Chapter 138 : Chapter 138

Chapter 138

The location data Park Chaeshin transmitted was none other than the VIP auction hall.

More precisely, it was the item storage room.

When Cha Yeri and I arrived there, Dispel arrived at the same time.

“Ah! You must be an investigator from the Special Affairs Division. I am Go Manseok, the Branch Chief of Dispel’s District 8 Branch No. 33.”

“I am Ji Seokhyeon.”

“I heard you are in charge of the Phantom Thief.”

“Yes, for now.”

“Then this should go smoothly. Let us keep introductions brief and get inside.”

Go Manseok looked quite rushed, as if to show how serious the incident was.

To the point that he seemed nearly flustered.

Go Manseok entered first with investigators and officers.

I was about to follow him in, but Cha Yeri lingered in my mind, so I turned back to her.

Contrary to my prejudice, she nodded readily.

“Go. You did not think I would stop you, did you?”

What was this about?

“I will keep my promise next time, no matter what.”

“Of course you will.”

Leaving behind Cha Yeri, who wore a suspicious smile, I went into the building.

The storage room had already been sealed off by Dispel.

Among the items that had not yet been put up for auction, I found the one that bore the Phantom Thief’s traces.

A black gem the size of a baseball, with the number 210703 written across its surface.

Park Chaeshin, who was sharing my view, added an explanation.

—It is the Pearl of Chaos. A prized object a Demonic Being brought during the Great Rift. It does contain mana, but it has no known ability yet, and its owner is Jang Incheol, the artisan most likely to become the next head of the Production Guild.

“The master of the blacksmithing guild Ironflame?”

—Yes. But if it is the Phantom Thief, he would steal it and run. Why would he leave such pointless graffiti? Is it a warning that he is going to steal it?

“Well… there must be a hidden intent.”

The reason he had painted 210703 onto a gemstone of considerable value…

I thought for a moment and scanned the area.

Go Manseok was gripping the manager at the storage room entrance.

“I am telling you, he was an employee who worked with us for months. Ask his coworkers. He was so diligent.”

“I am not asking about his usual conduct. I am asking why that employee, of all people, entered the storage room.”

“W-well… maybe he was checking the items? The door was locked during the recess anyway… In any case, that was not on our instructions. We only opened the storage room right before the auction resumed.”

From what I gathered, one employee on the staff had used the recess to step into the storage room, and afterward, the graffiti on the Pearl of Chaos had been discovered.

Moreover, the employee had yet to reappear, and no one knew where he had gone.

Then an officer arrived with CCTV footage.

“Branch Chief! It was him! He did it!”

“What?”

I stepped closer and checked the video.

Sure enough, it showed an employee entering the storage room and brazenly writing numbers on the Pearl of Chaos.

Go Manseok muttered in disbelief.

“Could that man be the Phantom Thief? At the very least, he must be connected… What do you think, Special Affairs Division investigator?”

“He is likely connected to the Phantom Thief. But I cannot be certain whether he acted of his own will or was compelled.”

“What do you mean?”

“Does it make sense to commit a crime so openly in a storage room that has cameras?”

“Ahem. That is what troubles me as well.”

“In this case, there are two possibilities. Either he revealed the crime intentionally for some purpose, or it does not matter if the crime is revealed.”

“And what is your opinion?”

My opinion was obvious.

“The latter. Of course, we still lack evidence. Branch Chief, could I ask you to identify him and track his whereabouts? And also to secure the Pearl of Chaos and the storage room.”

“Understood. I will contact you as the situation develops.”

“Thank you.”

I made that decision because I judged we would not be able to find the employee.

Because there was an overwhelming chance he was one of Gen’s ghouls.

The original reason Lee Eunho had moved as the Phantom Thief was revenge for Gangneung thirteen years ago.

Yet now he was acting in a way far removed from revenge.

That meant he was moving entirely according to Gen’s intent.

In other words, he was paying the price for the information he had received from Gen.

After leaving the scene to Dispel, I went up to the building’s rooftop.

“Senior, have you confirmed any connection between the victims so far and Jang Incheol?”

—Yes. But there is nothing particularly noteworthy.

“Even if you connect Jang Incheol to Gangneung?”

—Same as the other victims. You cannot find that kind of link. More than that, I cannot figure out why the Phantom Thief changed his pattern.

“That part is obvious. It means he is not moving alone.”

—So there is an accomplice? That employee from earlier?

“More precisely…”

—Ah, wait!

From Park Chaeshin’s line came the sound of frantic keyboard tapping.

Then his voice followed, startled.

—Something is strange! I just traced that employee’s route, but he disappeared into a blind spot on the CCTV and then he was simply gone!

“He disappeared? Was that moment captured clearly?”

—No. It is more like he vanished inside the blind spot, and there is no next movement at all. It is like a ghost story…

“It is not a ghost. You know as well as I do. There are special cases where someone disappears without a trace in an instant.”

—You mean a ghoul… That would mean the Phantom Thief is connected to a Demonic Being.

“For now, the priority is to quickly grasp his intent. In my opinion, there is a ninety-nine percent chance they are connected.”

With my Demonic Eye active, I took in the panorama of District 8.

What meaning had they intended to convey through a ghoul?

Was Lee Eunho truly waiting to steal the Pearl of Chaos?

But what would he even do with it?

“Even though he does not even know its proper effect.”

Jang Incheol had no connection to the Gangneung incident in the first place.

Which meant he was Gen’s target…

“Ah.”

My head went numb, as if I had been struck from behind.

I had been thinking about it wrong from the start.

Even in the original story, Jang Incheol was a character who loathed Demonic Beings to the point of trembling.

Naturally, he had stood on Lee Eunho’s side and opposed the Demonic Beings, making him a constant thorn in their side.

“That is still true now.”

