By Zephyria 
* * *
The Jeju Branch of the Water Abnormality Worship Management Bureau, upon receiving the report, hastily dispatched agents to collect the painting. According to the museum, it appeared to be a painting received from an anonymous donor while they were preparing for an exhibition. Although no explanation accompanied the piece, they decided to exhibit it because it was a folk painting in a style rarely seen.
“The Measurement Center will analyze the details, but it seems to be a new Aberrant Realm that appeared in the vacancy left after the Red Floor Park Incident closed. We’ve tentatively named it ‘Hell Painting.’ The Olle Trail within the Hell Painting is identical to the current landscape. However, when the museum appraised it, the painting seemed to be about 150 years old. It looks quite worn, doesn’t it?”
“But the probability of a landscape from 150 years ago remaining exactly the same is extremely low.”
“Is that why you recognized it as an anomaly immediately?”
At the agent’s admiring exclamation, Jeil Heon merely traced a faint, silent smile.
“Looking at the movement patterns, all the missing persons passed through the museum. I suspect the entry condition is going to the depicted 25th course of the Olle Trail after viewing this painting. That’s why, my Head of Department…”
“I am currently with the Investigation and Exploration Division.”
“Ah, yes. Could your Team Leader and Agent Yoo help with the exploration? We will provide as much support as possible.”
The Investigation and Exploration Division is a department that exists only in the central headquarters in Seoul. This is because the True Eye is rare, and cases where a specific region is part of the entry condition are few. There was also the issue that designating multiple return points to the Ear Guard would complicate the formulas. Because of this, the work of the Annihilation Execution Department in regional branches tended to focus on eliminating Aberrations that affected reality rather than exploring Aberrant Realms or conducting rescues.
This Hell Painting was a case where the location was specified. The request was made because it would take time for exploration agents to travel from Seoul to Jeju Island, but Jeil Heon firmly declined.
“I’m sorry, but I didn’t visit Jeju Island for work.”
Yoo Jiha, who had remained silent throughout the conversation, asked softly only after the agent stepped away to take a phone call.
“Is there another reason why you don’t want to enter the Aberrant Realm?”
“…Why do you think so?”
“Just, because you’re not the kind of person who would avoid something using a holiday as an excuse…”
Jeil Heon gave a bitter smile and rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’m not as diligent or as good a person as you think. Anyway, it’s true that I’d prefer to avoid it if possible.”
Explaining that he hadn’t mentioned it earlier for fear of acting unnaturally, Jeil Heon shared his theory. The series of events—such as ‘spending money won from the lottery’—might be Mae-gu’s intention. If his guess was correct, Mae-gu’s ultimate goal would be for them to enter this Hell Painting.
Of course, he didn’t think Mae-gu, who could toy with him at will if he so desired, would use such a cumbersome method to cause harm. However, it felt unpleasant to be dragged along according to an Aberration’s intent.
As Jeil Heon said, it would have been better not to enter this time. However, that thought changed due to the words of an agent who came running back in haste.
“A fifth missing person has occurred. It’s a tourist who visited the museum before the painting was collected!”
When Jiha tugged on his sleeve and looked up, Jeil Heon ruffled his hair roughly with an expression that said it couldn’t be helped.
The Jeju Branch was deeply grateful and wanted to provide support with Enforcement Division agents, but Jeil Heon declined and only borrowed weapons and Ear Guards. Since the exploration team coming from the central headquarters—who had received the report—would handle the detailed exploration, it was more convenient to have a small party to quickly rescue the victim.
From the moment they arrived at the Olle Trail, Yoo Jiha clung tightly to Jeil Heon’s arm. It was after they had walked about 10 meters in that state. Suddenly, a searing heat wrapped around the air, making it heavy, and both sides of the Olle Trail transformed into cliffs with lava surging at the bottom. Pillars of fire continuously shot up from the boiling lava as if to pierce the sky. The flames were so intense that the Dividing Mist was barely visible.
He had prepared himself, but it was much hotter, hotter, hotter, and hotter than expected. Every breath made his throat feel scorched. He felt somewhat relieved that the Olle Trail between the cliffs was wide enough for two adult men to walk side-by-side without danger, and that an Aberration didn’t appear immediately before them.
“The Great Blazing Hell is a place where various sins are judged, right?”
