# Chapter 16:
Detective Choi Min-joon stood stunned, staring at Kang Jin-woo who was calmly standing over the bodies of two cult members. The scene was surreal and terrifying. This mysterious young man, who had appeared out of nowhere, had dispatched two armed men in the blink of an eye, with a cold efficiency that made the veteran detective's blood freeze in his veins. He didn't know whether this young man was an ally or a greater threat than the cult itself.
"What... what did you do?" mumbled Detective Choi, his voice still carrying traces of shock.
Jin-woo smiled a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I removed some garbage that was blocking our path. Shouldn't you thank me? They were about to turn you into a human pincushion."
Detective Choi swallowed hard. This young man was talking about killing with chilling detachment. "I don't know who you are," said the detective, trying to regain his composure, "but this is murder. I should..."
Jin-woo interrupted him with a soft laugh. "Murder? Detective, we're in the port district, in the middle of the night, in front of a warehouse that looks like the scene of a much bigger crime. And these two men were carrying knives and appeared to be about to commit another murder. I think the world is a slightly better place without them. Don't you agree?"
Detective Choi couldn't argue with Jin-woo's twisted logic, at least not at the moment. His curiosity and desire to uncover the truth behind the disappearances were stronger than the police protocols he was no longer fully bound by anyway. He looked at the warehouse door, then back at Jin-woo.
"Do you have any idea what's inside?" asked the detective.
"I have some guesses," said Jin-woo, nodding toward the warehouse. "And the whispers of my little heart tell me it will be something... highly entertaining." Jin-woo pulled out a small, powerful flashlight from his pocket, which he had "borrowed" from a store. "Are you coming, detective? Or are you going to leave all the fun to me?"
Detective Choi hesitated for a moment, then nodded. He knew he was entering a dangerous zone, not just because of what might be inside the warehouse, but also because of his new and unexpected companion. But he couldn't turn back now.
Jin-woo broke the rusty chain and lock on the warehouse door with surprising ease, using a thin metal piece he produced from somewhere. The heavy door opened with a loud creak, revealing pitch darkness and a foul smell resembling a mixture of decaying chemicals and old blood.
[The smell of death and despair is strong here...]
[Whisper: ...rituals... sacrifices... something terrible slowly awakening...]
The heart whispers in Jin-woo's head became clearer and more insistent. This place was saturated with dark energy.
Jin-woo entered first, with Detective Choi following closely behind, his flashlight trembling slightly in his hand. The warehouse was large and mostly empty, but in one distant corner, they saw a faint light seeping from under a closed door.
They headed toward that door cautiously. As they got closer, the smell of blood grew stronger. Jin-woo heard a faint buzzing sound, and something that sounded like slow dripping.
Jin-woo pushed the side door carefully. The room behind it was smaller than the main warehouse and appeared to have once been an office. But it had now been transformed into something else, something disgusting and disturbing.
The walls were covered with strange symbols drawn in blood. In the center of the room was a temporary stone altar, with dark stains that looked like dried blood. There were black candles burning in the corners of the room, casting dancing, eerie shadows on the scene. And on the floor were several rusty cages, some empty, and some containing horrifying remains: animal bones, and some torn clothes that seemed to belong to humans.
"My God..." whispered Detective Choi, his face pale with horror and disgust. "What the hell is this place?"
[Ritual site (Sons of the Bloody Dawn) – Partially active]
[Description: This place is used for blood rituals and minor sacrifices to the "God of the Bloody Dawn". The dark energy here is concentrated but unstable.]
[Detected traces of a weak, incomplete "shadow gate" nearby.]
"It seems our friends from the Sons of the Bloody Dawn cult have been very busy," said Jin-woo, his voice eerily calm as he examined the place. He showed no sign of disgust, but rather a gleam of morbid curiosity in his eyes.
Jin-woo noticed some books and manuscripts scattered on a table in the corner of the room. He approached them and began to examine them. They were written in a strange language and filled with symbols similar to those on the walls.
"Can you read this?" asked Detective Choi, pointing to one of the books.
"Not completely," said Jin-woo. "But I can understand the essence. They're talking about summoning an ancient entity, the 'Messenger of the Bloody Dawn'. It requires many sacrifices, lots of blood. And it seems they were using this place as an experimentation center, or perhaps as a nursery for small shadow creatures they summon through that incomplete gate."
Jin-woo pointed to a dark corner of the room, where the air seemed to ripple and distort slightly. "There. That's the gate the system is talking about. It's weak, but it exists."
As they were examining the place, they suddenly heard a sound from outside the room, the sound of heavy footsteps approaching. Then they heard a hoarse, angry voice.
"Who's there? Is that you, scum? Did you catch the intruder?"
Jin-woo and Detective Choi looked at each other. They weren't alone in the warehouse.
"It seems the party isn't over yet," whispered Jin-woo, with a wolf-like smile on his face. "Are you ready for some extra fun, detective?"
Detective Choi had no time to respond. The door to the room suddenly opened, and a huge man appeared wearing a bloody robe and carrying a large axe stained with blood. His face was disfigured with ritual scars, and his eyes burned with fanatical madness.
[Ritual Guardian (Sons of the Bloody Dawn) – Level 5 (Fanatic)]
[Description: A warrior devoted to the cult, slightly enhanced through blood rituals. Physically strong, but slow and of limited intelligence.]
[Skills: Axe use (medium), Enhanced strength (slight), Pain resistance (medium).]
"Intruders!" screamed the guardian, raising his axe. "I will offer your souls as a sacrifice to the Bloody Dawn!"
The guardian rushed toward them, the axe swinging through the air. The scene was chaotic and terrifying, but Jin-woo felt more alive than ever. The darkness was calling to him, and he was ready to dance with it once again.