109.
After that, the operation to subdue the enemy was over.
It was only natural that the target of the subjugation had been removed, and the demons had disappeared as well.
However, the other exorcists who came out with us were not in good condition.
From people poisoned with poison to people with broken bones or serious injuries that will leave aftereffects.
Even if they were veteran exorcists, there were not many people who were fine because they stayed in the station for several days.
It was fortunate that there were no fatalities.
So, Dayoung Kim and I helped transport the injured and then each went home to rest.
the next day.
“therefore… In the end, did you take care of the owner of the station alone?”
After hearing my report, Seo In-na asked back.
that’s how it is
Hey, except for Dayoung Kim, you wouldn’t have seen the face of the owner of the horse station.
“yes… what. I happened to see it.”
“… … ”
Seo In-na looked at me with an absurd expression.
However, he sighed as if he was used to it and waved his hand.
And I put unbelievable words in my mouth.
“okay. That’s okay, let’s get off work today.”
“… Are you off work?”
Are my ears weird?
It was just past 9:30 in the morning.
I still haven’t finished drinking the vending machine coffee I picked up after going to work, but I can’t believe I’m off work.
But that wasn’t what I heard wrong.
“okay. He said he had been at the station for three days. I’ve had that experience too. So I know how hard it is.”
Seo In-na said as if she understood everything and nodded.
“So, rest for today. Originally, I wasn’t going to let him go to work at all, but I had to write a report, so I let him go.”
Of course, like Seo In-na said, I don’t have any memories of having to suffer at the station.
If I had to go to work, of course I had to.
“thank you.”
So I said goodbye and got up right away.
Today, the steps heading home were exceptionally light.
* * *
about 3 months after that.
The season was changing from winter to full spring.
In the meantime, work has been hectic, as always.
I solved this and that incident, but around the time when such a big incident did not occur.
“hmm… ?”
As soon as I went to work in the morning and sat down at my desk, the quest icon turned on by itself for the first time in a long time.
When I checked the quest window, it was none other than the main quest that had been added.
＜Main Quest＞
– Follow clues leading to the next scenario
Short content for a main quest.
And it turns out, since I caught the apostate monk in the basement last time, the main quest has been stagnant.
Apparently, after that, the police cooperated with regular agencies to investigate the xie jiao.
Apparently, the investigation was over.
“Captain River!”
And as expected, Seo In-na called me.
I got up and went to Seo In-na’s seat.
“Did you call?”
“Do you remember the last time I caught a cultist who was called a blind man?”
As expected, the contents of the main quest continued.
I nodded my head at the words I had already expected.
In response, Seo In-na immediately began to explain the incident.
“The guys behind him were barely identified. My name is New Moon. To put it simply, it is a cult founded by apostate monks who betrayed the Dharma.”
Saying so, Seo In-na handed over the case data to me.
The material, which was exceptionally thicker than usual, listed the records of an investigation that took several months.
“It hasn’t all come out yet, but it’s already quite large. There are over 50 Apostate monks who have been identified as belonging there, and there are many tricky ones among them.”
“So, are you going to catch them this time?”
“That’s how it is.”
“Are there too many?”
As Seo In-na said, their list was quite long.
It would take half a year to catch all of this.
However, Seo In-na shook her head.
“Of course, most of it will be handled by the court. Because the apostate was originally theirs. But among them, there are still those whose whereabouts have not been identified. And there is one among them that needs to be dealt with urgently.”
Seo In-na pointed to one of the names on the long list.
“The legal name ‘Goeju’. In simple terms, it means the owner of the monster. Why, you may have seen it when you caught the manghyeon, but there were all kinds of monsters gathered in the basement?”
I did have memories of that.
I didn’t know it at first, but it is said that the numerous monsters there were different in appearance and even nationality.
Did you say that they were monsters that could never gather naturally?
“I think that’s what this guy did. The exact lore is still unknown, but this guy controls the monster. The Dharma Hall uses that ability to figure out that the monster brought monsters from all over the world.”
When I heard that I was smuggling monsters because I had nothing to smuggle in anymore, I let out a blank laugh.
“That’s why we need to punish him quickly.”
It was dangerous for both the court and the police.