“Yeah. Murder, theft, lying, and so on.”
“This isn’t a real hell, so how does it judge sins? Just however the Aberration wants?”
“That could be, but more likely, this kind of Aberrant Realm will question the sin directly and judge based on the reaction.”
He explained further, giving the example that if it asked, ‘Have you ever killed a person?’ and the victim wavered, they would be identified as a sinner. Yoo Jiha tilted his head.
“Couldn’t you just lie and say you didn’t?”
“It’s hard. No matter how much you realize this is an Aberrant Realm, it looks as vivid as a real hell. It’s hard for an ordinary person to maintain their mental state.”
“Aha…”
“Even if their mind is intact, if you ask someone who has committed murder, whether directly or indirectly, they can’t help but react slightly. On the contrary, people who have no guilt at all, or those like psychopaths and sociopaths, would pass through safely.”
“It’s somewhat ironic that truly bad people with no guilt are safe…”
“Because there are limits to an anomaly’s imitation.”
Jeil Heon’s gaze slowly scanned the surroundings.
“There are many types of sins dealt with in hell; the key is in what way and which sin they will question…”
The question was soon answered. Without warning, a Hell Warden appeared amidst the pillars of fire, shrouded in flames. It pointed a spear made of fire and shouted.
「Have you and you ever stabbed a person to death-aaaaa!」
If that had been all, Yoo Jiha, who had braced himself, wouldn’t have been too surprised. However, the moment the question was asked, a vivid illusion unfolded before their eyes.
In a place that seemed to be set in early modern Europe, a man stabbed and killed dozens of nobles one by one, pinning them to stakes. Before the screams and death rattles of men, women, and children of all ages had faded, an ancient monarch stabbed and killed soldiers on stakes. Amidst the smell of blood and the stench of thousands of rotting corpses, wooden pillars and rocks with sinners hanging from them surged up, and spearheads pierced and tore through their bodies.
Spears and knives capable of stabbing people to death remain some of the most common murder tools even now, hundreds of years after the invention of the gun. A blood-soaked carnage of countless people killing and being killed unfolded cruelly, like a snuff film.
The Hell Warden entity shouted again.
「Have you and you ever stabbed a person to death-aaaaa!」
“No.”
Following Jeil Heon’s calm answer, Yoo Jiha also shook his head frantically with a pale face. The face of the Aberration, which possessed a single large eyeball occupying 80% of its facial area, suddenly drew close and then vanished like smoke.
As soon as the Aberration disappeared, Jiha hurriedly crouched by the side of the road and retched. The scenes of people dying while spilling blood and intestines were too vivid. Jeil Heon worriedly rubbed his back.
“I really should have come in alone…”
“Ugh… I’m okay… it wasn’t a real corpse…”
Only after a long while of gagging—rendering his effort to eat at the buffet pointless—did his pounding heart finally settle.
“Will a different sin come up next time?”
If so, at least he wouldn’t have to watch an R-rated gore slasher movie where people die. He clung to a faint hope, but the answer that came back was not very optimistic.
“Since it didn’t ask a comprehensive question about whether you killed someone, but specifically asked if you stabbed them to death, it seems the path splits randomly according to the type of sin every time you enter.”
“…”
His vision blurred. Unfortunately, the guess was accurate. After walking a bit further, the Hell Warden appeared again, this time asking if they had ever strangled someone to death. When images of hanged corpses appeared before his eyes, Yoo Jiha reflexively squeezed his eyes shut. Fortunately, the illusions did not penetrate his mind, nor did the Aberration force his eyes open.
The only problem was that the Hell Warden entity appeared suddenly and showed illusions. If he walked with his eyes closed to avoid the illusions, there was a risk of stepping wrong and falling off the cliff, but the solution was simple.
Yoo Jiha closed his eyes and walked while tightly holding the hand of Jeil Heon, whose tone never changed, saying “No,” regardless of what gore movie he witnessed.
How long had they walked through the hallucinations demonstrating all sorts of murder methods? Finally, the fifth missing person was visible. Fortunately, the victim also seemed to have entered the murder route.
The victim was curled up and trembling violently, unable to walk further. As Yoo Jiha approached, quickly composing his expression to reassure him, his face stiffened. The victim of the Hell Painting was a cyber wrecker who had driven a certain influencer to commit suicide.