#27 Ten Evils: The Butcher (1)
The dark web wasn't your typical community.
It was a place where any Awakener or villain involved in crime could join, even drawing in renowned, high-and-mighty villains.
To be precise, the dark web had recruited those villains themselves.
That was how even 'Butcher' Park Sang-pyeon, who seemed utterly disconnected from anything internet-related, ended up learning about the dark web.
The moment his name climbed onto the Tower, they'd sent lavish congratulatory gifts and invited him aboard.
After that, whenever he got bored, Park Sang-pyeon would poke around the dark web using the device they'd left behind.
Searching his own name and reading the posts that came up had become a peculiar pastime.
Lately, a certain rookie had been popping up constantly on that dark web.
At first, Park Sang-pyeon brushed off the new name's emergence without much thought.
This community always got hyped over fresh villains anyway.
Even when overreaching posts tried to link him with those bastards, he didn't fly into a total rage. He'd just pulverize the guys he'd met that day twice as brutally as usual, but it was bearable.
But after this latest incident, they'd crossed the line.
"These fuckers think those punks deserve to climb the Tower? Without even knowing who they are? Saying they'd beat someone like me with ease?"
Turning an auction house packed with Korea's top hunters was impressive, sure, but it was still petty theft. No one had gotten hurt or killed there, after all.
Next, Beltsmets had hit a research lab—pinpointing a facility churning out modified humans showed real intel prowess, but the opposition there was basically civilians, nobodies at best.
And this time? Even with a 7-star hunter involved, they hadn't beaten him in a fight—they'd just snatched the monster trophies he'd caught and run. Petty theft again.
Yet the dark web was claiming those guys were better than Butcher Park Sang-pyeon.
Boom. The desk shattered under his temper, unable to withstand it.
The other Tower members pretended to be above it all, ignoring the dark web, but Park Sang-pyeon was different.
This was his one and only achievement—climbing the Tower.
He couldn't forgive anyone tarnishing it, no matter who they were. He knew they mocked even this quirk of his, but it pissed him off to no end.
"Fine, fine. Yeah, I've been laying low lately. Not living up to the Butcher name, too quiet."
It was true he'd been holding back recently, not befitting a Butcher. But it wasn't because he'd lost his edge, like those idiots assumed.
"Kuhuhu."
Park Sang-pyeon grinned ominously at the sword in his hand.
During that gate raid where he'd backstabbed and looted those hunters, he'd scored an artifact beyond his wildest dreams.
"It just took time to master this sword."
Mana flowed from the blade itself. Gripping the hilt sent that mana surging straight into his body, granting immense power—at the cost of burrowing into his mind.
A few rookies who'd grabbed it had gone berserk on the spot. Devoured by the sword.
Park Sang-pyeon had watched it all closely—after all, he'd made those rookies take hold of it.
Even he'd nearly been consumed a few times. But in the end, he'd dominated it, bent it to his will.
"Please, please."
Park Sang-pyeon turned at the pleading voice interrupting his glee.
"Can't you let me go now? I swear, I won't tell a soul about what happened here!"
He chuckled at the man's words.
"Kuhaha! Why? Why won't you tell? Did I ever tell you to keep your mouth shut?"
"W-Well..."
The man rolled his eyes desperately.
To master this sword, Park Sang-pyeon had sacrificed over fifteen hunters. Five he'd watched go mad while gripping it; the other ten he'd slain as they swung it wildly.
A decently famous raid team, but he was the sole survivor.
Who'd want word of that getting out? But the man before him was no ordinary guy.
He blurted hastily,
"Th-Then I'll spread the word! How great the Butcher is! H-How amazing you were!"
Park Sang-pyeon's lips curled up. Had he finally hit on the right answer? Hope flickered in the man's eyes, a path to survival opening.
"Good, good. Everyone will know soon enough. How incredible this Butcher has become—nothing like those Beltsmets bastards!"
Park Sang-pyeon hefted the sword. Crimson veins bulged on his right hand. He'd forcibly suppressed the ominous aura leaking from the blade.
That was the method he'd discovered to control it.
Red energy rippled along the edge.
"Heh."
The tighter he gripped it, the more euphoric he felt. Like he was the strongest in the world.
