𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟔𝟔
In the face of a life-or-death situation, I made a quiet decision.
And, with a sigh, I released the restraints.
Whooooosh.
“Barrier-Eating Void.”
Pa-su-pak.
Zzzzaaaap!
This is a curse technique that was originally used to destroy barriers, but with a little adjustment, it can also be used to target restraint techniques.
Having quickly regained my freedom of movement, I summoned two shikigami at once and strengthened their power through Gloom of Darkness.
“Black Yin, Eve.”
Swish.
Poof!
『Squeak!』
“. . .I will defend.”
Since Liu Zizhen had taken the initiative, there was no time to use a strong defensive technique.
However, if the barrier of Black Yin, my Azure Sky Wall, and the power of Eve were combined, it would be enough to block the attack.
Zzaaaap!
As I expected, Liu Zizhen’s attack failed to break through our defenses.
However, that made it even more difficult to prove my innocence.
“. . .To actually block that, you’re not at the level of a student. Were you hiding your strength?”
“I haven’t hidden anything. If it weren’t for this situation, I wouldn’t have had to reveal it.”
“Despite all this evidence, you’re still trying to say that you’re not the culprit?”
It was truly infuriating, but if I were in Liu Zizhen’s position, I would have suspected me as well.
I glanced at the entrance and could sense the presence of several exorcists. Of course, the escape route was already blocked.
「𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩.」
Liu Zizhen is a representative of the Liu family who has come to this event, so his skills are naturally not ordinary.
I took a quick look and saw that his level was 58. He was at the advanced level of 1st-grade.
「𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙩𝙧𝙮 𝙩𝙤 𝙛𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙣𝙤𝙬, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 . . . . . . .」
Fighting Liu Zizhen here would do me no good.
I wouldn’t be able to handle all the exorcists who would follow anyway.
「𝙄 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙢𝙞𝙨𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜.」
Swish.
Poof!
Having made my decision, I summoned Earthbound from the shadows, broke through the wall, and jumped into the void.
Apparently, he didn’t expect me to do something like that from a height of four stories, so Liu Zizhen began to follow me in a panic, looking for a place to land.
“Damn it, you little brat! Stay there!”
『Screech!』
『Squeak!』
Flap!
I was already flying through the void with the help of two newly summoned Black Birds and Black Yin, so it was impossible for Liu Zizhen to catch me at his speed.
However, I could feel hostile gazes from all sides.
Exorcists from each family were watching me.
「. . .𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙖𝙯𝙮.」
After checking the progress of the spell here and there, I returned the Black Birds to the shadows and landed on the ground, separating from Black Yin.
Thud.
If I were to choose to escape now, the situation would become irreversible.
I didn’t have a plan yet, but I knew that I had to solve everything here, inside this Baekrimjeong.
“Oh, so you’ve decided to stop running?”
“. . . . . . .”
“Why did you kill them? Did someone hire you to do it?”
Liu Zizhen, who had already branded me as the culprit, was pressing me. I answered him with a serious expression.
“I’ll say it again. I’m not the culprit. I didn’t attack them, and I have no reason to.”
“That’s funny. Then who do you think did it?”
“Well, it must have been someone who had a reason to do so.”
Zzaaaap!
Blocking Liu Zizhen’s attack, which came flying at me again, I fell into thought.
「. . . . . . .」
First of all, the Liu family can’t reveal the truth about the exorcists who killed Baek Sang-hui because they were caught committing corruption.
That’s because it’s information that I, who am not a member of either family, have no way of obtaining.
「𝙃𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧, 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙔𝙤𝙤 𝙃𝙖-𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧 𝙜𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙥 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙞𝙧 𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚.」
They’re probably doing what they can in this situation as well.
In other words, I have no choice but to trust Baek Eun-seo, who is well-informed within the family, and her group to take care of that part.
「𝙐𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣, 𝙄 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙤𝙤𝙢 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨𝙪𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.」
After much deliberation, I finally came up with a significant gamble.
It was a slightly reckless plan that could be called a change of perspective.
However, it was definitely worth a try.
Thud.
“. . .Can you stop attacking for a moment?”
“What are you talking about?”
“It seems like you’ve discussed things over there, but I, the person involved, haven’t even had a chance to speak about the situation. I think it would be better to make a judgment after that.”
Since my words were not entirely unreasonable, Liu Zizhen nodded as if to say that I could do as I pleased.
At the same time, the exorcists from each family approached me a little closer to make sure I wouldn’t do anything reckless.
“First, I’d like to hear the exact details of how you came to be convinced that I was the culprit.”
“Oh. That’s not difficult. The spell of the executive officer from the headquarters indicated that your spiritual power was left on the bodies, and you don’t have a clear alibi for the time when the crime occurred. It’s even been proven that you have enough strength to fight as you are now. What more do you need?”
I certainly didn’t have an alibi to prove my innocence because I had been asleep, drugged by Baek So-yul.
Even if I told the truth, there was no one who had been with me after Baek So-yul left the room, so it wouldn’t be of much help.
“Okay. Then I’d also like to hear what conclusions you’ve reached about the motive and method of the murder.”
