Carving Out the Rotten Flesh - 11
That man had torn through Seven Seed like a storm. And then he'd vanished like the wind. In the end, he wasn't destined to rule Seven Seed. He had somewhere else he needed to return to. The people of Seven Seed would now have to feel the void he'd left behind. But the things he'd left unchanged remained as they were.
"Get your heads straight. Always stay alert for safety, and even if you're a bit hungry, ration the food properly. You know all this, right?"
"Yes! Of course we do!"
The guards who had been watching the supply mart were gone now. Seven Seed couldn't leave the place unattended for too long either. There had been an internal candidate slated to take over the post originally, but that woman had lost all her rights due to the recent exposé. The one at the center of power now was none other than Yeonhyeon. It was only natural that one of the women who followed her would inherit the vacant 'guard' position.
Yeonhyeon looked at the three women she'd assigned with worried eyes. They'd always loved food. They were the kind of soldiers who devoured snacks the moment they arrived at the unit, then put on pitiful faces in front of the women who hadn't gotten any yet. It was inevitable that sending them out felt more worrisome than reassuring.
"It's our world now anyway, isn't it? Especially since you're tied to that man..."
Yeonhyeon furrowed her brow. "Don't get complacent. The moment we step out of line from what he set, we'll be the ones suffering next."
"Ah, got it..."
Her subordinates pouted their lips.
"By the way, weren't you his slave too, Commander?"
"...Yeah."
Yeonhyeon wasn't good at lying. Not because she was particularly virtuous or moral, but because she couldn't bear the shame if her lies were ever exposed. But right now, she had no choice. She'd been the one who said she didn't want to become a slave, and he'd casually replied that she didn't need to.
Ugh... Bringing it up like that forced her to remember. The two of them—the man and woman—taking over her bed where she used to sleep every night, devouring each other like beasts. That man, who looked so neat and proper without a single wrinkle, had revealed a savage ferocity. Like a beast ripping into a hunk of meat with its teeth, he'd ravaged the woman before her eyes.
Yeonhyeon hadn't been able to sleep or even look away; she'd been forced to watch it all. Humans purely chasing pleasure, trampling another beneath them in raw abandon. There was less blood and pain than she'd imagined. But that gap was overwhelmingly filled by a massive feast of carnal lust that flooded her vision. She couldn't help but get aroused. Her pussy had grown wet, her body writhing in echoes of pleasure.
"E-enough. Why bring that up all of a sudden?"
"Well, Chaeyun's been bragging about it everywhere. I figured you weren't the type..."
"...Drop it."
Chaeyun hadn't hidden the fact that she was his slave, even if she never said it outright. Her clothes had changed completely. Gone was the stiff, authoritative attire; now she dressed like a whore offering her body to any man. A lewd tattoo adorned her womb area, meticulously inked, and she made no effort to cover or restrain those massive breasts. No one, no matter how oblivious, could miss that something had happened.
In that situation, no one could treat Chaeyun lightly. More precisely, they were afraid of how to handle her. If Sunwoo had claimed her as his fuckhole, then hitting or harassing her could be seen as damaging his property. Women who thought, That bitch dared try to snag the man? Good, time to show her—I'm just pursuing justice, couldn't bring themselves to touch her easily.
"Anyway, be careful—trouble could arise anytime."
Yeonhyeon let out a deep sigh and looked at her subordinates. It might have been her imagination, but their expressions seemed somehow different.
"Could you spare a moment, Miss Yeonhyeon?"
"Yeeees?"
Chaeyun appeared behind Yeonhyeon. There were two reasons Yeonhyeon was startled. First, Chaeyun had been her superior for quite a while. Even though their power dynamic had flipped, adjusting wasn't easy. Yeonhyeon still tensed up every time she heard Chaeyun's voice. And second, Chaeyun's outfit was outrageously provocative and slutty.
Can she really walk around outside in something like that? It was the kind of clothes that immediately sparked such thoughts. Her crotch was covered, but her thighs were fully exposed. And there, the red marks of recent fucking still lingered, unhealed.
"I... I need to get these girls sorted and sent out first—"
"The responsibility council summoned you. We don't have the spare manpower to send guards there right now."
"Pardon?"
Chaeyun replied with a deeply furrowed expression. "Uninvited guests have arrived."
/////
The woman with the gun, Siyul, led her squad forward. "We're entering Seven Seed territory now. Everyone stay sharp—no slacking, and don't pick fights with anyone we don't need to."
She scowled, thinking of her commanding officer. The obese, fat man, Seon Jeonghu.
Still, this plan seems pretty solid...
He was strong. Despite his bulk, he was a high-level man. Women who'd resisted his violence mostly ended up dismembered, turned into gruesome decorations in his room. But he wasn't invincible. He couldn't stand against a powerhouse like Katus. Even if they were pouring most of their forces into area liberations.
She knew exactly how the woman who'd led that attack had died—crushed under Seon Jeonghu's foot. If she didn't want the same fate, they had to make this attack—no, this liberation—a success, no matter what.
It's risky, though...
There was talk of a lone man dismantling all of Seven Seed. But Siyul, Seon Jeonghu, and everyone in the organization didn't buy it wholesale. Possible in theory? Maybe. But realistic? No one could shake their heads otherwise. There was no reason a man that strong would wander alone. The story of him solo-toppling Seven Seed was likely massive exaggeration to hype his presence.
So they could shake them up. Seven Seed would be seething with rage. After a man conquered their organization, what he'd do was predictable: slaughter, pillage, rape. Having endured all that, they'd be filled with fury and hate. And into that vacuum, Seon Jeonghu and his group would slip in—posing as saviors, driving out the invader and conquering Seven Seed.
So far, it didn't sound too hard.
But...
Still, she couldn't just laugh it off. Seon Jeonghu's—no, men's—brutality was well-known. Even if they went to Seven Seed, unconditional support wasn't guaranteed. Plus, to oust the new man's forces, they'd have to sacrifice some of their own and brace for combat. The organization's strength wasn't at full capacity right now. The Katus raid had cost them hunters, and to top it off, their attack leader had been trampled to death by none other than Seon Jeonghu.
But they had no choice.
"Do they even know we're coming?"
"Who knows... This is Seven Seed turf, right? No reaction so far is kinda weird."
Siyul bit her lip hard. "They probably know. So we need to figure out why there's zero response..."
If they were lucky, his grip might already be weakening. The guards around here might be deliberately not reporting to avoid hindering the 'liberators.' A neutral possibility: Seven Seed, plunged into chaos, had simply lost their normal surveillance. Worst case, they could be waiting to trap the whole group.
The intel Siyul had was limited; she didn't even know if the man was still here or gone.
"Hoo..."
While she pondered, her squad pressed onward. They weren't equipped for all-out war. With that man around, retaking Seven Seed with just them would be suicidal. The key was linking up with the responsibility council and gauging their will to resist. Succeed there, and they could devise more detailed plans.
Before long, they'd reached the building housing Seven Seed's headquarters. After roughly clearing the zombies inside with melee weapons, they caught their breath and exchanged glances. Anything could be happening. The man might still be inside, stabbing away at the women—or they might have dug a trap and be lying in wait.
Silence fell for a moment. It was broken by a voice from outside the building.
"Hey... you here for Seven Seed?"
The voice carried no tension, sounding almost nonchalant.
"Ah..."
Siyul glanced awkwardly at her subordinate, who mirrored her look.
"Come on in!"
With a heavy sigh, Siyul headed into the building toward Seven Seed. Whatever had gone down inside, she steeled herself not to be surprised.