By Zephyria 
Lifting his head slightly, Yoo Jiha realized that a broad back had already come to occupy his field of vision. The turbulence of his anxiety gradually subsided.
Then, from Jeong Ing-bar’s right arm—where the Stole had vanished—a massive, opaque hand that could not possibly be called human emerged and seized the Aberration.
「Let goooo!」
Despite the wind pressure generated by the Aberration, the giant hand did not budge, and soon, the muzzles of the Enforcement Division agents’ guns tore it apart.
The Aberration, now restrained by the refinement process, was dragged into a fireproof vehicle. Experiencing the containment of an Aberration for the first time, Yoo Jiha watched the scene while clinging closely to Jeil Heon’s back. His heart hammered at the fact that he had contributed, even if only slightly, to the containment of a dangerous Aberration.
Only after the Aberration was completely locked in the car did Jeong Ing-bar unfurl his Stole. As he softly recited a prayer, the Stole, densely inscribed with Martin Luther’s prayers, fluttered on its own and wrapped around his right arm again. By the time he made the sign of the cross, the translucent giant arm had completely vanished.
It seemed Yoo Jiha was the only one surprised. The arm, with its protruding joints and fingertips as long and sharp as awls, had looked like the arm of a demon or monster from a conceptual nightmare. Without realizing it, Jiha tightened his grip on Jeil Heon’s clothes.
“Were you very surprised?”
The low, resonant baritone voice enveloped his pounding heart. Gently resting their foreheads together with a soft thump, Jeil Heon softly stroked his tense back. Yoo Jiha started to nod, but then remembered they were in the middle of a cold war and hurriedly backed away; however, Jeil Heon was faster.
He grabbed Yoo Jiha’s cheeks and playfully squeezed and pulled them as if telling him to relax. He was being treated like a child again. His eyes narrowed, but since it was before the end of the workday, he decided to be mature and endure it. It was absolutely not because he liked the feeling of his cheeks being kneaded after such a long time.
It was around then that Jeong Ing-bar approached.
“Sunbae, this is the first time I’ve shown you ‘this’ dwelling in my arm directly in the field. What are your impressions?”
“It looks useful.”
“Looks useful… Is that all you have to say as a fellow Bearer, Sunbae? It’s quite a headache, you see.”
At the mention of the title ‘Bearer’ once again, Jeil Heon’s brow furrowed slightly. It was a word he did not wish to bring up in Yoo Jiha’s presence.
“I have never once regretted joining the Management Bureau.”
“If you were in my position, how would you handle this troublesome thing?”
“You could just amputate the right arm.”
Jeil Heon could not understand his intention. Unlike a Bearer, for whom separating the Essence of an Aberration mixed into the body is impossible, Jeong Ing-bar was an Aberration—specifically, a demon possessor. While possessors are less efficient in utilizing abilities than Bearers, their Corruption Level is not high, so the demon can be easily removed by amputating only the possessed part. Since the possessed part was the arm, there would be no threat to his life if surgery were performed immediately after amputation.
However, as soon as the answer finished, Jeong Ing-bar’s easygoing expression stiffened, and the agents who had been eavesdropping while tidying up the area gaped. They didn’t matter, but even Yoo Jiha, who didn’t know the circumstances, flinched. After thinking for a moment longer, Jeil Heon added:
“If you find it difficult to amputate precisely, I will cut it for you.”
Since doctors cannot perceive demons, it is difficult to precisely amputate the possessed area. This was his own form of consideration, offering to solve the problem, but Jeong Ing-bar instead let out a bewildered laugh and raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
“Wow, a rookie like me is no match for you, Sunbae.”
“…?”
“I suppose there was a Bearer Sunbae in the past who solved it in a similar way? For example, someone like Sunbae Lee Yeo-jin, one of the most recent Bearers.”
“I’m not sure. Yeo-jin went missing, so there is a possibility he found a method I am unaware of.”
“It would be nice if there were various methods.”
Since Jeil Heon’s demeanor toward the shrugging Jeong Ing-bar was nonchalant, no one felt anything strange about the conversation mentioning Lee Yeo-jin.
‘Lee Yeo-jin…?’
Only Yoo Jiha tilted his head, the unfamiliar name somehow weighing on his mind.
He learned about the person named Lee Yeo-jin shortly after, on his way home. Since Jeil Heon’s work wasn’t finished, Jiha left first, and he happened to run into Jeong Ing-bar in the parking lot, who gestured for him to hitch a ride home.
