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[Look at that pool of blood. Wow, isn’t it up to the ankles?]

[Not quite up to the ankles… but definitely seems like it’s up to the shins!]

[What on earth did they kill to have this much blood?]

The building’s appearance was horrific.

It was so grotesque that even the term “slaughterhouse” felt inadequate.

Animals were either chopped into bits or scattered about like ragged cloth, their corpses drenched in the blood pooling on the floor. Furthermore, various thick hooks were mounted throughout the structure, each one bearing the mutilated remains of an animal that appeared to have been purposefully butchered, dripping blood onto the floor.

The falling blood splashed onto a strange, humanoid statue positioned beneath the hooks.

With its eyes closed and legs crossed, the bizarre statue soaked up the blood pouring down from above, resembling a practitioner undergoing some ritual beneath a waterfall. Occasionally, it would emit a faint blue glow after being drenched.

[Wow, that’s impressive.]

[Is there some weird religious group involved?]

[Religion? Seriously? This looks like a ritual of magic to anyone with half a brain!]

To anyone who wasn’t a naive three-year-old, it was unmistakably apparent that they were conducting a suspicious ritual of magic.

“No, no! It’s not magic!”

Michisige shouted loudly, perhaps to clarify against the journalists’ chatter.

He hoped his voice would reach them through their smartphones, that he might get a chance to explain himself.

But the inspector across from him simply laughed scornfully.

“Hey, do you really think I’d let you explain? No matter how much you yell, you won’t be able to get a single word through to them over there.”

He chuckled as he poked at the air, 20 centimeters away from the smartphone.

The magical barrier wobbled slightly, briefly revealing its presence before sinking back out of sight.

“If I don’t drop this barrier, your sounds will never reach over there. Sure, what comes from over there will penetrate your ears just fine, though.”

“Let me go!”

Michisige glared at the inspector with fiery eyes, shouting in desperation.

In response, the inspector raised an eyebrow, bemused.

“Why should I?”

He laughed incredulously.

“What, do you think you can order me around? Or are we bonded inextricably somehow? Goodness, seeing you be so bold makes me feel like my wife is sitting right in front of me. Hahaha!”

The inspector continued to mock him for a while, before pushing his smartphone towards the seething Michisige.

“Just shut up and watch.”

It was a one-way video call.

The communication allowed for only one direction, resembling an internet broadcast more than anything.

Despite this ridiculous setup, Michisige had no choice but to accept even such unjust communication.

Even if he didn’t want to, he couldn’t opt to defy the inspector’s demand right in front of him.

“Ugh.”

The journalists’ faces soured as they hesitated to enter the “slaughterhouse” showcased on the video.

Having reached the front door, they repeatedly flashed their cameras, reluctant to step into the blood-soaked area filled with meat and shadows while Jinseong stood waiting, beckoning them to come in.

But the moment was fleeting.

For journalists, landing an exclusive story meant risking their lives without a second thought.

They would rather endure a scolding from the editor or the boss than return empty-handed, so they bit the bullet and walked inside.

One by one, they stepped into the warehouse, heading towards the blood-splattered space filled with the stench of blood as their faces contorted with disgust, emitting groans like “Ugh!” and “Ew!”

As they trekked into the warehouse, the sloshing blood quickly rose to their shins, splattering onto their pants with a strangely sticky texture as they walked step after step.

On top of that, the odor heightened their discomfort.

“Isn’t the blood one thing, but there’s no rotten smell at all?”

“So, this blood must be pretty fresh, huh?”

“In places like this, there’s usually a signature odor. Besides, it turns rancid and starts smelling after a while. There’s none of that here.”

The air was filled with the smell of blood, yet the putrid stench was conspicuously absent.

The oddly ‘fresh’ scent amidst the horrid scene gave an unsettling impression beyond expectation.

“Come to think of it, no rotten smell, and see—there are no flies around?”

“And this place isn’t particularly cold, yet there are no bugs or rotten scents?”

“Hey! Look at that butchered carcass! Normally, there’d be maggots, but nothing’s here. You’d think it just came out of a refrigerator.”

“Ugh! The muscles are still twitching! Feel that? Gross!”

“Is this preservation magic?”

“There’s no special smell and I can’t feel any magical presence, though.”

“So, does that mean it was just slaughtered?”

By now, the journalists had started chatting, as if they had acclimatized to the unpleasantness.

Or perhaps they were trying to distract themselves from it through conversation.

“Earlier, I didn’t notice any butchers around.”

“Hey, if they were real butchers, would the carcasses look like that? They’ve clearly been hacked to pieces.”

