Barney gasped in shock. His breathing changed, and every hair on his body stood on end as if he had seen a ghost. Instinctively, he grabbed the ketamine-filled syringe, clutching it tightly as a makeshift weapon.
The statue remained stationary. The brief motion it had made monts ago was now completely halted. Barney locked eyes with it, growing cautious of its movents.
"Jesus fucking Christ! What the fuck are you?!" he shouted with a trembling voice.
Barney fixed his gaze on Carn as he cautiously backed toward the exit. Taking five steps away from Carn, he turned around, planning to sprint with all his might.
That was his mistake. Carn teleported, materializing directly behind him.
*CRACK!*
The sound of Barney's neck snapping was sharp and crisp. His body crumpled to the floor, and his head was twisted 240 degrees.
Carn stood still, waiting for the Aether to flow to him.
As always, the spirits of victims erged, appearing as ethereal fireflies. They hovered briefly, silently expressing their gratitude before fading away, leaving behind trails of Aether dust.
Carn remained calm and patient, absorbing the energy. He paid no mind to the CCTV cara, for it would only capture the image of his gargoyle form.
Once the absorption process was complete, Carn expended his third silver mark of the day, teleporting back to the n's restroom on the first floor. Upon reappearing inside an empty stall, he reverted to his human form.
Sitting down and catching his breath, Carn let out a long sigh.
The mission was accomplished. Another nuisance was removed, and the lingering air of malice was cleansed.
He glanced at his right arm. The count of silver marks etched onto it had risen to 160. Though the gain wasn't much, but it was an honest work. Carn was satisfied.
Leaving the stall, Carn waltzed out of the restroom, ensuring that his face was caught on the cafeteria's CCTV caras by the ti of Barney's death. After lunch, he patiently awaited the inevitable.
Soon, the school's security officers would summon the MPs and ECD agents to investigate the murder.
-
An hour later, as Carn had anticipated, all afternoon classes across every grade were canceled. Military police officers and ECD agents sward the school building, securing the premises and investigating the scene. Among the arriving personnel was Han, standing alongside the ECD hunters who had been summoned to safeguard the community.
The lead ECD investigator was a pale-skinned, 179 cm tall middle-aged man with a trimd beard, ssy gray hair, and unkempt attire. His shirt looked worn and rumpled, as though he'd been wearing it for a week straight.
Despite his disheveled appearance, he exuded an air of authority and charisma. His ECD na tag read "Class-A Arthur A. Ashford", but among his colleagues and subordinates, he was simply known as "Ace."
The nickna stemd from the first letter of his na and his unmatched reputation within the organization. Arthur was a legend, renowned as the top fighter among all ECD hunters, having singlehandedly annihilated over a hundred monsters in a single rift incident.
Arthur leaned over the desk, watching the high-definition footage captured by the laboratory's military-grade CCTV caras. The events were recorded in full clarity, showing every individual who entered or exited the classroom. Yet, despite the crystal-clear footage, Arthur and his team were stumped after their first viewing.
"How the hell did that happen? Another Stone Judge running loose?" muttered Han, as he frowned and rewound the footage. He ca here because of the ergency dispatch.
The cara footage offered a few clues. Barney had been careful, staying within the cara's blind spot. The only anomaly the recording caught was the brief appearance of a grotesque gargoyle statue, visible for exactly one minute and five seconds before vanishing entirely.
Arthur shifted his attention to footage from the hallway outside the laboratory. The ticulous investigator searched for any sign of soone entering or exiting the room during the ti of Barney's death. However, nobody remained in the classroom except Barney.
When Arthur found no one, he expanded his search to the building's windows and balconies. Again, the recordings showed nothing—no entry or exit before, during, or after the incident.
Arthur leaned back in his chair, furrowing his brows. He then around and asked the security officer of the school, who had been detained as a witness.
"Either we've got a new entity or soone's found a way to rewrite the footage. How about the authenticity of the file? Has anybody tampered with it?"
"No, sir. The CCTV server in the IT office is fully secured. Access is restricted to the dean and the system programr," Answered the security officer.
"Where's the programr now? Why haven't we detained him yet?" Arthur glanced around the room, searching for the programr in question.
"He's not on-site today, sir. He only cos in on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays to handle server maintenance and security updates."
Arthur nodded, processing the new information, "I see. So, the footage hasn't been tampered with, no one entered, and no one left during the incident."
