It was a workshop.
“Apparently, this lodge has seen serial killings before. I nearly fainted when I saw it.”
Honestly, he nearly did. The sight of those grotesque artifacts from past killings was horrifying.
But more importantly, Kim Soleum had found a new use for those bizarre props.
The agent caught on.
“All the bodies we’ve seen so far…”
“Exactly.”
Kim Soleum grinned awkwardly.
“Not one of them was intact, right?”
Because the corpses were made using the preserved parts from the basement, pieced together to look fresh!
That’s why Baek Saheon had to be the first victim.
‘…I couldn’t have done it without help.’
Handling preserved body parts to recreate murder scenes in the dead of night was a task so revolting it made him want to give up on life altogether.
But Baek Saheon, faced with a binary choice between collaboration or death, begrudgingly became an excellent assistant for Kim Soleum’s morbid creativity.
Together, they painstakingly staged the crime scenes.
They placed charred legs into the stove, using Baek Saheon’s sneakers to complete the illusion.
The ground meat and bones in the backyard? Repurposed food items from a freezer behind the storage shed, with bits of clothing scattered for effect.
And the current bloody mess in the living room? The same method.
Although Kim Soleum had done all the actual abducting alone, aided by the unique abilities of his plush companion, Braun.
“People were hidden away while we staged their deaths. Using real body parts meant no one suspected anything.”
“……”
“I figured the real killer might get flustered and stay quiet if I acted first.”
“……”
The plan was as much a psychological play as it was an improvisation in the face of chaos.
But then again…
“You know… someone still ended up killing people, though.”
“……”
“The allergy and the landslide, for example.”
Both happened before Kim Soleum had a chance to intervene.
The landslide might be written off as a supernatural catastrophe, but the allergy? That couldn’t have been mere coincidence.
No one—not even Sherlock Holmes—could figure out someone’s fatal allergies just by observing them for less than a day.
‘Even I only learned about it by accident during a conversation.’
So the idea that someone brought an allergen, like peanuts, into the lodge in advance specifically for murder was even more implausible.
Which meant…
Someone had to have known the profiles of everyone coming here ahead of time and prepared for the killings accordingly.
“Was it you, Agent, who caused the allergic shock?”
“……”
The agent didn’t deny it.
And Kim Soleum…
‘Hmm. As I thought.’
…wasn’t shocked in the slightest!
Shouldn’t he feel some sympathy for the loss of innocent lives?
Well, they weren’t exactly ‘innocent’.
‘The government doesn’t just pick random people for Russian roulette-style sacrifices.’
The Supernatural Disaster Management Bureau uses a method known as the ‘Scales of Malice’ to determine candidates for compulsory civilian conscription.
The scales weigh against acts of ‘motive-less murder’, and anyone with a heavier weight of guilt than that is classified as eligible for conscription.
In other words, only those deemed to have committed atrocities worse than indiscriminate killing are selected and sent into these Disasters.
‘If the Disaster has to operate periodically, they choose people who deserve to die anyway. At least it’s an attempt at ethical balance.’
A very government-like decision, maintaining a veneer of morality.
‘So, this time, too, they’re all probably people who fit that profile.’
And Kim Soleum’s guess was spot on.
The ‘married couple’ turned out to be an adulterous pair. The actual spouse of one of them, along with their young child, had succumbed to despair and financial hardship, leading to a family suicide.
The college students had been perpetrators in a bullying case that resulted in a classmate’s death. They’d been indicted but acquitted due to lack of evidence and had since gone on to join the same hiking club.
As for the designated driver? He was an as-yet-uncaptured child predator.
Even without knowing these details, Kim Soleum had a general sense.
‘A dream lineup, I’m sure.’
Clearly, the government had orchestrated things to ensure the tapes ended up in the hands of these individuals.
‘And they sent an agent to monitor and manage it all.’
That person was standing in front of Kim Soleum now.
The agent spoke, his voice steady.
“They’re all criminals.”
“……”
“Everyone in this lodge, if the law worked as intended, would be sentenced to death in some countries for crimes of such egregious severity.”
He hesitated before adding,
“Everyone except you, who doesn’t have a tape.”
But inwardly, the agent wasn’t confident this explanation would land.
His prior encounters with civilians during missions hadn’t gone particularly well.
Wearily, he raised his gaze.
But…
“Hmm, I see. That makes sense.”
“……!”
Surprisingly, the office worker standing on the second floor nodded easily.
“Anyway, aside from those two, the rest of the group is alive and well, so that’s good.”
Kim Soleum spoke casually, as if the situation were no big deal.
“Even for criminals, killing them must weigh on you. This isn’t a bad outcome, all things considered.”
“……”
Finally, the agent asked.
“Who exactly are you?”
This man had gone out of his way to stage fake murder scenes, appeared unfazed by the agent’s suspicious appearance, and even trusted him based on rational deductions.
No ordinary person could maintain such composure.
“Hmm.”
Kim Soleum let out a deep sigh.
“I’m just… someone who tends to get swept up in these situations.”
“Are you affiliated with the Disaster Management Bureau?”
“Not at all. I’ve heard rumors, though. It’s fascinating to meet an actual agent in person— Ah.”
He suddenly turned his head.
Creak.
The back door to the kitchen was opening.
Just like on the first day.
“It seems the lodge caretaker has returned.”
The ending scene of this Disaster was approaching.