Chapter 112: The Missing Alibi

The job of a special ability agent is, sadly, far too close to death.

Especially for espers who participate in combat.

A comrade who was standing beside you one second can suddenly lose their head the next, or be torn in half by a powerful monster.

The first time I witnessed such a bloody death, I remember being deeply shaken.

A person who had spoken with me and felt emotions turned into a lump of flesh in an instant.

Yet when you witness such horrors countless times, you eventually grow numb.

If someone especially close to me were to die in an accident, I would be sad, but that would be all.

I felt neither fear nor disgust at grotesquely mutilated corpses.

“…Urgh….”

Just the thick stench of blood assaulting my nose and the carnage spread across the bed was enough to make nausea surge up.

It was a scene so brutal it was hard to keep my eyes open.

The only part of Irihyeon that remained intact was his head.

Below it, his body had been chopped, torn, and ripped apart, each piece placed separately.

Even his organs had spilled out completely.

If it were not for the relatively intact head, I would never have thought this was Irihyeon.

No matter how wicked a monster might be, it would not kill a human in this manner.

Even “X,” the most notorious mass murderer in history, never showed such cruelty.

This unfamiliar method of murder made my brow furrow.

“I don’t think I can go.

I have a ‘very important’ appointment.”

Irihyeon’s voice echoed in my head.

I never imagined those words would be the last thing I would hear from him while he was alive.

I had decided to kill Irihyeon myself, right up to the end of his arrogant behavior.

Alone, without anyone’s help.

I did not come here late at night just to threaten him a little and leave.

I came to eliminate Irihyeon, who had repeatedly put Jaeyul and me in danger.

People never change.

Evil, especially so.

If he tried to trap and kill me in a gate this time, it was obvious he would commit even more atrocious acts next time without hesitation.

I did not want to take that risk again.

Erasing the seed of danger completely at this point was far cleaner.

That was the resolve with which I came here.

Yet someone had already killed Irihyeon.

And in a way I could never have imagined.

The situation was so unexpected that I was both flustered and confused.

For a moment, I even wondered if this, too, was a trap.

I decided to erase all traces of myself and leave the room quickly.

As I reached for the light switch to restore the room to the state it had been in when I arrived, something odd caught my eye.

…Irihyeon’s hands… were missing…?

Every body part had been meticulously gathered and placed, yet both hands were gone.

I did not yet know what that signified.

Present

— October X, 1:30 PM —

The center was in turmoil.

It was the first-ever murder case involving an A-rank esper.

On top of that, since the victim was the nephew of the current head of the Special Ability Support Agency, agency officials had stormed our center to conduct an investigation.

“We clearly informed you five minutes ago that no one is allowed to leave the office.”

“I’m just going to buy coffee.

I need a caramel macchiato in the afternoon to recharge my sugar!”

“That’s not our concern.

Please cooperate until the investigation is over.”

“Damn it, I’ll—!”

Park Bomyeong, who had been confined, finally raised his hand.

From where I stood, it almost seemed like the agency employee was deliberately provoking him.

A powerless civilian acting high and mighty, trusting in the backing of the agency.

As if he did not know that no amount of influence matters once you are dead.

“Come here.

If you cause trouble today, it’ll be really bad.”

I rushed over and pulled Park Bomyeong away before he could strike the official.

“What do you mean ‘really bad.’

Why are they locking me up.

The person who killed Irihyeon is someone else.”

He grumbled as he let himself be dragged along.

Then he plopped down in my chair, leaning back arrogantly, and said something that caught my attention.

It might have been nothing more than a claim of innocence.

But it might not have been.

“The person who killed Irihyeon is someone else.

You sound like you know who it is.”

“Of course I do.”

“…What.

What do you mean you know.”

“I know the culprit.

I happened to witness something very interesting last night.”

Lowering his voice, as if he did not want others to hear, Park Bomyeong spoke.

Seeing how confident he looked, my heart began to beat faster.

At the same time, my gaze naturally drifted toward Jaeyul.

Why naturally…?

The truth was, I had suspected Jaeyul might be the one who killed Irihyeon.

As far as I knew, Jaeyul had an appointment with him last night.

I had no proof, only the possibility.

But hearing that Park Bomyeong had seen the culprit made my chest drop.

I was afraid Jaeyul’s name might come out of his mouth.

“What did you see.”

I steadied my voice as much as I could and asked.

All my attention was fixed on Park Bomyeong’s lips.

“I ditched the company dinner midway yesterday.

When Team Leader Oh starts talking about his past love life, you have to listen for five or six hours, so I waited for an opening and slipped out.