No—like he was the strongest.
The Butcher trusted his power. True to his name, he'd slaughtered countless souls.
And now he'd claimed this insane artifact.
"This sword is unreal. You saw it, right? Flames spreading from the tiniest cut. Even a scratch seals your doom the instant it bites."
Terror shrouded the hunter who'd witnessed it up close.
"Y-Yeah."
From the moment Park Sang-pyeon raised the sword, dread had rooted in his heart.
"Aaaagh!"
The hunter's body erupted in flames. Fire blooming from the sword devoured him utterly, then vanished.
That from a mere graze.
No one could block these flames.
"No need for you to spread rumors. Everyone will know about me, Park Sang-pyeon, soon enough."
Those who'd mocked him, looked down on him.
His eyes burned red.
"Time to show off my skills after so long."
With that, the Butcher stepped forward slowly.
Do Chae-hee closed her eyes.
Suddenly, memories flooded back from her early days joining the Awakener Crime Task Force. Back then, her 'bulldozer' nickname fit perfectly—she charged through scenes recklessly.
That day had been no different.
Hearing the radio crackle, Do Chae-hee had rushed to the scene. Bursting in, she raised her pistol loaded with special rounds.
Her talent was shooting.
Anything she 'recognized' with her own eyes, she could hit unerringly with whatever she fired.
Paired with her eagle eyes that pierced anything.
She unleashed a barrage into the bank—no need to aim.
Do Chae-hee's bullets never missed.
The three villains were neutralized in seconds.
"Thank you!"
"Ugh, you saved our lives."
Those grateful words had kept her going.
But somehow, they'd faded, distant as echoes from a past life.
When had she stopped hitting the field, buried in paperwork?
When she'd unwillingly plunged into politics?
Her reverie ended there.
Do Chae-hee snapped her eyes open.
She had enemies to crush right now, anyway.
Beltsmets!
The name had surfaced not in domestic news, but some Aussie article. Soon, foreign outlets swarmed with reports on Beltsmets.
They'd screwed over American hunter Teika Cooper.
"Ha, so they'd been gallivanting abroad."
No sign of them domestically, but overseas? Major feats. They'd robbed a 7-star hunter—poised for 8 stars.
She'd suspected as much from the auction heist; they had a knack for theft.
Two mana stones.
"What the hell do they plan with those?"
But that wasn't the point. Crucial was their entry records in Australia.
Tracking their appearance there, Do Chae-hee contacted locals for details.
Three Beltsmets members confirmed on-site.
Using these identities:
23-year-old, B-grade hunter Lee Seung-jun
25-year-old, B-grade hunter Choi Se-jin
19-year-old, B-grade hunter Oh Hye-seong
Spotting a familiar face, Do Chae-hee bit her lip.
Fake names, but the face was unchanged.
The other two were unfamiliar, but she recognized Oh Hye-seong instantly.
'Han Seohyun.'
Issue a nationwide warrant?
But he was only 17. A kid. No direct murder evidence. Associating with Beltsmets was damning enough, but still a child—likely just blindly following their boss.
A warrant would ruin Han Seohyun's life. Branded a criminal forever, no normal path back.
If he was lost on a single-plank bridge, it'd be like snapping it, shoving him off the cliff.
He'd already lost his beloved brother.
She didn't want to cast him into the abyss.
Not yet. There was still time.
Room to turn back. Do Chae-hee shelved thoughts of Han Seohyun, giving him one last chance.
As for the other two.
Choi Se-jin's mugshot was too obscured to confirm, but Lee Seung-jun was unmistakable.
Beltsmets' leader?
Utterly ordinary-looking.
Do Chae-hee burned his face into memory.
Staring at the photo, she vowed silently.
One day, she'd wrench Han Seohyun from that bastard.
And dig up what happened to those ten kids—his crimes exposed.
As she ground her teeth, glaring, sirens blared wildly. Looking up in alarm, someone approached.
"Emergency."
"What happened?"
"The Butcher."
Do Chae-hee blinked at the unexpected name. But the follow-up turned her face murderous.
"That psycho wiped out a whole village."
No time for Beltsmets.
A major incident had erupted.