Chapter 72 – Suspicion

“Whew…”

As soon as the relatives left, Min Do-jun extinguished the flames.

Having controlled and adjusted the size, not even a trace of scorch marks remained in the house.

‘Do I really need to threaten them to make them listen?’

Most ordinary people think of hunters as just well-paid celebrities.

But hunters are beings that transcend humans.

People forget this fact.

‘Hunters might look like heroes now, but that only applies when they’re allies.’

Min Do-jun knows from experience.

What disaster unfolds when hunters turn hostile.

‘Anyway, the relatives might visit again.’

When he becomes famous as an A-grade hunter later, relatives might become bothersome again.

People have neither pride nor fear when it comes to money.

Above all, it was uncomfortable that they could visit anytime knowing his house address.

‘Should I sell the house?’

The house was his parents’ only inheritance.

Though he didn’t want to sell if possible, he felt the need to because of his relatives.

‘I should buy a car too. It’s annoying to keep calling taxis.’

Min Do-jun turned on his smartphone and contemplated where to move.

* * *

Hunter Association Crime Investigation Team Leader Kim Sang-yeop was looking at several photographs.

Photos of victims’ wounds.

All had X marks on their chests.

‘The consistent markings confirm it’s the same perpetrator…’

The problem was there were no clues to identify the criminal.

‘No commonalities between victims. Includes both civilians and hunters.’

Recently, hunters named Kang Cheol-gyu and Cho Gyu-chan died with X marks.

‘Cho Gyu-chan was found in the mountains near the columbarium. But other hunters died in nearby alleys.’

Kim Sang-yeop examined another photo beside him.

The photo showed a somewhat shocking corpse without a head.

The incident where four hunters were beheaded in an alley near the columbarium.

‘One was found petrified.’

Though found as rubble, piecing together showed it was human.

‘The use of petrification skill confirms the perpetrator is a mage.’

Petrification skill’s success rate increases with magic power.

Therefore, only mages would use it.

‘The clean cut of the necks suggests they were killed with sharp magic like Wind Blade.’

Though the victims’ chests lacked X marks, Kim Sang-yeop suspected this was also the serial killer’s work.

‘The time of death matches Cho Gyu-chan’s, and the locations are very close.’

Just then, the subordinate he’d assigned to investigate returned.

“Did you bring it?”

“Yes, I got the list as requested.”

Kim Sang-yeop’s eyes widened looking at the list his subordinate handed over.

“Is this certain?”

“Of course. I even checked the CCTV.”

“Only a hunter named Min Do-jun visited the columbarium at that time?”

“There were a few others, but all below level 100, so I excluded them as they couldn’t possibly kill victims near level 800. For reference, Hunter Min Do-jun was level 666 at the time.”

There’s a columbarium near where the beheaded hunters and Cho Gyu-chan’s body were found.

Due to the proximity, they investigated hunters who visited then, and found this hunter Min Do-jun.

“But this Min Do-jun’s level is low too?”

“Yes. But investigating showed he’s now level 1,350.”

“Already? How many months has it been since the incident?”

“It means he’s quite strong for his level. He’s even soloed bosses and received recruitment offers from various guilds. Though he rejected them all.”

“That level means he had enough power to commit the crimes.”

“Yes. Though I’m not sure if he could handle four hunters near level 800 and one level 1,000 hunter alone.”

“It might be possible with a surprise attack.”

Either way, he clearly had enough power to kill.

“What’s Hunter Min Do-jun’s class? Is he a mage?”

“He’s a magic swordsman.”

“Magic swordsman? So he’s a warrior who can use magic?”

“Right. Though his magic power would be lower than a mage’s, he could still have some chance of successful petrification magic.”

If he were just a warrior it would be one thing, but being able to use magic amplified the suspicion.

‘The clean cuts might have been made with a sword. Same with the X marks.’

He seemed like the most likely suspect among those investigated recently.

“The problem is motive.”

“We investigated but found no connection with the victims.”

“Hmm…”

Kim Sang-yeop fell into thought.

“Are we being too sensitive? He might have just visited the columbarium for an anniversary.”

“Still worth investigating, I think.”

“Mm.”

With so few clues, they had to pursue even small suspicions.

“Right. Better to dig into this at least. I’ll contact Hunter Min Do-jun about meeting, you gather all materials related to Min Do-jun and put them on my desk.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shortly after, Kim Sang-yeop grabbed his coat and documents and left, presumably having arranged a meeting with Min Do-jun.

A rookie investigator called out to his senior.

“Senior, where is the team leader going?”

“You know that incident near the columbarium a few months ago?”