The monsters themselves are things that can cause serious damage to human life.
However, what the Goeju was doing seemed to be a plan to gather them together and make an army.
“that’s right. Some of the monsters he planted are already causing accidents. If you let it go any longer, we’ll get in trouble too.”
“Then what should I do first?”
“The monster’s hiding place has been discovered. The court has already dealt with it, but it seems that there is an escaped entity. You have to deal with that first.”
I nodded.
Seo In-na added.
“The location is near Taebaek Mountain in Gangwon-do. Oh, and people will come out at the courthouse, so keep that in mind.”
Her words were there.
I immediately set off for the meeting place with the Dharma Hall.
and after a few hours.
“Inspector Kang, long time no see.”
The one who came out of the courtroom was Cha Seo-hyun, a familiar face.
I remembered seeing her face.
Arms must also be taught the next step.
I forgot about it because I was busy with work.
“Are you doing well?”
Cha Seohyun asked me as if she knew that I had forgotten.
So naturally, I continued to lie.
“It just ended a while ago. It was the car I was going to find, but it went well.”
“Did you? You are fast too.”
Cha Seo-hyun said that and smiled.
“Fortunately, I have finished training in Garura and am now training in Asura. So I guess I can teach you Garura.”
Cha Seohyun also seemed to have progressed a step further.
Her level also went from being in her 30s to 40 before she knew it.
It wasn’t that big of a difference with me, who is now level 44.
“Then you can teach me right away after the incident.”
“As long as it is resolved safely, of course I will.”
After such a simple greeting, we moved on to talking about the incident.
Cha Seo-hyun changed to a serious face, then held up her smartphone and showed a map.
She put her finger on a point on the map and opened her mouth.
“This is the hideout of the monsters. It’s called Banya Valley. He planted barriers in all directions around this valley and was hiding it.”
Cha Seohyun pointed to a land in a radius of about 2Km.
Even though it is in the mountains, the terrain is quite wide.
In addition, it was possible that there was a monster hidden inside.
“I didn’t even manage to find out how wide it is.”
“It’s probably the work of another Apostate monk who specializes in barriers. As Inspector Kang said, barriers that cover such a large area are not common.”
Is there a separate Mine specializing in barriers?
There was nothing strange about the cooperation between the mines.
From nob le mt l. com
Just as Goi guarded the temple where Manghyeon ruled, this Goeju must have been helped by another Apostate Monk.
“There were a total of 20 monsters here. All of them are medium-sized monsters and above, most of them are currently exorcised… One of the largest masses escaped the encirclement.”
“What kind of guy are you?”
“that is… I haven’t quite figured it out yet.”
Seohyun Cha lowered her gaze as if she had no face.
I got out of the siege, but I didn’t even see you.
“What kind of guy are you… ”
“This is the area where it is presumed to be.”
Seohyun Cha then uploaded a picture on her smartphone.
It was a forest in the mountains, but it was dug up as if the ground had been turned upside down.
Not even grass, even adult trees are standing properly.
No matter how you look at this… It doesn’t look like you did anything on the ground.
“Are you saying he’s underground?”
“yes.”
I nodded.
So you haven’t even seen it yet?
“It’s a monster that lives underground… ”
I thought about it for a while, but with that alone, I couldn’t pinpoint what monster it was.
Of course, bug-type ones like the centipede I saw in the magic station.
It could have been a mole, an earth dragon, or a serpent-type monster.
Besides, isn’t the monster a guy who collects monsters from all over the world?
It was impossible to get the right answer just by guessing.
“From the vibrations of the ground, we figured out that the monster had moved east. That’s all we’ve been researching… What do you think Inspector Kang will do?”
Seohyun Cha asked.
In response, I quietly turned on the navigation function of the quest.
Looking at the map and the direction the arrow is pointing at, it’s not east as Cha Seo-hyun said.
Apparently, it was pointing in the direction of Banya Valley, the hideout.
“First, let’s check the hideout he was in.”
So I said so.
Immediately we moved to the hiding place.
The area where Goi stayed was a small flatland further in from the valley towards the mountain.
A place where black soil is exposed, not green grass like Cha Seo-hyun’s photo.
Also, the ground was completely sunken, so it was clear that something had stirred up the ground.