“There’s no way to know the motive for sure. And the method is simple. The two victims were taken by surprise and attacked in secret, and Wibihwa, a spell of our family, was used to avoid being tracked in the process. Am I wrong?”
Certainly, I could use my status as an academy student to my advantage to catch my opponents off guard and kill them right after.
Liu Zizhen’s words were convincing enough.
“But is that really possible? There are exorcists stronger than me everywhere, and it wouldn’t be easy to commit a crime without being noticed by the representatives of each family.”
“. . .That’s true. However, the exorcists from the Baek family were handling business in their private offices on the fourth floor, and the victim from our side was, for some reason, walking through the passage of the warehouse area on the first basement floor. Both of those places were sparsely populated, so the crime itself is not impossible.”
Baek So-yul, who had been watching the situation, then interjected, pressing me further with a sly smile.
“It’s a mistake now, but we focused so much on strengthening the external defenses that we neglected the internal movements. Especially if the victims were isolated, it wouldn’t be easy to notice them from the surroundings.”
“. . . . . . .”
Both sides had valid points. However, I had already obtained all the information I wanted to know.
So now, it was time to start fighting back.
“I understand what you’re saying. And based on that information, it’s certainly possible for me to kill them in the way you suggested.”
“What?”
“Then, really. . . . . . .”
As I gradually raised my voice, I smiled slightly and opened my mouth again.
“However, that’s why I’m not the culprit.”
At that unexpected statement, the exorcists who had been watching the situation in silence tilted their heads.
As expected, all eyes were on me in an instant.
If there was a time to gamble, it was now.
“I can’t reveal who the real culprit is right now either.”
“. . . . . . .”
“But I’ll say this for sure. The culprit’s method of killing was too sloppy.”
“What the . . . . . . .”
The reactions were largely divided into three: those who were genuinely confused, those who were displeased with my sophistry, and those who looked at me with interest.
To them, I uttered the so-called bombshell statement.
“If I were really the culprit, I would have killed them more surely and quickly than this, without leaving a trace.”
“Oh, you’re talking big. Do you think someone like you could do that?”
“Yes. I can.”
So right now.
“I’ll prove it to you.”
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
Baek Un-yong, the fourth elder of the Baek family and the owner of this Baekrimjeong, looked at Han Kang-yoon with quite an interesting gaze.
「𝙃𝙚’𝙨 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙙.」
It’s not easy to express your opinion without flinching in this situation.
Furthermore, Han Kang-yoon is at a disadvantage, having to clear himself of a suspicion that is not even certain.
Despite that, there is no wavering in his expression.
「𝘾𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩, 𝙎𝙚𝙤-𝙝𝙖 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙖𝙨 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡.」
A promising young talent who is the next potential elder of the Baek family and already possesses the skills and power to match.
He remember hearing her praise Han Kang-yoon when the commotion caused by the yokai occurred on Dongaksan Mountain.
“. . .Elder. As instructed, I have deployed a 2nd-grade exorcist from our family to the crime scene.”
“You’ve done well. You may return to your seat.”
At Han Kang-yoon’s request, each family selected an exorcist with similar skills to the victims and created an environment that was the same as the actual situation.
“From now on, you can simply watch and judge for yourself. I will move a little further into the forest and begin my actions.”
“. . .How can you guarantee that you won’t run away?”
“You can set up a perimeter in advance if you want. It won’t be difficult to escape from you all anyway.”
Despite Liu Zizhen’s continued pressure, who was not happy with the situation, Han Kang-yoon’s expression remained unruffled.
Baek Un-yong admired him and, like the others, slowly stared in the direction of the forest where Han Kang-yoon had gone.
「𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡, 𝙡𝙚𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙨𝙠𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙬𝙨 𝙪𝙨. . . . . . .」
However, even after three minutes, and then five minutes, Han Kang-yoon showed no movement.
Those who had been waiting on the first and second floors to reenact the incident were also looking puzzled.
And finally, after about 10 minutes had passed, Han Kang-yoon, who had gone into the forest, slowly revealed himself.
He had broken the precondition that he should not be seen while reenacting the crime.
「. . .𝙒𝙖𝙨 𝙞𝙩 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙢𝙪𝙘𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙖𝙨𝙠?」
It’s not an easy task.
No matter how similar the environment was made to the actual situation, the exorcists who were acting as the victims and those from the other families would have been more vigilant than usual.
It was an unreasonable challenge from the start. It was too much of a burden for a mere nineteen-year-old student.
Just as he was about to shake his head in disappointment, Han Kang-yoon suddenly approached everyone and said,
“It’s over. If this were a real battle, the two of them would already be dead.”
“What are you talking about . . . . . . ?”
It had only been 10 minutes. Much shorter than the time it took for the actual crime to occur.
Furthermore, the exorcists from the families who had been stationed on the first and second floors had not noticed anything unusual.
However, everyone present was shocked by the words of an exorcist who had finally arrived in a hurry.
“R-Report. The two who volunteered as stand-ins were found unconscious in the designated locations.”
“. . .What?”
The expressions of the exorcists from the three major families gathered from various countries changed drastically.
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