The room fell into a low murmur as the gathered officers and hunters exchanged uneasy glances. As the evidence was pointing toward the obvious supernatural entity, so hunters voiced their opinions.
"This has to be a loose Stone Judge. Should we lock down the district and deploy the teams to secure it like we did?"
"If it's a Stone Judge, could it be tied to ECD-6677 from the facility? Does this one display similar abilities or behaviors?"
"The Stone Judge in containnt only targets death row inmates and rejected 'Evil' explorer candidates. Could this an the victim had a criminal record?"
At that mont, Han cleared his throat and shared a key detail from his personal investigation.
"Barney Jas is currently under suspicion for involvent in the disappearances of 16 won. My team and I searched his house yesterday and found bloodstained tools and human remains in a freezer. Those have been sent to the forensic departnt, and the results are already linking them to the missing persons. We were set to issue his arrest warrant this morning, but here I am."
Arthur studied Han's face and gave an approving nod. "Sorry for the dispatch call. If I'm not mistaken, you're an FBI Special Agent, right? Are you overseeing those cases?"
Han shook his head. "No, sir. That creep put a tracker on my son when we went to church. I'm just trying to put that perverted priest behind bars and protect my son's anus chastity. I want my son to remain a son, not a daughter."
The room erupted in laughter at Han's blunt honesty. Arthur chuckled, but his sharp mind kept processing the information. Then, a thought ca to him, and he turned back to Han with a knowing look.
"If I recall, you've just moved to this area recently. Does that an your son attends this school?"
Han nodded, "Yes, sir."
"Then he's an explorer candidate?"
Han nodded again, "Yes, sir."
Arthur's eyes glead with interest. "Good. What's his mana concentration percentage?"
Han's expression hardened. The question made him uncomfortable. He glanced around, noting how every investigator and hunter in the room was now paying full attention. Reluctantly, he gave a partial answer, carefully choosing his words.
"About 10%, sir."
Arthur leaned back with a wide grin, finding Han's reaction amusing.
"Interesting. However, from the data submitted earlier by the ECD office, I recall seeing a new candidate's profile. His surna matches yours, and the mana concentration value wasn't 10%. If I'm not mistaken, wasn't it 30%?"
Han gulped, letting out a deep sigh as he conceded, "Yes, sir. He tested at 10% the first ti, but it went up to 30% when we tested at the facility."
Arthur narrowed his eyes, his smile never fading. He turned his attention back to the CCTV footage and rewatched everything with a focused gaze.
It didn't take long before he spotted a youth crossing paths with Barney in the hallway right before the murder.
That youth was none other than Carn!
Han swallowed hard, biting his lower lip in frustration. He had told Carn to stay ho, but the idiot had co to school, putting himself at risk for no good reason. Han made a ntal note to scold his son later.
As the footage continued, both Han and the others noticed the exchange between the youth and Barney.
Barney pulled out a handkerchief and looked back as if he was about to do sothing to Carn. anwhile, Carn flinched slightly, as though he had eyes at the back of his head. A second later, both resud walking.
Arthur grinned, clearly pleased with what he had seen. He turned to Han and issued an order.
"Gentlen, please detain the young man from the footage. And, Special Agent Han Yunho. I rember his face from the data. Isn't that teenager your son?"
Han's face fell, "Why do you want my son, sir? Are you suspecting him?"
A calculating gleam appeared in Arthur's eyes as he focused on Han. The lead investigator teased him with a mischievous tone while he rubbed his hands, licking his lips like a pervert.
"I just need his testimony. And I'd like to ask him a few questions."
"..."
"You see, I used to work with strong hunters with high mana concentrations, just like your boy. I know three people who can teleport long distances, another can transform into a monster, and my ntor could disguise himself as... well, anything, really. Of course, I'm not implying that he's a suspect. Hahaha!"
Arthur turned to his female assistant, Tasha Green, who had taught Carn earlier that day. He gestured for her to speak.
"Contact the ECD office. Get all the data related to this boy. What was his na again, Carl?"
Tasha glanced at the footage and rembered. "He's my student from this morning. His na is Carn Yunho."
Arthur mischievously laughed, "Ah, yes, Carn Yunho. Who in the world nad his son Carn-Oh, sorry, sorry, Agent Han Yunho. I'm not throwing shades on you. Ahem, ahem! Everyone, please take note of that na. We'll be very busy chatting with the boy."
"…"
Han had a bad feeling about this.
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