It’s pretty entertaining the first time, but after hearing it thirty times….”

“Just tell me what you saw.”

I had to keep his wandering focus from drifting elsewhere.

“Ah, right.

Where was I.

Oh yeah.

I burned off the alcohol, got in my car, and was driving home when I stopped at a light.

While I was sitting there, I heard a loud commotion on the roadside.

At first it was just bickering, then it got rough, and suddenly it turned into a full-on fight.

They were beating each other like their lives depended on it, so of course I looked.

Then I rolled down the window, and guess what.

They were people I knew.”

“…Who.”

“Don’t be shocked.”

As if the real secret started here, Park Bomyeong whispered into my ear.

“Hwang Jiyu and Im Chan.

Those two were beating the hell out of each other on the street.”

The names drained the tension from me instantly.

Hwang Jiyu and Im Chan leaving the dinner early and fighting on the way home was not exactly shocking.

I had already seen Hwang Jiyu signal Im Chan before leaving, so this was nothing new.

“Sure, friends can fight.

But where do you think they were fighting.”

“Don’t tell me.”

“That’s right.

They were fighting on the street across from Irihyeon’s place.

On the very night Irihyeon was murdered.”

I always thought Park Bomyeong was bad at complex or logical thinking.

But this time, his words sounded surprisingly convincing.

Hwang Jiyu and Im Chan were practically Irihyeon’s hands and feet, so they had no obvious motive.

They were too close to be seen as prime suspects.

But what if a rift had formed between them for some reason.

For example, because I came back alive from the gate instead of dying.

Im Chan and Hwang Jiyu, who had set a trap to capture me under Irihyeon’s orders, might have grown resentful once things spiraled out of control.

“Let’s keep this between us for now.

Got it.”

“Don’t order me around.

I’ll decide what to do.”

That fickle temper of his.

Despite his words, Park Bomyeong would not tell anyone else.

At most, he might tell Yueden.

“Could everyone gather, please.

We will conduct a brief investigation.”

Before I could sort through my thoughts about Im Chan and Hwang Jiyu, an unfamiliar voice rang out in the office.

Three stern-looking men entered.

Would it really be brief.

With three of them here, it did not seem likely.

“I’m the team leader.”

“Ah, yes.

I’ve heard a lot about you.

We’ll exchange greetings later.

First, we need to confirm last night’s movements.

Please enter the adjacent meeting room one by one.

From now on, no one is to speak to anyone else.

This is a standard procedure, so we ask for your cooperation.”

He spoke with a pleasant smile, but it was obvious this was no mere formality.

Perhaps they truly believed there was a prime suspect among our team.

One by one, the team members entered the meeting room for questioning.

Finally, it was my turn.

Even though I was not the one who killed Irihyeon, I felt strangely tense.

When I opened the door, I saw two agency investigators and Jaeyul standing inside.

As the team leader, he had insisted on observing the questioning.

“Agent Jin Se-hyeon.

Please describe in detail your movements from after work yesterday until you arrived this morning.”

I briefly recounted what had happened.

There was nothing worth calling a schedule.

Attending the company dinner, then going home and sleeping.

That was all I could say.

I could never mention going out to kill Irihyeon.

“Hmm.

You say you attended the dinner.

But we understand you left early.

Around… 11 p.m.

Why didn’t you mention that.”

“…I just didn’t remember the exact time.

Does anyone really check the time every time they move.”

Who told them.

That I was the first to leave, and that it was after 11 p.m.

Normally, no one would know something like that.

“You also didn’t mention leaving early.”

That was intentional.

Telling the truth would not matter, but they would obviously press me for an alibi.

“Anyway, after leaving the dinner early, do you have anyone or anything that can verify your whereabouts.”

“……”

When I could not answer immediately, the two investigators exchanged glances.

As if to say, “Just as we thought, this one is the most suspicious.”

Since I was home alone, there was naturally no alibi.

If things went badly, I could be labeled a suspect.

“Why no answer.

Should we take that to mean you have no alibi at all.”

Given that I had gone to Irihyeon’s house, attracting unnecessary suspicion would be bad.

But I could not think of a good solution.

Should I demand how I was supposed to prove I slept at home.

Or should I calmly say that I had none.

Having an alibi would be the cleanest way out of this situation…

Yet nothing came to mind.

“Ah, I’ll answer that.

Agent Jin Se-hyeon was with me last night.”

Just as I was about to speak, an unexpected voice cut in.

It was Jaeyul.

Seon Jaeyul, who had never seen me last night.