ABVSA 07

Chapter 07

“From now on, answer my questions quickly and accurately. If you don’t want to die from excessive bleeding. Remember that you’re running out of time.”

Suhyeok had no intention of letting this man live.

Whether he died from excessive bleeding or was dragged into hell by the Punishment of Sin—
the end would be the same.

But Ishikawa seemed to take that warning as if it were his only lifeline.

“Yes, yes!”

A desperate, almost servile reply.

The pride of a detective had already been thrown to the dogs in exchange for the hope of survival.

“I already know you’ve been backing the Cheolsu gang. Bribery, leakage of classified information, aiding and abetting murder, assisting drug distribution, concealment of criminals, abuse of authority. Those are your crimes.”

Ishikawa’s pupils trembled violently.

This guy had already completed a full investigation on him.

Ishikawa swallowed hard.

“Tell me everything you know about the Cheolsu gang.”

“I-I really don’t know much about them! They’re a cell-structured organization… I was only forced to help by a guy named Kim Kyungsoo! He threatened me, used my family as leverage… He’s an Abyss user, so I couldn’t do anything if he targeted my family…”

As his nauseating excuses dragged on, Suhyeok cut him off.

“How do you contact Kim Kyungsoo?”

“He contacts me first. There’s an old phone in my car’s console box. I only use that…”

“Where do you meet?”

“The locations change every time! I only get instructions right before the meeting.”

Even after more questioning about the gang leader and manufacturing facilities, Ishikawa turned out to be nothing more than a low-level informant handling dirty work.

No useful information remained.

“Useless. Go rot in hell.”

“W-what? Y-you said you’d let me live! You said if I told you everything—!!”

Suhyeok sneered.

“I never said I’d let you live. I told you to answer quickly and accurately.”

He took the car keys from the man’s pocket and activated the Punishment of Sin.

As black energy erupted from the ground and began devouring Ishikawa’s body, Suhyeok searched the old phone inside the SUV.

Messages appeared on the screen.

[Yesterday one of our guys got spotted during work. Check if there’s a tip-off to narcotics division.]

[Found it. Name: Han Suhyeok. OO Villa, Room 302.]

[We’ll handle the guy and Han Suhyeok ourselves. Bury it properly.]

[Got it.]

His eyes trembled.

His name. His exact address.

The stabbing that had killed him—the blade behind it had been this corrupt cop feeding information.

“…You bastard.”

Blinded by rage, Suhyeok rushed toward Ishikawa, still screaming under the Punishment of Sin.

And he kicked the man’s head like a soccer ball.

CRACK!

The enhanced strength of the Reaper Body crushed Ishikawa’s skull.

With a horrifying sound of bone caving in, Ishikawa died without even a final scream.

A shadow spread hungrily over the corpse.

Soon, his body disintegrated into black dust and scattered into nothing.

“So Kim Kyungsoo is an Abyss user…”

Suhyeok reviewed the remaining messages on the phone, gauging Kim Kyungsoo’s presence.

He couldn’t determine his rank, but he was clearly on a different level from Kim Jongchan, the club guard.

A man who used a serving detective like a chess piece.

He would be several times stronger—and more troublesome.

At that moment, a system message appeared before his eyes.

• You have judged a sinner.
• Reward: 10 Hell Points.
• Achievement unlocked: Total Hell Points exceeded 100.
• New items have been added to the Hell Shop.

“New items?”

Without hesitation, Suhyeok opened the Hell Shop.

A vortex of red and black energy swirled as the inventory updated.

[Items]

• Reaper’s Robe
• Reaper’s Scythe
• Compass of Spirits
• Locked
• Locked

[Skills]

• Reaper’s Step
• Thread of Sin (NEW)
• Locked
• Locked

Suhyeok narrowed his eyes as he read the new skill description.

[Thread of Sin]
Using the Reaper’s Eye, it leaves a red trace of sin along the path of the targeted criminal.
The trace remains until the target dies or the caster cancels it.
Required: 50 Hell Points.

“Perfect timing. 50 points… I’ll hold off on Reaper’s Step for now.”

