Chapter 482

“Have you caught the lead?”

“Yes. The most likely suspect is someone with a grudge against the victim, and if they have knowledge related to Egypt… it shouldn’t be too hard to narrow down the culprit.”

Thinking about the meaning that Jinseong explained, it was clear that the murderer probably had a personal vendetta against the victim.

Anyone who would carry out such a brutal act hoping for the soul to wander the underworld forever must have had some serious beef.

Moreover, the brutality of the acts pointed to a likely grudge as well.

When you’ve been in this line of work long enough, you can often guess the perpetrator just from the cruelty of the corpse.

If a body is dismembered or mangled, it usually points to murder stemming from personal grudges.

Of course, it’s just a high probability; it’s not always the case.

If there’s a connection to crime, or if surveillance and espionage come into play, people can often die in extremely brutal ways, even without a particular grudge. And don’t even get me started on psychopaths or serial killers.

But at least there’s that possibility to consider.

Right now, the police were probably wracking their brains without a single clue.

This was already something to be thankful for.

Furthermore, there was another lead.

The murderer was likely someone with knowledge related to Egypt.

Not just basic textbook stuff about civilizations or pyramids, but deeper knowledge, like the Book of the Dead or the heart-weighting ceremony… that kind of information could absolutely be a clue.

It could include someone who took a class about Egypt in university, was interested in it, or had traveled there… anything that could be looked into.

“Besides, Egypt has a bit of a reputation for overpriced tourist traps and aggressive hawking, doesn’t it? So, for our people, it’s common to go there on a package tour. Considering that… yeah, it might make it easier to narrow down the suspect.”

The forensic scientist’s face lit up with hope.

But Jinseong couldn’t echo the forensic scientist’s optimistic words.

There was one major fact the forensic scientist had forgotten.

“…Hmm. Unfortunately, the chance that the murderer isn’t Korean is also quite high.”

“Excuse me?”

What the forensic scientist had forgotten was the possibility that the perpetrator could be a foreigner.

They had become so engrossed in the body itself that they overlooked that possibility.

Even though a corpse was found in Chungju, where many foreigners gather!

“…Oh. That makes sense.”

The forensic scientist realized what Jinseong meant.

“Foreigners and Egypt… this is quite the predicament.”

But despite saying that, the forensic scientist’s expression wasn’t particularly grim.

They looked a bit regretful but not much more than that.

Well, it was only natural.

Sifting through suspects and investigating…

That wasn’t the forensic scientist’s job.

That was the job of the police.

It wasn’t their responsibility.

‘That guy’s going to have a rough time.’

The forensic scientist thought about their friend, who always complained about being unable to return home, saying, “My wife and son are going to forget my face,” but once they got into the investigation, they lit up with determination to catch the criminal.

‘It might broaden the investigation range a bit, but looking at how the police are mobilizing, it’s unlikely to become a mess. Since they’ve caught some leads, they should find the suspects soon enough.’

The forensic scientist briefly recalled their friend before turning their gaze back to Jinseong.

“Hmm. Is there anything else?”

“Yes. That’s about all that’s visible for now.”

“Perhaps that necromancy thing…?”

“Hmm. Necromancy, you say.”

Jinseong paused as if contemplating something, stroking his chin before shaking his head slowly.

“That’s not going to work.”

“Oh, I see.”

Following Jinseong’s reaction, the forensic scientist blinked, then nodded as if they understood after noticing Jinseong’s youthful appearance.

They briefly forgot due to the professional vibes, but the shaman in front of them was merely a young man who had just come of age. Moreover, he was a native shaman from the Republic of Korea, a land barren of such practices.

Thus, it made sense that he might not be well-versed in necromancy.

‘That could happen.’

The forensic scientist nodded, as if they understood without needing any more words from Jinseong and didn’t press about other methods.

However…

‘Even attempting necromancy would be pointless.’

The reason Jinseong shook his head wasn’t because he didn’t know necromancy.

He had a mountain of knowledge about it.

Methods like calling a spirit using the hair of the deceased, making structures with the victim’s bones to summon spirits, burning bones to call them, creating idols from decaying flesh, using communication tools like Ouija boards to call forth spirits, summoning thought forms using the deceased’s belongings, crafting dolls from coffins, creating vessels by using parts of the corpse, considering trance states to draw in spirits with drugs, utilizing mirrors, and creating circles with objects to bind souls…

The list of necromancy methods he knew was staggering.

Jinseong remembered the ruins he once visited and all the spells he had collected.