Therefore, the Phantom Thief’s target was not the Pearl of Chaos, but its owner, Jang Incheol.

He would surely be heading toward wherever Jang Incheol was.

Then the only question left was why he had written a number on the jewel…

“Is he trying to use it as a symbol?”

For instance, using the Phantom Thief as an instrument of fear.

I still could not fully grasp the intent.

More importantly, I had to deal with what was happening right now.

I hurriedly touched my in-ear device.

“Have you confirmed where Jang Incheol is right now?”

—So… Ah! He will be arriving at Incheon Airport shortly. According to the data, he is on a plane right now. He must be returning after finishing a schedule on Jeju Island, coming to participate in the exhibition.

…That meant he was in the sky at this very moment.

“Then I will go to Incheon Airport immediately.”

—You think the Phantom Thief is targeting Jang Incheol?

“Yes.”

—What if it was a warning that he is after the Pearl of Chaos?

“Dispel’s inner-ward branches are gathered there. You think they will let it be taken? And even if it is taken, we would have to acknowledge it. If he can do that, it would be almost like the original Phantom Thief has returned.”

Almost like the Phantom Thief has returned?

Even after saying it, a hollow laugh escaped me.

Comparing the two was little different from insulting the dead.

Phantom Thief Cha Jaehee had worn black for the sole purpose of protecting this city.

Whereas Lee Eunho was…

Blinded by revenge, doing what he should never have done.

—All right. I will request a helicopter to that location.

“No. Not here. Outside District 8. We cannot draw attention.”

—Understood.

***

The helicopter arrived quickly.

The helicopter landing before my eyes was a reconnaissance craft operated by Dispel headquarters. Because it was a mana stone-powered aircraft, it boasted tremendous speed.

WHIRRRR!

Naturally, its noise was no joke either.

Soon, a Dispel pilot seated in the cockpit shouted at the top of his lungs.

“Investigator! Please board immediately!”

The pilot clearly understood the urgency.

I passed beneath the thunderous rotors and climbed into the craft.

“We are departing!”

The helicopter shot upward into Seoul’s sky, as swiftly as its roar.

Nearly close enough to brush against the traces of the Great Rift.

Aircraft like this consumed a tremendous amount of mana stones, meaning their upkeep was staggering.

Only a handful of companies operated mana stone aircraft at all, and even Dragon Knight, the most famous company in the Republic of Korea, could operate only five flights a day.

That made the exorbitant fares inevitable.

“We are approaching the destination!”

The helicopter soon reached the skies above Incheon.

I immediately activated my Demonic Eye and focused my gaze, searching for Lee Eunho’s mana.

“Investigator! Where should we land? We have already arranged cooperation with the control room!”

“Just a moment!”

When the helicopter reached the grounds of Incheon Airport, my Demonic Eye scanned every mana signature on the ground, but for some reason, I could not find any light distinct enough to single out.

Well, he would obviously be hiding because he knew about my eyes.

I shouted.

“Take us to the runway! We will land there!”

“Yes!”

WHIRRR—

As the helicopter entered the runway, I simply jumped down.

I could not afford to wait for a proper landing.

“If I were the Phantom Thief… If I were him, where would I hide to deal with the target?”

With my Demonic Eye active, I ran through the airport.

There were roughly five minutes left until the aircraft carrying Jang Incheol arrived.

Lee Eunho had time to prepare something.

For example, he could black out the airport interior, or he could secure a high vantage point to unleash Lightning Strike the moment Jang Incheol stepped off the plane.

“If I had to carry out that role…”

I would first secure an escape route.

Eliminating the target would not be difficult.

Following that assumption…

“…!”

Wait. It was still broad daylight. Could Lee Eunho even escape?

Because of the Cloak of the Alluring Hermit, his light attribute had decreased, making it difficult for him to move around outside.

And this was Incheon, not Seoul.

Moreover, even if he removed the cloak, he was already a wanted fugitive.

Of course, he might use a human skin mask, but such a cheap trick would be seen through by my Demonic Eye.

“Do not tell me…”

Just as a thought struck me, Park Chaeshin’s radio came through.

—Emergency! We lost contact with the aircraft carrying Jang Incheol!

“What?”

—The aircraft suddenly changed course and—

Park Chaeshin was too shocked to finish, but I could already guess the rest.

Almost certainly…

“Is it heading to Seoul?”

To Seoul.

Only then did I understand why Lee Eunho had left graffiti on the Pearl of Chaos.

He had lured me here.

Since my Demonic Eye would expose the crime quickly, he had provided a plausible clue and isolated me.

Which meant he had been on the aircraft from the beginning.

“Damn it!”

—We have the aircraft’s heading! If it continues like this, it will crash into Seoul—into the Han River!

“The Han River?”

—Yes! Unless there is another variable, it is going to fall onto District 8 floating on the Han River, specifically onto the auction hall building where we found the Phantom Thief’s traces!

“I am heading there now! Tell Dispel as well! And the Special Affairs Division!”

I sprinted back toward the runway.

Now the graffiti carried an additional meaning: terror coordinates.

I did not know whose idea it was, but the two of them intended to turn the number 210703 into a symbol of fear.

A plan to kill the target, Jang Incheol, and drop the aircraft onto the location of the jewel marked with the graffiti.

Of course, Jang Incheol, a guild master, would not die from a fall from that height.

But if the aircraft’s propellant—the absurd amount of mana stones—were to suffer a massive impact and explode…

“Not only Jang Incheol, but everyone gathered there would die like dogs.”

If District 8’s area was not much different from Yeouido in the previous world, the impact could shake the entire island.

It might even affect the bedrock itself.

That was how immense a mana stone explosion could be.

The moment I reached the helicopter, I shouted.

“Depart immediately! We have to catch up to that plane, no matter what!”