As he sat in the passenger seat, his worries deepened. He was curious about who Lee Yeo-jin was and why Jeong Ing-bar’s arm was like that, but he felt it would be rude to ask. However, Jeong Ing-bar brought it up first as if it were nothing.
“Comforting doll. You were surprised by that thing on my arm earlier, weren’t you?”
“A… a little.”
“A Djävul—or in Korean, an Aberration—is possessing me.”
Jeong Ing-bar explained that overseas, research on fusing or possessing humans with Aberrations is being carried out secretly. He said that after an Aberration possessed him by accident, he joined the Order of St. John and hunted Aberrations.
“Of course, my darling is one of the reasons I naturalized in Korea, but the fact that such research is banned here played a part. I grew tired of the gaze that treats possessors as experimental subjects. On the other hand, I heard the Director opposed it very strongly even before taking office.”
The idea of an Aberration possessing someone, and then intentionally researching it, was unimaginable. As Jiha hesitated, worried that offering words of comfort might be presumptuous, Jeong Ing-bar smiled brightly.
“Well, it’s true that it’s useful for hunting Aberrations. Instead of using humans, the Management Bureau is at the forefront of developing Major Abnormal Weapons. Setting aside ethical issues, I think the Bureau’s direction is correct in the long run.”
“Was that person, Lee Yeo-jin, a similar case to you, which is why you were curious?”
“No. There were no possessors like me in the Management Bureau.”
Since the Management Bureau of the past fused Aberrations rather than allowing possession, he wasn’t lying. While stopped at a red light, Jeong Ing-bar stroked his chin and made a strange clicking sound with his tongue.
“Hmm, come to think of it, that’s odd. Why was I curious about Sunbae Lee Yeo-jin earlier? Was it because he’s someone who disappeared around the same time as my Sunbae?”
“Did he also go missing 22 years ago?”
“I was in high school in Sweden back then, so I don’t know exactly, but I think the timing of the disappearance is the same. I heard there were talks that he disappeared with his daughter after a family bereavement, suggesting a joint suicide.”
That was the extent of the rumors Jeong Ing-bar had heard. Since it had been 22 years, no one spoke of it, but it seemed to have been discussed slightly within the Enforcement Division following Jeil Heon’s return.
His curiosity was somewhat satisfied, but it didn’t feel completely resolved. He didn’t know why the story of a complete stranger kept bothering him. But if he asked Jeil Heon, they were currently in a cold war. If he yielded first, he would end up as a eunuch who is treated like a child for the rest of his life and only gets to kiss.
‘I-It’s not that I’m dying to do that, but it’s not like I don’t want to…!’
Yoo Jiha still felt wronged about that night when his dick had been abandoned.
Regardless, while Kang Suk-young might know, he didn’t have the guts to contact a distant superior over a trivial curiosity. Therefore, Yoo Jiha sought out a ghost who was close to Jeil Heon and seemed well-versed in the Management Bureau’s affairs.
“Gasp. Were you in the middle of yoga? I’m sorry.”
「Do you have business here?」
“It’s not urgent, but I was wondering if you know someone named Lee Yeo-jin from the Enforcement Division who went missing 22 years ago.”
Before answering, Gong Ran-sa stepped down from the hammock, pretending to recall the memory. If she said she didn’t know, this child might seek out others and obtain unnecessary information. Deciding it would be better to provide some answers, she spoke.
「I could say I knew her mother-in-law better than her. You likely have some connection to her as well.」
“To me?”
「Did I not tell you that someone once prevented you from using your night-vision in the Aberrant Realm? The shaman who neutralized that night-vision was Nam Soon-ho Mansin, Lee’s mother-in-law.」
“Ah… .”
「The only son of the Mansin, who married Lee, was also your junior in middle school.」
He had heard the same story from Jeil Heon when his night-vision broke at the Hansung Opera House. Yoo Jiha asked back in surprise.
“I heard that person suffered a family bereavement before disappearing, could it be…?”
「Your guess is correct. The Mansin and her son died on the same day and at the same time.」
“Was it an accident?”
「An Aberration.」
Gong Ran-sa, who had been explaining without hesitation until now, hesitated slightly, her voice drifting out mixed with a heavy sigh.
「An Aberration called the Smiling Man killed them.」