Chapter 518 – Room 207, Gate Room – Fourth Trial: ‘Fallen King’ (4)
– Assistant Agent, Kim Minah
— Thud!
Just when I was about to turn my attention to a strange noise coming from behind, a harsh voice rang out in front of me.
“I tried to hold back, but I can’t take it anymore! Park Minseung, you bastard, who do you think you are to me—”
“Let go! Quit, quit it! I said I’m sorry!”
“Is ‘sorry’ all it takes? You little punk—”
Suddenly, our class president Hojin jumped on the thug Minseung over some previous altercation!
The screeching, filthy curses pierced my eardrums, and just when I was startled, the president started choking the thug!
“Ugh~! Um, um! Gag, gag!”
Since the president’s veins were bulging as he choked the thug for dear life, everyone stood up in shock.
But instead of intervening, we all just stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
The explosive rage from a situation that had long since escalated, mixed with the president’s uncharacteristic viciousness!
Haven’t I seen similar occurrences before?
It’s a demonic disaster!
“Oh no! Hojin is possessed by a demon…”
The frightened kids didn’t try to break it up; they stepped back instead. Just when I thought I had to face the thug before he got choked to death, suddenly the president stood up with a blank expression.
“Uh? Uh? What, what’s going on?”
“Cough~! Gah!”
“What’s up? Minseung? Are you okay? Why are you under me?”
Did the president snap out of it?
He had never regained his senses this quickly before—
— Thud!
Again, some commotion from behind, and a startled boy’s voice rang out.
“W-What the hell is this book?”
Everyone turned their gaze to the back of the chapel.
One of the large tables holding the Bible had moved aside, causing all the noise.
As the table shifted, the knees of a girl underneath were unnaturally exposed.
On her lap was a ‘dark, eerie book.’
It was a sight clearly far removed from any Bible!
“Is that Ji-eun?”
“What’s that? Hey, Seo Ji-eun! What’s that book? Where did you get it—”
Just as Ji-eun shrank back in shock, waving her hands, the book disappeared into thin air!
“T-That’s not a book! I don’t have anything like that!”
What a ridiculously awkward lie!
About a dozen students in the chapel had seen the book; did she really think she’d get away with pretending it didn’t exist?
That only fueled everyone’s suspicions even more.
As if waiting for the right moment, the gasping thug suddenly shouted.
“That’s her! Everyone saw Seo Ji-eun with that weird book, right? No doubt about it! Hey! Cha Eun-ho! Grab her!”
The president, now fully aware of the situation, shouted to a nerdy kid near Ji-eun.
“Eun-ho! Grab Ji-eun!”
“Uh, okay!”
As everyone started hollering for her to be caught, it seemed like some courage rose within the usually timid nerd, and he approached Ji-eun.
“… Ho.”
Ji-eun smiled brightly as she extended her finger.
Right after, the nerd, without even a scream, began frothing at the mouth and collapsed!
“Ugh, eek!”
Fear spread like wildfire.
No longer hiding her intentions, Seo Ji-eun grinned, looking around at everyone.
“Are you all idiots? Who did you think you were telling to catch me? Hojin, was it you?”
Pointing at the class president, who turned pale and pressed himself against the wall.
“Ji-eun… please! I’ve never bullied you, right? Come on, you remember? I tried to help you all the time—”
“Okay. I’ll let you off the hook, Hojin. Now…. It’s you, Minseung?”
The thug’s face went ghostly white.
Unlike the president’s usually kind demeanor, Minseung’s fate looked grim as he realized he was completely screwed!
Soon, the thug began choking himself.
“Grrk! Cough!”
“Oh dear, Minseung. Looks like God isn’t helping you out, huh? You prayed so hard for His assistance~!”
Her voice was teasing yet a little ominous.
The kids all lay flat on the floor or pressed against the wall, barely daring to make a break for it.
…
That’s enough of this.
— Click!
Time to pull out the gun I was hiding in my uniform.
“Seo Ji-eun, drop the book right now—”
Before I could finish my sentence, a boy next to me stepped in front!
— Thud!
“No!”
As I kicked the idiot in surprise, I turned to see Ji-eun darting out the chapel!
In a flash, she was gone!
I was stunned for the first time.
This response was way too fast!
As if she’d known I was an agent the whole time—
This isn’t the time for second thoughts! Pursue!
*
— Bang! Bang!
I pulled the trigger during the chase, but not a single shot hit her.
It wasn’t my shooting skills; she was clever enough to duck behind obstacles, using bookshelves and doors as shields!
Fortunately, the chase didn’t last long.
Ji-eun didn’t have the best stamina, and she couldn’t escape the playground.
“Stop!”
“…”
The dazed girl stood frozen in the middle of the playground.
Now, it should be clear to Ji-eun.
Both the front entrance and the perimeter of the school were stacked with ominous black armored trucks and drones circling overhead!
By protocol, I should eliminate her immediately.
In that wide-open playground, there’d be no way for Ji-eun to dodge my shot.
“Seo Ji-eun. This is your last warning. Drop the book and surrender.”
“…”
“I said last! Right now, if you comply, there’s a chance the Inquisition might spare you—”
“It’s you.”
“What?”
“What do you know! Just because you’re pretty, everyone worships you and now you think you’re a princess? Don’t act like you’re all high and mighty! You’re such a—”
Uh-oh?
She was meant to be spared but suddenly went off the deep end?
Was she just waiting for the right moment to retaliate?
