ‘Horizon Lodge’ has dawned.

“……”

The public official got up from the bed.

He didn’t feel particularly great.

It was because things had felt skewed at some point…

And if even the task itself was quite disheartening, no one would feel good about it.

But since his shift wasn’t over yet, he put on his work uniform, equipped his gear, and grabbed his tools before stepping outside.

And then he encountered a rather unpleasant sight.

“……Phew.”

The 1st-floor living room was drenched in blood.

It looked like someone had set up a sacrificial offering with blood painting a grotesque picture, and dismembered body parts were placed in various spots.

And on the only clean couch lay an unconscious woman.

She was the wife among the couple.

“……”

The public official hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to carry out his duty as planned.

He knew the risks that come with acting on one’s own judgment.

And….

“Urgh… Uh, what?!”

The woman who suddenly regained consciousness screamed.

Before her stood a muscular man clad in waterproof black rainwear, holding a butch knife that easily exceeded 35 centimeters!!

The man wielding the slaughter knife held back a sigh.

‘Of all times.’

She just regained consciousness now.

He was more exhausted than usual.

No, how could any situation deviate so far from the plan…?!

The public official reflexively recalled the first day spent at the lodge.

The first target he had selected was one of the couple.

This individual, with a strong desire for material wealth, was an easy target, and the management bureau had analyzed that killing one of the couple would instill fear, making future tasks easier.

He intended to lure him to the kitchen to actualize the hints hidden within the frames….

‘Gotta burn him in the oven.’

But someone had already preempted him.

‘…!?’

A corpse was already in the oven.

And it was in quite an avant-garde fashion.

…??

Only question marks floated in his mind.

The Disaster Management Bureau had presumably procured and assigned the relevant cassette tapes in advance, using their expertise to designate him as a serial killer.

But why had another killer suddenly popped up?

Even by this point, he thought the irregularity of supernatural disasters had erupted once again.

Until he discovered the clothes of two male students in the backyard, ground into mincemeat that afternoon.

‘…….’

He had no choice but to gently hang the large hammer he had prepared back in the closet….

By this point, he couldn’t help but realize.

Some insane bastard was killing everything in sight!

It was maddening.

As it turned out, it was the last day, and they had already generously performed dismemberments, making it impossible for him to avoid a headache.

What kind of twisted situation is this?!

But the task remained unchanged. Even in this maddening scene, he had to execute his final duties as per priority.

That was the Disaster Management Bureau’s judgment.

“Eek….”

The brief recollection came to an end.

The public official looked at his prey, unable to resist.

Feeling a thick fatigue over the events that were about to unfold, he was just about to swing his knife sharply when…

“Agent 007.”

“……”

He turned his head as he followed the voice.

Someone was leaning over the 2nd-floor railing, looking down into the living room.

An office worker.

A seller acquired from the Salmon Market.

“You don’t have to kill them.”

Kim Sol-eum looked downward.

The individual firmly believed he was the inheritor of the legacy and inspiration of a legendary murderer, experiencing both mental and physical mutations.

Indeed, the public official looked every bit the part of a full-fledged killer, from his black raincoat to the glinting butch knife in hand.

Anyone could tell he was a serial killer designated by this disaster.

However, Kim Sol-eum understood.

‘Even if he looks like this, he’ll still be able to reason.’

– Are you sure about that, friend?

He was confident.

‘Disaster Management Bureau agents always prepare countermeasures according to disasters.’

For instance, just like the holster slightly visible beneath the raincoat around the public official’s chest.

———————=

Dark Exploration Records / Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau

/ Item

Catcher

A device-shaped item resembling a black holster.

When worn, it grants resistance against supernatural mental anomalies of the solid (刳形) level or lower.

Item usage condition: Must be a level 8 public official or higher belonging to the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau.

———————=

That was mental defense equipment.

Public officials aren’t fools; would they actually send someone in bare-handed to deal with a horror story that could turn them into a killer through mental brainwashing?

‘There’s no way they’d send him in without some form of defense.’

After all, these public officials were sent to risk-laden horror stories with the presumption that they might die.

‘It would be disastrous if they encountered an insidious pharmaceutical company employee wielding “smile stickers” as a friendly item, you know?’

And so.

Kim Sol-eum spoke to the public official, who was standing there expressionlessly.

“You really don’t have to kill them. The hints have all been fulfilled already.”

“……”

“It’s all been taken care of by me.”

Silence.

“Did you do the killing?”

Hmm.

It was true this disaster wouldn’t end without murders occurring.

According to [Dark Exploration Records], if no murders happen due to artificial interference, the inheritance portion ends with people killing each other in calamity.

‘So they must have set the stage for public officials to directly do the killing.’

If a public official inadvertently dies, it would rather be designated for them to become a serial killer and managed accordingly.

That was the law.

Either commit serial murder or…

“No.”

“…!”

“You can make them think they did it.”

Or make it impossible for them to see the difference from serial killing!

“There were corpses, right?”

“That’s true, but….”

The office worker, Kim Sol-eum, fiddled with the back of his neck.

“But the bodies I made aren’t real.”

“…!”

“Did you know? There’s a basement in this lodge.”

Kim Sol-eum recalled.

A fragment from the golden frame.

It wasn’t just a hint of a murder method.

There were other hints too.

Sounds of hopping and laughing

Beneath the wooden floor, it thuds

The table is abundant

A whistled tune comes around

This paragraph was a hint.

Beneath the wooden floor, it thuds

It meant that there was an empty space beneath the floor that would echo with sound.

And….

‘That verse likened murder to food…’

The table is abundant

Something, related to serial killing, was abundant.

Sure enough.

“There were preserved body parts and organs displayed in the basement.”

“…!”