There was no urgent need to buy it, so he closed the window and resumed what he was doing.

He scrolled through Ishikawa’s disgusting record of corruption.

The more he read, the deeper his disgust grew.

Ishikawa was not some “forced victim” as he had claimed in his dying words.

[This Thursday we’ll release a large batch of “Candy.” Clear your district that day.]

[Thursdays are tight. I’ll use a company dinner as an excuse. If anything happens, I know nothing.]

[Don’t worry. My guys are clean. Payment is at the “place.” Take it. 20:00.]

[Okay.]

[The guy we took care of last time was found. I’m pushing it as a hit-and-run, but higher-ups are suspicious. Lay low for a while.]

[This cop. Watch your mouth. You took the money, so act accordingly. You want your family found as corpses?]

[…Fine. I just meant be careful. Sorry.]

He was calmly selling out the authority of the state.

Scheduling patrol routes, pocketing money, laughing behind the scenes.

[Today 1 a.m., dump operation will be 3x volume. Keep patrol away.]

[I redirected all patrol units to the opposite food district. Two hours of clearance.]

[Money is in the laundromat locker.]

[Confirmed.]

[One of our guys hit a civilian at a bar yesterday. CCTV caught it outside a convenience store. Delete it before it becomes a report.]

[Handled it.]

In the end, they were all in it together.

A detective selling out informants, taking cash from lockers, laughing as he did it—

Just imagining it made bile rise in his throat.

While Suhyeok was searching for clues about Kim Kyungsoo, the phone vibrated again.

Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.

A real-time message.

[2 a.m. today. Proceed with double the usual drop volume at OO-dong. Things feel off today, tighten control.]

“2 a.m…”

If he caught a “runner,” he could trace the factory.

After wiping the phone carefully, Suhyeok placed it back into the console box.

If the police found it later, Ishikawa would not be recorded as missing—but as a corrupt officer who fled.

He removed the dashcam memory card and headed off on his scooter.

On the way, he tossed it into a dark sewer grate.

After returning home and eating a late dinner, he immediately checked the Hell Shop.

He purchased Thread of Sin.

The skill did not arrive like an item. The moment he confirmed the purchase, a faint black light shimmered through his body and vanished.

[Name] Han Suhyeok
[Occupation] Hell Reaper
[Level] 3
[Status] Mark of Hell
[Skills]

• Reaper’s Eye
• Punishment of Sin
• Hell Shop
• Reaper Body
• Thread of Sin
  [Hell Points] 10

He needed to accumulate points again for Reaper’s Step, but he didn’t feel regret.

2 a.m.

Suhyeok rode his scooter to OO-dong on time.

In a wide district, trying to randomly track a runner was nearly impossible.

But he had the Compass of Spirits.

“Find him. The rest will be handled by Thread of Sin.”

The needle beside the speedometer trembled violently as he scanned the area.

After some time, a delivery rider passed by at high speed.

In that brief moment, the compass needle spun wildly and pointed at him.

“Damn it, I couldn’t confirm with Reaper’s Eye.”

Suhyeok immediately turned the handle and chased after him.

He closed the distance with a screaming old scooter.

Above the rider’s head—

• Drug transport
• Drug manufacturing

“Found him!”

He wasn’t just a courier.

If he was involved in manufacturing, he would definitely know the location of the factory.

But there was a problem: noise.

The rattling of his old scooter echoed through the silent night, too loud to hide.

But Suhyeok now had a new skill.

“Thread of Sin.”

A blood-red line began trailing from the scooter’s rear wheel, stretching across the ground.

He stopped at the roadside and waited until the engine noise faded into the distance.

Even though the target disappeared from sight, it didn’t matter.

In the darkness, the glowing red thread slithered like a snake, marking the way.

Suhyeok lowered his helmet visor and slowly twisted the throttle.

“It’s better to move carefully than to get caught rushing.”

After all, with Cheolsu gang already losing men one by one, tension inside their organization must be at its peak.

He was slowly closing in on the truth.

And if the trail was cut and they disappeared again, he would be left chasing ghosts.