“therefore… ”
The arrow clearly points here.
So what should I look for here?
With that thought in mind, I looked around the plain.
Then, in the middle of the plain, there was also a highlight.
It was a small tree the size of a man, upturned from the roots and buried in the soil.
what is this about
But when he took the tree out of the soil, he finally saw what might be a clue.
“Did you find something?”
“yes. Look at this here.”
I held out the tree.
The tree, which had been uprooted but still had green leaves, had its bark unnaturally cut away to reveal its white interior.
“This… Did you ride it?”
“No, it melted.”
Bark melted by strong acid.
I said that because it was something I had often seen in another world.
“Ah, you mean Goi uses an acidic solution. It’s definitely a clue, but… ”
Cha Seohyun said as if there was nothing she could do with this.
But this was enough clue for me.
An acidic solution would have a distinctive smell, and I had the means to track it down.
So I immediately called the fox.
Then a small fox with two pure white tails appeared in front of me.
“Keng!”
“This… ?”
“It is my food soul.”
Seohyun Cha looked at the fox and smiled.
“It is a very cute fox. May I touch you?”
“I see.”
Cha Seohyun petted the fox, and the fox quietly accepted her touch.
Then Seohyun Cha opened her mouth.
“What is your name?”
“uh… Is there anything else?”
“No? No matter how much you eat, you have to give it a name. It’s so cute.”
Seohyun Cha said that with a face as if she had heard something very shocking.
Although I want to know what the name is.
Beside him, the fox was nodding.
It seemed that he was dissatisfied with the lack of a name.
“As soon as the words come out, why don’t you build them right away?”
“Your name? I’m not good at this.”
At Cha Seohyun’s urging, I had no choice but to think.
name.
Fortunately, something immediately came to mind.
“then… A scent tracker?”
“What is it?”
“A name.”
“… … ”
Cha Seohyun’s face hardened slightly.
is it weird too
but… Come to think of it, it was a name that did not take into consideration the trend these days.
From nob le mt l. com
Just by looking at the names of the dogs, how many English words are there?
“Oh, then Smell Tracer?”
“All right. I can’t possibly do that. Wouldn’t it be better for me to build it for you?”
Unlike usual, Seohyun Cha shook her head resolutely and confidently said that.
“what… You see.”
Then he stared at the fox, wondering what a great name he was about to name.
Then the fox cried several times.
Immediately after that, Cha Seo-hyun’s mouth opened.
“How is Keng Keng?”
It was an incredibly simple name.
Keng-keng, to say that he cries is keng-keng.
“It’s just crying.”
“Isn’t it cute though?”
“I think it smells better.”
“There is no need to shorten it to two letters… And after reducing it, it’s even weirder.”
“Then St?”
“… Let’s do it with a keng keng.”
After such a light scuffle, the fox’s name eventually became Keng Keng.
Actually, I was going to just use the smell, but the fox looked at me with eyes like it would cry, so I had no choice but to change it.
however… Doesn’t it smell better too?
“By the way, why did you call Keng Keng?”
After the name was decided, Cha Seohyun, who was stroking Keng Keng, asked.
And Bonnie, I didn’t call you for this.
I put down the melted tree in front of Keng Keng.
And he remembered the smell of the acidic solution on it.
“How about you, can you follow me?”
“Keng!”
Immediately after that, Keng Keng cast a spell on my smartphone.
Then, on the map that appeared on the smartphone.
An icon in the shape of fox footprints clearly indicated the location of the monster that was still moving.
The location is also east.
However, they had already moved quite far, and were about to leave the mountain area.
Seeing that, Cha Seohyun widened her eyes.
“This… That’s great. Tracking spells with such precision are difficult even for exorcists who specialize in tracking.”
“is it so?”
“Keng-Keng is more gifted than expected.”
To Cha Seohyun’s praise, Keng Keng Keng answered with several more Keng Keng Keng.
“But we must hurry.”
At Cha Seohyun’s words, I nodded.
There was a small village right next to where the monsters were currently roaming.
Buildings would collapse ridiculously just by passing underground.
If done wrong, it could result in personal injury.
So we went straight through the mountain road and moved to the place where the monster was.