“The one where hunters were beheaded in the alley and someone died with an X mark on the mountain?”

“Yeah, we couldn’t find the culprit without clues, but we’ve found a suspicious suspect. He’s going to meet him.”

“Have the two cases been confirmed as the same perpetrator?”

“Not yet, but they happened at the same time so they must be.”

“If he’s the culprit, we’d be catching the serial killer we couldn’t catch all this time?”

“Right. If he’s proven guilty, it’ll make huge headlines.”

“Wow, it’d be amazing if we catch him.”

The senior didn’t notice the rookie investigator’s expression changing for a moment.

* * *

Min Do-jun, already in a bad mood after his relatives’ visit, faced another obstacle.

It was because of a phone call from the association an hour ago.

‘They’re coming to my house?’

The Crime Investigation Department wanted to visit for investigation.

Though he said they could come, being suspected didn’t feel good.

‘Well, I expected this.’

Hadn’t he anticipated this day would come?

‘It must be about killing Bang Dae-sik’s gang and Cho Gyu-chan near the columbarium.’

That was the only trace he’d left.

They probably tracked him by investigating columbarium visitors.

‘No need to worry. It’s just circumstantial evidence. Being near the scene isn’t enough to identify the culprit.’

Min Do-jun relaxed, expecting they were grasping at straws.

Finally, the doorbell rang and the Crime Investigation Department arrived.

“Hello, I’m Team Leader Kim Sang-yeop from the Korean Hunter Association Crime Investigation Department. May I come in?”

“Yes, please enter.”

Min Do-jun guided him to the sofa.

“I don’t have much to drink… would you like some water?”

“No need. Your cooperation with the investigation is enough. I’d like to ask a few questions if that’s alright?”

“Yes, go ahead.”

Kim Sang-yeop proceeded to ask what he was curious about.

As expected, it was about the columbarium incident.

“You visited the columbarium on April 24th?”

“Yes.”

“May I ask the purpose of your visit?”

“My parents are interred there. It was their death anniversary.”

“Were they murdered?”

“Yes.”

For a moment, Kim Sang-yeop’s intuition sparked.

‘Revenge? So that’s why the hunters…’

But it was wrong intuition.

“They were killed by monsters five years ago.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

Looking embarrassed, Kim Sang-yeop asked another question.

“Do you remember what time you entered and left the columbarium that day?”

“I don’t remember the exact time, but I entered around 4 PM and left around 8 PM.”

Kim Sang-yeop checked the documents he brought, confirming Min Do-jun’s statement wasn’t false.

“Did you go straight home then?”

“Yes.”

“You don’t seem to have a car, how did you get back?”

“I took a taxi.”

Min Do-jun told the truth exactly as it happened.

Just omitting the fact that he committed murder.

‘Hmm…’

Actually, Kim Sang-yeop hadn’t come to check Min Do-jun’s alibi.

‘The alibi is sufficient. Nothing more to ask.’

His real purpose for visiting was to observe Min Do-jun’s reactions.

If he were the culprit, there would be some gaps in his expressions or tone.

But.

‘His answers are smooth and natural.’

Kim Sang-yeop couldn’t find any unnaturalness in Min Do-jun’s expressions and behavior.

“Did you hear any screams when leaving the columbarium?”

“Uh… screams? I didn’t hear anything like that.”

Kim Sang-yeop felt discouraged by his expression and tone that genuinely suggested he hadn’t heard anything.

‘If this person is really the culprit, he deserves an acting award…’

Though he couldn’t get hints from expressions, it wasn’t time to give up yet.

‘He’s answering well but not asking questions.’

If he weren’t the culprit, anyone would have questions about the incident.

But the suspect before him showed no curiosity.

As if he already knew everything.

‘If he doesn’t ask until the end, I should suspect him as the culprit.’

However, just as he thought this, Min Do-jun asked.

“What kind of incident made you visit my home?”

‘…Did I guess wrong?’

Kim Sang-yeop inwardly sighed but answered.

“There was a murder near the columbarium.”

“Are you suspecting me…?”

“Ah, not necessarily.”

Kim Sang-yeop stood up, having nothing more to ask.

“Thank you for cooperating with the investigation. Well then.”

Only after Kim Sang-yeop left could Min Do-jun breathe.

‘Fortunately, the suspicion seems cleared.’

At the end, Kim Sang-yeop had a face of resignation.

‘He probably came to test me but was disappointed finding I wasn’t the one.’

They couldn’t prove Min Do-jun’s crimes with just circumstantial evidence.

Though somewhat relieved, Min Do-jun didn’t know.

That there was one more person who suspected him.