It would be odd for him not to know necromancy.

Yet, he still shook his head because necromancy would be ineffective.

It was obvious that someone had tampered with the corpse to prevent it from being used for necromancy.

‘The “Ba” etched into the rib, the vanished “Ka”, and the vacant “Ib.”‘

Just these three elements alone obstruct the practice of necromancy, and it didn’t stop there.

‘The missing real facial skin. The fake skin covering it. The smudged and erased fingerprints. The poisoned blood.’

Jinseong could comprehend.

Why was the facial skin missing from this corpse?

Why was a fake skin layered over it?

Why was the blood contaminated?

All of this was symbolic.

Tearing away the skin, which significantly impacts a person’s identity and existence, to sever ties, and covering it with fake skin blurred the differences between the real face and the shadow, making the distinction hazy. Contaminating the blood dirtied the primal life force pulsing through it and obscured one of the elements of “Ren,” the ancient Egyptians’ initial name given by a mother to her child when breastfeeding, considered one component of the “soul.”

All of this was to hinder someone from conducting necromancy.

‘And while hindering necromancy, it also ensures that the soul can’t find peace.’

Brutally thorough.

It would lead anyone to think that such meticulousness wouldn’t arise from mere grudges.

But.

‘The perpetrator has no relation to this man.’

In fact, that very thoroughness led Jinseong to conviction.

The one who turned this corpse into a spectacle… was someone he knew.

‘Though it’s somewhat different from what I know, it’s similar.’

Jinseong recognized the shaman who crushes evil people thoroughly.

He knew someone who mobilized all their knowledge and techniques to prevent an evil person from resting after death.

A being diligently covered in symbols to ensure that the evil’s soul couldn’t rest comfortably, pouring their energy into trapping it within their own body.

That person.

That shaman.

Jinseong knew him.

‘Whille.’

A man who would one day be referred to as hell.

A shaman who roams the world, claiming to be death.

The one who whispered in the oracle.

The wandering death.

The perpetrator is death.

This was a certainty.

But…

Despite his certainty, Jinseong didn’t say anything to the forensic scientist.

The reasons were numerous.

First, mentioning the perpetrator would serve no purpose.

Second, there was no reason to disrupt Whille’s errands.

Third, Whille wasn’t a threat to him or his loved ones.

Fourth, Whille’s activities of killing evil did not harm him at all.

Thus, instead of disclosing anything about Whille, Jinseong brought up something different.

“I heard there’s another corpse. Can we see that too?”

“Excuse me? Ah, that should be no problem.”

He mentioned the corpse said to have been killed by a whip.

The corpse of a Japanese fighter.

The forensic scientist nodded at Jinseong’s words and lifted the lid to pull out another corpse.

Clang clang.

With that, another corpse was placed on the bed.

“Well, as you might have already heard, this person died from whip blows. As you can see, they have numerous wounds from the whip. Their skin is torn, their muscles shredded, and the flesh is so mangled that bones are exposed… And, as you can see, there are bruises everywhere, right? Many injuries.”

“They must have lost a significant amount of blood.”

“Exactly. A tremendous amount of blood. Given the intense fights and the continuous injuries… It’s only natural they’d go into shock.”

“Shock, huh…”

“Yes. Given the substantial blood loss… they likely didn’t take long to fall into irreversible shock.”

Jinseong stared intently at the corpse while listening to the forensic scientist.

“I see. Hmm. There doesn’t seem to be anything particularly special from a shamanic perspective… Hmm. I don’t think there’s anything else to discern.”

“Hmm, that seems to be the case….”

The forensic scientist replied, sounding disappointed by Jinseong’s response, and began to roll the bed back to put the corpse away.

Clunk.

Clunk.

With the clattering sounds echoing, the lid reopened, and the two corpses were packed back inside.

Into the cold, chilly space.

In there, they would sleep peacefully, hidden away until the perpetrator was caught.

With that, the two bodies vanished, leaving just the two living beings occupying the empty space.

The two living beings would soon leave that place as well, leaving it to await the return of people in the icy silence just as it held onto its chill.

“Haah. You really worked hard for this corpse examination. How about we go up and grab a cup of coffee?”

“Coffee sounds good.”

However, one strand of hair that just moments ago had been clinging to the owner’s body wriggled like a bug and snuck into Jinseong’s pants pocket as per his command, ensuring that the morgue would be a little less lonely than before.

For even if they had been one body, they now remained connected despite the distance.

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