NOVEL WEB The village of Seoul Forest had turned completely into ashes. The fire that started from one house was fatal due to the densely built wooden structures in the village.
In the midst of the ashen remains of the village, employees of the Research Institute were walking around for investigation and cleanup work. They were busy classifying the debris and organizing data.
On a hill overlooking the employees working, two men with completely different atmospheres were looking down at the site.
One was a cold-looking man dressed in a black suit. The other was a cheerful man in a yellow-dyed suit.
"It's completely burned down. Well, can't be helped since they were all wooden buildings!"
The man in the yellow suit said as he rummaged through the remaining debris.
"..."
"Han Gang-cheol, who almost single-handedly built Seoul Forest Village, died too, and the village is gone. Perhaps the Seoul Forest Village will disappear like this. I hurriedly came here in response to the request to find someone, but I don't know if I can fulfill the request now. Don't you have anything to help me? It would be nice if you could find something like a violin?"
"...If you want information, make an official request to the central Research Institute."
The man in yellow didn't seem bothered by the response he expected and continued eagerly rummaging through the debris piles. The man in the black suit didn't stop him either.
"Based on the testimonies, there are too many stories about the Gray Reaper, but no clear evidence. Wasn't it the same a year ago? Circumstantially it seems like the Gray Reaper's doing, but no evidence. This time too, the Gray Reaper burned down an entire village! The news might report it like that."
"...If there is no contradictory evidence, we can only draw the most reasonable conclusion."
"No, I'm not blaming you. Since no electronic devices can be brought into Seoul Forest, there's nothing you can do. The last report also just mentioned circumstantial evidence, right? If it turns out a completely different Object caused this, it would be a disaster."
The man in the yellow suit picked up a charred, twisted piece of wood from the debris pile and exclaimed loudly.
"Oh! Here it is! A violin! This seems to be the violin that the person the client was looking for had. I may have something to tell the client."
"..."
The man in the yellow suit said he should go around and listen to people's stories, and left abruptly. The man in the black suit, without looking at him, said as he filled out paperwork:
"If it's about the violin, ask Lee Sehee, the head of Sehee Research Institute. He may know something."
"Thanks~ Work hard."
The man in yellow waved lazily as he left. The man in the black suit didn't respond and closed the file labeled 'Record of Seoul Forest Village Fire Incident', looking around the site again.
***
After the Seoul Forest incident, in the noisy director's office of the Research Institute, Oh-Yerin suddenly rushed in, saying she was fleeing from the furious Kim Jungroo.
"So you just ran here?"
"Yes, senior Jungroo was really angry. He must have been harassed by reporters...Unfortunately, I was caught red-handed because I wasn't staying in Seoul Forest Village when the big fire broke out in Seoul Forest."
I couldn't help but laugh at the absurd story. She had just written her name in the Seoul Forest visitor log and left for the day, so Jungroo had reason to be mad. Well, he'll get over it after some scolding since it's Jungroo.
"Do you think the Gray Reaper case will probably be taken over by the central Research Institute this time? Public opinion like the 'cute puppy' case..."
"The central Institute may not be able to contain the Gray Reaper either."
Yerin, who was very close to the Reaper, had a look of disappointment on her face. But judging from the public opinion, it seemed certain that the case would be handed over to the Central Research Institute.
The Research Institute was in a chaotic atmosphere after the Seoul Forest incident. In particular, an internet article published today had a big impact. Until recently, it was treated as a third-rate internet newspaper that mainly carried sensational articles, but after publishing a special feature on the Gray Reaper a year ago, it had become extremely famous.
'Daily Object'
Anyone from the Sehee Research Institute would not be able to ignore that place, as they constantly came and bothered them.
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As a major media outlet that had profited from the Gray Reaper, they were actively pushing the theory that the Gray Reaper was behind this incident. Reading the article, the Gray Reaper seemed to be the ultimate mastermind controlling the Objects, and the main culprit who had plunged this world into sorrow.
I wonder what kind of interview they conducted to come up with a story about the Reaper summoning burning monsters from hell through a Voodoo ritual.
"Ah, this is a report issued by the Central Research Institute. As a researcher, you can freely access it. I brought it because I thought the director might not know about it."
"Hmm, is that so?"
What conclusion did the report issued by the Central Research Institute draw about this incident? It would be nice if it was favorable to the Sehee Research Institute, but the chances of that are slim.
Oh-Yerin closely stood next to me as I read the report. It was uncomfortable, but since she said she hadn't seen it yet, I had no choice but to read it together.
'This incident appears to be related to a new Object called the Steel Pig Statue (tentative name) and the Gray Reaper.'
'A total of 8 people, all members of a family residing in Seoul Forest, were found to have mutated due to the Steel Pig Statue. The physical transformation was severe, but since there were no changes in their genes or teeth, tracking them was relatively easy.'
'The Steel Pig Statue seems to have the ability to produce fiery dumplings. Judging from the many testimonies about the unbearably delicious smell, it appears that consuming them causes physical mutation.'
'Except for the head of the household, they all seem to have been confined in the house, presumably to monopolize the fiery dumplings (mochi-like).'
'Consuming the fiery dumplings appears to make it impossible to eat other food. Before being confined, the family members were often observed vomiting when trying to eat food in the village.'
'The monsters seem to have kidnapped people, fattened them up, and then sacrificed them to the Steel Pig Statue.'
'This Steel Pig Statue incident was found to have no connection to the mass death incident that occurred in Seoul Forest.'
The report contained detailed information about the incident. The good news was that while the appearance of the Gray Reaper was observed, it was difficult to establish a clear causal relationship.
Yerin seemed a bit shocked by the part about the victims' deaths, her face turning pale. It seemed that more people had been sacrificed in this incident than expected.
Well, the pile of bones in the basement was quite substantial.
Thump, thump, thump.
The sound of heavy knocks echoed, startling Yerin, who looked around frantically. But no matter how much she looked, there was no way to escape from this director's office. Haha, this office doesn't have a back door.
As Yerin's gaze met mine, I gave her a sly smile.
"D-Don't tell me, Director..."
"Director, I'm coming in."
With those words, Kim Jungroo entered and grabbed Yerin, dragging her away. The sound of Yerin's pitiful screams echoed as the office door closed.
***
After a series of incidents, the Seoul Forest outpost once again fell into silence. The junior's face mirrored the gloominess of the overcast weather.
A person in a bright yellow suit came and went, but the situation remained the same. The junior was endlessly shedding tears while holding a charred violin that was delivered as a personal belonging. Even if told to take a vacation, he ignored it.
"Juaya... I should have stopped you from going."
Apparently, the person the junior was looking for was his younger sister, and she was a victim of the Seoul Forest incident. It is said that there were witnesses to her death, so the chances of survival are hopeless.
The junior's gaze, muttering while holding a charred violin in one hand and what appears to be his sister's ashes in the other, no longer seemed normal.
"It's the Gray Reaper's fault. It's the Gray Reaper's fault. It's the Gray Reaper's fault. It's the Gray Reaper's fault."
The junior had a small smartphone in his hand, and a so-called 'cyber wrecker' video was playing on it.
Although the 'Daily Object' usually spouted nonsense, this time it was focused on attaching all kinds of reasons to depict the Gray Reaper as a demon.
Normally, I would have yelled to get rid of that illogical video, but I couldn't bring myself to say that now. It was pitiful because it was his sister, but I was afraid that if I said that in front of that gaze, the junior might stab me with a knife, as he seemed on the verge of going crazy.
I could only eagerly await the end of the work shift. As usual, but even more so now, I desperately wanted the work to be over.