No way—at a moment like this—
“Hand it over! That body, give it back!”
The dark, ominous book decorated with obsidian dust appeared, and in that moment, I made a heartbreaking decision.
— Bang!
Blood spurted from her chest as the eerie book vanished without a trace.
…
Feeling numb, I approached Ji-eun.
I didn’t want anything significant; I wanted to see the last moments of the girl I considered a close friend.
“…”
When I grabbed Ji-eun’s hand in a gloomy mood, I heard a tiny voice tickling my ear.
*
The demonic disaster that erupted at Hotel High ended like this.
“There were four deaths. Two were the gym teacher? He was beaten to death with a bat, and one was crushed while trying to escape. The ‘witch’ was shot dead by an assistant agent on the scene.”
As the report concluded, I wore a melancholy expression, and the Inquisition staff tried to comfort me.
“Agent Minah! Don’t be too heartbroken. Just four killed and a witch taken down means we got off easy, right? I’m sure you can graduate from your assistant badge now—”
“Umm, umm. I heard you were pretty close with that witch.”
“Oh my!”
“Uh, well, you need to get used to this over time—”
“I’m fine.”
Just repeating that half-hearted “I’m fine,” I left the uncomfortable situation.
…
The staff’s remark that four casualties means we got off easy holds no falsehood.
If they hadn’t found Ji-eun, the Inquisition would have wiped out all the survivors in Hotel High.
It was fortunate the location was the playground.
Because it was a psychological-erosion type demonic disaster, the Inquisition hadn’t recklessly sent in people. They monitored the situation in real-time with drones.
Meaning, Seo Ji-eun died in front of everyone.
Thanks to that, the Inquisition could promptly declare the case resolved.
“Kim Minah.”
“Yes.”
“You worked hard today.”
“It’s nothing.”
“Are you alright?”
“Yes.”
“… The mental clinic—”
“I’m fine.”
“Well then, take about a week off. We’ll contact you for the next assignment then.”
“Okay.”
*
Late at night.
I wandered the unusually spacious living room of a girl who lives alone, lost in thought.
“…”
I felt a bit heavy-hearted and bitter.
I told everyone I was okay, but was I really?
It’s been a whopping 8 years since I disguised myself as a high school student.
That was quite a lengthy school life, so I had a lot of friends alike.
Among them, was Ji-eun a little more special to me?
Maybe it was only natural to worry since I killed a girl I considered a close friend.
“…”
Human emotions can be perplexing.
While spending months together, I never felt Ji-eun was that jealous.
I thought I had read the hearts of the kids fairly easily after being in school so long, but I guess that was my arrogance.
Of course, it wasn’t like she was cursing me up until her last moment.
What was it again that she said at the end?
She said something with her dying breath.
“Minah, I’m sorry… it wasn’t me just now—”
The ‘I’m sorry’ must’ve been about the sudden curse, but what does ‘it wasn’t me just now’ mean?
“… Huh?”
In that fleeting moment.
Memories rushed back like a panorama, scenes I hadn’t clearly registered until now popped up.
It hit me like lightning!
The first scene.
When the class president was possessed in the chapel and choked the thug, did someone just then find the black book that Ji-eun summoned?
No, that’s not right!
The order was reversed.
The sound came first, and then the president choked the thug.
This means, Ji-eun had summoned her grimoire before casting magic, or rather, someone had already pushed aside the chapel desk and discovered that black book before she even used her magic!
The second scene.
When ‘someone’ was about to grab Ji-eun, she fainted him with a simple gesture. After that, she proudly exhibited her power by choking the thug while leaving his ‘consciousness intact’!
Such power could’ve never been displayed previously in school.
What was this? It’s like suddenly her magic proficiency shot through the roof!
The third scene.
Just as I was about to pull out my gun in the chapel, in less than a second, she manipulated a boy next to me to block my shot.
It was an extremely swift response.
As if she had always known I was an agent from the start!
…
I recalled the incident from lunchtime.
I had forgotten about it due to the chaos caused by the lunch lady right afterward, but it was quite the perplexing thing at that moment.
She had indeed waited for others to leave before she moved—just as if ‘someone’ had collided with me from behind.
Maybe that was when she checked the gun I was discreetly hiding within my uniform?
“…”
‘Someone’ has always been the same person.
*
A serial killing incident has taken place.
If one of the survivors is the culprit but can’t be identified, how would one respond?
If the decision-maker is the judge, they’d let everyone off due to lack of evidence since no one knows who the real criminal is.
It’s the fundamental principle of criminal law: to not punish an innocent person even if it means letting ten criminals escape.
If the decision-maker is the Administration Bureau, given that they don’t know the culprit, they’d just have to eliminate all survivors.
Their big principle is to never let a single criminal escape, even if it means killing ten innocent people.
Thus, for me to survive, the culprit must be ‘clearly’ identified.
Fortunately, I was able to escape the scene while retrieving the grimoire without much difficulty.
…
By the way, what is the identity of that agent who bears a striking resemblance to Ahri?
I still think she is definitely Ahri….
She even hid a gun in the same soft spot when wearing her uniform.
Yet, her behavior felt subtly reckless.
It seems she has returned to the persona she had when she first met Ahri, that of a ‘new agent.’
Most importantly—her soul!
As soon as I took back the grimoire, I slyly checked her soul’s state—it seems off!
What in the world happened in this room?
I must keep an eye out for an opportunity to approach.
Next up is the pulpit.
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