There was a workshop.

“From what I gathered, it seems serial murders occurred previously in this lodge. …I nearly fainted.”

For real.

Perhaps they were remnants born from a serial murder committed in the last iteration.

Anyways, armed with the resolution of “ghosts won’t appear,” he had taken a plunge into the basement, and Kim Sol-eum was left aghast at the sight…. Well, I’ll skip that part.

But needless to say, the important point was that he had come up with a new way to utilize those crazy props.

The public official caught on.

“…The corpses that have appeared so far.”

“Yes.”

Kim Sol-eum said sheepishly.

“There weren’t many intact shapes, were there?”

He had recycled the pieces in the basement to make them look as if they had just died!

Thus, Baek Sa-heon had to be the first victim.

‘…I couldn’t have done it without collaboration.’

Once the body parts had been preserved and messed with on their own in the dead of night, he’d have to recreate the murder scene completely by himself?

Just imagining that made him want to quit the world altogether….

Anyways, Baek Sa-heon looked like he wanted to curse up a storm but ultimately succumbed to the ultimatum of “Do this and you’ll be alright. Otherwise, do you just want to die?”

It meant he had obediently become a good murder trick assistant.

The two diligently staged the murder scene.

They tossed firewood into the kitchen oven, igniting it before stuffing Baek Sa-heon’s sneakers into the flames.

The bones and meat crushed in the backyard had been recycled from the ingredients stored in the back freezer, and they had simply stripped the clothes and scattered them appropriately.

The current grotesque scene of body parts strewn around the living room was the same.

Still, in the act of ambushing and abducting the victim, it was solely Kim Sol-eum who handled everything herself.

‘It’s easier to ambush with Brown’s abilities, so there was no choice.’

In any case, Kim Sol-eum shrugged and finished her explanation.

“We secretly stashed the bodies and faked the scene of murder. Since they were set up as real corpses, we didn’t get suspicious looks.”

“……”

“Then I thought the killer would be so flustered that they’d just stay still.”

But then.

“Well, someone did end up killing a person anyway.”

“……”

“By allergy and landslide.”

Both had died before Kim Sol-eum even had a chance to intervene.

Though it’s true that landslide could be a consequence of this supernatural phenomenon, the allergy couldn’t have just happened by chance.

Only Sherlock Holmes would be able to ascertain what fatal allergies someone could have, just by observing them for not even a day.

‘Truth be told, I didn’t know until we happened to talk either.’

So, it was even more impossible for them to bring allergy-inducing items like peanuts in advance.

Which meant…

Someone had entered with advance knowledge of people’s profiles and planned for murder.

“Aren’t you the one who caused the allergic shock, Agent?”

“……”

The public official did not deny it.

And Kim Sol-eum….

‘Hmm, as expected.’

Was not even slightly shocked!

Isn’t it possible to show some mourning for when a decent civilian dies and gets victimized?

Well, it’s just that they’re not actually a ‘decent civilian.’

‘The government doesn’t randomly pick victims with Russian roulette.’

The civilian conscript of the Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau is selected through the “scale of evil.”

The pendulum of the scale is marked by ‘murder without motive’, classifying individuals heavier than that as targets for conscription.

In other words, only those determined to be guilty of worse criminal acts than random murder are selected by the government to be tossed into this horror story.

‘If this disaster must be operated periodically, then it’s for sure gathering up humans who deserve to die.’

A decision made to uphold minimal ethics. Quite bureaucratic.

‘This time… I wonder if they’re all disposable by government standards.’

And Kim Sol-eum’s guess was spot on.

The couple, who appeared to be married, were in an extramarital affair. The original wife and her young son committed suicide as a family due to shock and hardship.

They had previously been charged as perpetrators of a bullying case where a classmate was killed, but were released due to insufficient evidence, then both enrolled in college and joined a hiking club.

Including the still-at-large pedophile who worked as a proxy driver.

Though Kim Sol-eum may not have known all the details, she had a general idea, and she nodded to herself.

‘Hmm. It’s probably a fantastic lineup.’

The government had likely intervened to ensure their tapes ended up there.

‘And they send in a public official to manage and supervise all of this.’

Like the person answering to Kim Sol-eum right now.

The public official opened his mouth without showing any agitation.

“They are all criminals.”

“……”

“Everyone in this lodge would be classified as bad people, enough to be sentenced to death if the proper legal procedures were followed in other countries.”

Except for you, who doesn’t possess a tape.

However, the public official inwardly felt uncertain about how well this statement would resonate.

Especially when compared to his experiences with civilians during his duties up to now.

He felt a profound sense of weariness as he lifted his head.

But…

“Hmm… I see. That makes sense. I had a hunch about it.”

“…!”

Surprisingly, the office worker on the 2nd floor nodded eagerly.

“Anyway, aside from those two, the rest are still alive.”

Kim Sol-eum spoke nonchalantly, as if slightly embarrassed.

“Well, even though they may be villains, the person who kills directly would still carry a psychological burden, so it doesn’t seem to be a bad result…”

“……”

Finally, the public official asked.

“Who are you?”

Worrying that a murder might occur and even going so far as to prepare a murder scene in advance, while even trusting someone obviously suspicious like himself through rational thought?

This wasn’t a normal person’s mental state.

“Hmm.”

The man before him let out a long sigh.

“I’m just… someone who gets dragged into these kinds of situations against my will.”

“Are you by any chance a Disaster Management Bureau employee?”

“Of course not. I’ve heard rumors, but… it’s interesting to finally see an agent in person… Oh,”

The office worker turned his head.

Creak.

The back door of the kitchen was opening.

Just like on the first day.

“I think the lodgekeeper has returned.”

The ending scene of the disaster was drawing near.