chapter 71
The Tist Special Investigation Team, tasked with investigating cases related to the Artist—who was virtually impossible to catch and a problem even if caught—didn’t have a lot of work.
A normal investigation team would go out to the scene and collect clues firsthand, but this team mainly compared and analyzed data from other teams, which had already determined that certain cases were related to the Artist.
Even so, they weren’t completely free from duty shifts.
“Because we have to be ready to receive Artist-related case data from other departments at any time.”
Urgent cases could come in at night, so someone had to be in the office to receive them. Moreover, over the years, hundreds of cases had accumulated, all connected to the Artist, so maintaining the records required personnel on duty.
“Ugh…”
Tonight’s duty fell to the head of the Special Investigation Team. He was dozing in his chair but stirred himself to move.
“It’s unusually chilly tonight.”
Even though the office heating was on and he had a blanket over himself, he still felt cold.
“It’s just past midnight… how am I going to survive until dawn…”
Thinking this, he got up from his seat. He figured moving around to generate body heat would help him fight the cold better than just sitting and dozing.
“……”
However, as he got up, he scanned the office briefly with his eyes.
“What’s that?”
Something was in the office. Could there have been an intruder sneaking in while he was asleep?
Cautiously, he began moving around.
“No… no… no…”
He checked under each team member’s desk to see if anyone was hiding. Of course, no one was under any desk.
“…Well, if someone had been hiding, I would have sensed them…”
Raising his head, the team leader froze. Someone was standing right in front of him.
“……”
“Sorry for the surprise.”
The person spoke casually. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to intend harm, but their appearance was highly suspicious. Their clothes covered their entire body and concealed their figure, and their face…
“…What?”
Trying to look closely, the team leader realized he couldn’t properly see their face. He understood that the person was deliberately hiding it.
“Oh… you noticed the mask.”
Quite perceptive. Better than some mediocre Aura Masters, actually.
“…Thank you for the compliment.”
A mask… an artifact, perhaps.
The team leader thought this and voiced his guess at the stranger’s identity.
“Are you… the Artist?”
“Yes.”
The team leader swallowed hard at the confirmation and spoke.
“So, you came to me knowing we’d want to get in contact with you.”
Was there a spy inside the police… inside the Special Investigation Team? He wondered while asking.
“And since you came here, can we assume you’re willing to provide the information we want?”
The Artist quietly nodded in response, and the team leader let out a silent sigh of relief. Thankfully, even nominally, the Artist didn’t oppose the Special Investigation Team pursuing him. That was the first major hurdle cleared.
“…Then, what information will you provide us?”
The Artist opened a pocket dimension and pulled out several documents.
“…A bracelet-type artifact? And it looks pretty large.”
It made sense. The Artist was known to store multiple swords in his pocket dimension and retrieve them as needed. Naturally, the dimension was large. As the team leader marveled, the Artist spoke.
“This is a list of human trafficking organizations that send kidnapped people and captured monsters to the terrorist group making Chimeras.”
The Artist made a statement that couldn’t be ignored.
“…Chimeras? You mean the ones you caught before?”
“Yes.”
The team leader struggled to follow, but the Artist didn’t care and continued.
Starting with the Sydney terror attack, the group had spread Chimeras to developing countries worldwide. Some had infiltrated South Korea and were closely connected to human trafficking organizations. Furthermore, these traffickers used magic to distort people’s perception.
“…Magic?”
The team leader knew something about magic and frowned. Magic wasn’t inherently superior or particularly secretive, but unlike conventional magic, its system was different, so few could recognize it without knowledge.
“I see… so…”
Though not an expert, he acknowledged that magic might be used in human trafficking.
‘Above all, the Artist has no reason to lie to me.’
The Artist then said:
“I’ll leave the human trafficking part to the police. Of course, if you say evidence from a criminal isn’t trustworthy, I can’t argue.”
“…You’re funny.”
Receiving the documents, the team leader spoke.
“Artist, all those who put bounties on you are long gone. True, you’ve committed crimes, but I doubt any police officer thinks you should be sent to prison island.”
If there were, they’d be shady characters.
“So don’t worry. There may be some who blindly follow the info you provide, but none will dismiss it as unbelievable.”
The team leader turned to leave, but the Artist stopped him.
“The human trafficking organization will be difficult to handle.”
Concerned for the police? The team leader chuckled inwardly and replied:
“The police aren’t that weak. Unless there’s a monster like an Aura Master or Archmage, we can handle them.”
“…I don’t just mean brute force. They’ll use magic to hide and escape or ambush us.”
Could they prevent that?
“……”
The team leader’s expression stiffened. Indeed, if the traffickers acted like that, there was no easy way to stop them.
“Here.”
The Artist handed a box to the grim-faced team leader.
“May I open it?”
“Of course.”
Inside were items familiar to the team leader.
“…Metal detectors…?”
“Detectors, yes, but not metal detectors.”
The Artist smiled knowingly and explained.
“If I had to name it… let’s call it a Soul Detector.”
In the past, I had acquired a sensor from the lab of the doctor who made Chimeras.
[This device sees the essence of whatever it shines upon.]
[It then emits a signal based on what it sees.]
[In other words, this sensor detects immaterial things like souls, thoughts, and concepts.]
I was amazed at the time. I could sense immaterial things myself, but only because of my training in Sammaejinhwa. I never thought to make a device to do it.
‘Although my lack of engineering knowledge helped explain why.’
That was five years ago. Now, with Arthur’s help in England, I had completed a working Soul Detector.
Arthur, the doll, had exceptional analytical abilities. He reverse-engineered the sensor and applied it to create the detector.
Of course:
“The downside isn’t nonexistent. It detects all souls. Performance is great, but it’s so sensitive even bugs trigger it.”
“…Still, this can bypass magic for sure?”
“Yes. No matter the magician, they can’t hide or manipulate souls.”
This applies to other beings too, though there’s no need to discuss them now.
“I see. Thanks for the support.”
With the Soul Detector in hand, the team leader quietly left the police station.
‘…Hmm…’
Now the police, including the Special Investigation Team, could fully focus on dismantling the human trafficking organizations. Since magic was involved, they would hire outside experts to trace magical traces.
‘Of course, if Oracle’s terror group acts openly, the police alone can’t handle it…’
Then it would become a battle against a terror group, and guilds and military forces would also mobilize.
‘For now, I’ve done everything I can against Oracle.’
What else could I do? How can I stop Oracle from taking further action? How can I thoroughly harass him? I walked, thinking, “…I should probably put the Oracle issue aside for now. There are still plenty of others to deal with in Korea.”
“Is this… real?”
“Yes. Last night, the Artist came to me on duty and handed it over.”
The team leader gathered his members and showed them the documents and Soul Detector given by the Artist.
“Detecting souls… if true, this must be one of the most sensitive detectors in the world.”
“Since the Artist likely didn’t lie, it must be real… and he left so many of them…”
The team’s eyes gleamed at the Soul Detector. Even today, with so much technology to deceive detectors—airport scanners using magic or mental detection—the Soul Detector was revolutionary.
“Of course, it can’t check for smuggled goods,” the team leader added. Usage is limited, but its value remains high.
“This Artist… what a stockpile of tools.”
“Perhaps he has incredibly wealthy allies among his colleagues.”
While discussing, the team examined the documents. The team leader then said:
“Tonight, after I borrow personnel from another team… we begin the cleanup operation. Starting with the organization at the top of the list.”
The team members nodded in understanding.