“Weren’t those just used to test knives?”

“Maybe? Wait, there’s a pig’s head here—let me check… Huh? This doesn’t look like livestock.”

“What? Why?”

“A livestock tag should be there for managing it, but there’s nothing at all. It’s spotless.”

“No signs of vaccinations or anything?”

“This might be a wild animal?”

“But it’s too clean for a wild one, right? What the heck?”

“No, this isn’t a wild animal. The fur is clean, and the skin is pristine. Besides the cuts, there aren’t any scars. This looks like it was raised in a barn.”

The reporters furrowed their brows as they pondered the scenarios unfolding before them.

It seemed like whatever they were looking at couldn’t simply be categorized as livestock.

And labeling it as a wild animal didn’t hold up, either.

It was as though a creature had just dropped from the sky.

Or like someone had brought in a cherished pet they’d cared for devotedly.

“Hey, everyone. Is that puzzling you?”

As the journalists debated the origins of the animals, a clear voice echoed from afar.

When they turned to see, there stood a Shinto Priest donning a Fox Mask.

“Here lies the answer.”

Jinseong, still in his Fox Mask, gestured with one hand for the journalists to come closer, while grasping a lever that looked like it had been hidden in the wall with the other.

Seeing this, Michisige instinctively yelled out.

“No! Don’t! No—!”

“Aww, don’t shout. It won’t change anything.”

“Stop! Don’t pull it! Damn it! How did you find that out!? Damn it!”

His plea escalated to a frantic cry.

Yet the barrier enveloping the smartphone remained intact, providing no means for his voice to carry, and Michisige’s enraged wishes scattered into the void. Then, without any regard for opposition, Jinseong simply pulled the lever.

KUGUGUGUNG-!

As the lever was pulled, the smartphone’s speaker emitted a heavy noise.

[Door?]

[A secret door! It’s a secret door! Get that on camera! Quick! This is insane!]

[What the hell! Priest, you are the best! The best! I can’t believe I’m witnessing this! Hahaha!]

[This is wild; it’s really remarkable!]

[An exclusive story! A secret door! Incredible!]

[Priest! How did you find this?!]

[Did you use some special method? Or did your god tell you?!]

[I smelled something other than blood from over here. So I just had to take a peek at the wall.]

[Man, this guy’s got a nose! Is he born with it? Or blessed by his deity?]

A secret door.

Not just any dwelling’s hidden entrance, but a horrifying and brutal hideaway concealed within a place deserving of the term “massacre.”

The journalists, filled with excitement over what might be inside, forgot the blood splatters everywhere as they fidgeted, practically trembling with exhilaration.

[Let’s go in!]

[Wait! Do we even have an idea of what’s inside? This is no hideaway or cozy secret place; it’s a slaughterhouse turned hellhole! What if it’s a trap?]

[Trap? What trap? We should hurry in and start filming. Everyone’s itching to see it.]

[No. Now that you mention it, they could indeed have a trap inside, or mechanisms meant to bury any intruders to keep their secret safe.]

[So now what?]

[Call the cops! Aren’t there loads outside who can help?]

[That’s actually a good idea. They came heavily armed.]

But rather than foolishly stepping inside, the journalists chose to call for the police to seek help.

They felt there was no need to risk danger unless it was unavoidable.

[Well, this is a sight to behold.]

[Ugh, the smell of blood!]

[If there’s a secret door in a place like this, chances are there’s someone trapped inside…]

[What? Someone? Are you saying there’s a captive in there?!]

[Well, not necessarily. It’s just a possibility.]

[In the worst-case scenario, that might just be the case, or perhaps it was just put there to hide the dismembered bodies.]

As they waited, the police arrived cautiously, stepping into the passageway.

Trained to be vigilant, they moved slowly along the expansive hallway.

After descending a gentle slope for some time,

they finally reached their intended destination.

[Uh…]

[A barn?]

[How on earth is there such a thing underground?]

The path through the secret hallway led to a spacious underground area stuffed with myriad livestock.

Cows.

Pigs.

Deer.

Dogs.

In the expansive subterranean space, these four types of animals were crammed into cages, writhing in pain.

[It’s like a smuggler’s den…]

[Who stacked the cages all the way to the ceiling?]

[How many animals are crammed in here? There must be hundreds…?]

[Not just that, but the cages… they’re completely filled with animals. Even smuggler’s wouldn’t go this far.]

One journalist muttered in disbelief.

[Is this a dojo for warriors? No, it’s a Burakumin (部落民) gathering place…]

 

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