Chapter 50
Chapter 50
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: The Skyscraper Twins (7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"This is all human bones, right...?"
Kim Arin asked in a trembling voice. I gave a short nod in response.
"Yeah, human bones. All of them."
A mountain of bleached bones piled up in the center of the fourth-floor food court. I wasn't particularly well-versed in anatomy, but even I could tell at a glance that what lay before us were human remains.
"Those are femurs, and these look like ribs... No skulls, but yeah, all human bones for sure."
Lee Minjun, who had been sifting through the bones, nodded in agreement. Just as he said, it was a bit odd—there wasn't a single skull among the heaps.
"...Guess they couldn't stomach eating the heads."
The reason was obvious without needing to look.
They must have drawn the line at eating human heads.
In other words, there was probably somewhere nearby with a pile of just human skulls.
"This isn't just one or two people. There must be a ton of victims. How the hell did these Cemetery Guild psychos plan to deal with the fallout...?"
Lee Minjun's face twisted in rage as he spoke.
"..."
I silently stared at the mound of bones instead of answering.
Only beasts would do something like this. Even accounting for the disaster, it was just monsters popping up.
Could we even consider those wearing human skins, committing such barbarism, as fellow humans anymore?
Maybe they were the real monsters.
"...The whole place reeks of blood."
On top of that, the fourth-floor food court was thick with the sticky stench of blood wafting everywhere. The acrid, metallic tang you might smell in a slaughterhouse.
Kim Arin and Lee Minjun looked puzzled, but that was to be expected. It was a scent only Selverion could pick up.
"...Let's fan out and search. There might be more wounded or captives."
"Got it! Leave it to me!"
"Understood. Scans aren't picking up anything special, but they might have used items to hide."
Just like on the second and third floors, we decided to split up and sweep the fourth quickly. With no undead here, it shouldn't take long.
"...Call me if anything happens."
"You got it! Don't worry."
"Yes, Selverion."
Hey, they were top-tier players worldwide. If anything went down, it'd be the enemy feeling it.
I gave a faint smile as we parted ways to begin the search.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 02.
"......"
Unlike the second and third floors, which had buzzed with energy like exploring a dungeon in-game, the fourth-floor search was shrouded in heavy silence.
"......"
Minjun glanced up at Arin walking beside him. Her usual bright, beaming smile was gone, replaced by a complicated, grave expression.
"Arin."
"Huh? Oh..."
"You okay...?"
She startled at his call, deep in thought. As Minjun asked with concern, Arin let out a heavy sigh.
"No..."
"...Because of the cannibalism?"
"...Yeah."
The top pirate nodded weakly. For nearly an hour, the shocking scenes before her eyes had left her reeling.
"Cannibalism? That can't be real. Even if game and reality merged, this is 21st-century Seoul, South Korea?"
She stopped walking, venting to Minjun as if she couldn't comprehend or believe it.
"This... this is just wrong. Fundamentally wrong."
"......"
"Is it because they've turned into their characters? Necromancers craving corpses or something?"
"Nah, I doubt it..."
Minjun shook his head at her speculation about character assimilation turning them savage.
"The Cemetery Guild was always messed up."
Not because of assimilation,
but because they were always those kinds of guys.
He just hadn't imagined they'd pull their crazy antics in reality, on real civilians instead of NPCs.
"I can't wrap my head around it..."
Arin muttered, biting her lip.
"Killing people, murder—that I get, a hundred, a thousand times over. Not yet, but you, me, we'll have to do it someday."
"......"
"But eating them? That's insane... Do they not realize this isn't a game anymore?"
She looked at Minjun with troubled eyes. He gathered his thoughts, then spoke bluntly.
"...Yeah, there's still a lot of them out there. People mistaking this for a game. People who don't know right from wrong."
"..."
"Sol-sol was like that, Cemetery Guild too. This stuff happens because some see the flipped world as more game than reality."
"Yoon Sol..."
Arin's body trembled slightly.
Right.
Yoon Sol had been the same.
Believing game rules applied in reality, she'd pushed hard for Selverion's subjugation.
And the result of that naivety? Her death and Ace's annihilation.
"Eh, those reactions are inevitable. Turned into game characters—who wouldn't get hyped? Weirder if no one did."
"......"
"The problem is, there's no clear way or group to rein in those treating this like a mere game."
"..."
"Ace got stopped by Selverion in the end, and now SPR's helpless with hostages."
The former Ace vice-guildmaster sighed in frustration. He adjusted his black horn-rimmed glasses, then flashed a soft smile.
"That's why I like Selverion's plan even more."
Selverion's scheme to rally stage bosses herself and use them to check players worldwide.
"...She could conquer the world if she wanted, but aiming for balance instead? That's seriously cool."
"Yeah."
Kim Arin nodded at Lee Minjun's praise of Selverion. He smiled again.
"So we gotta help harder. No point flailing around uselessly. Uh... this is probably something you should say, Arin."
"...True enough."
Uncharacteristic for the usual Kim Arin, but his pep talk landed. She gave a wry smile and a short nod.
"Alright."
Seeing her perk up a bit, Lee Minjun started walking again.
"Let's finish scouting and regroup with Selverion."
"Yeah!"
They headed to the right side of the fourth-floor food court.
It remained eerily quiet, no sign of human shadows. Just faint traces of blood scent in the air here and there.
"Arin."
"Yeah? What?"
"...Bloodstains."
How long had they walked?
Minjun, leading, pointed ahead and stopped Arin. His raised finger pointed to sticky blood smeared on the marble floor.
Freshly spilled, it still held its viscous tackiness.
Whoever bled had been dragged off somewhere. The bright red trail stretched across the food court like painted lines.
"Let's go."
"Right!"
Seeing it, Arin and Minjun followed without hesitation.
They didn't know whose blood it was, but losing that much meant life-or-death.
If a hostage's, rush to rescue and heal. If a Cemetery Guild member's, pursue and finish them off.
"Hurry..."
They raced after the trail faster than anyone. Pirate agility outpaced Scientist, so Arin led, Minjun close behind.
"Over here!"
"W-Wait! Slow down a sec!"
Arin rounded a corner chasing the blood. The gap widened suddenly; Minjun panted hard, hurrying after her around the bend.
"Huh...?"
First into his view after the turn: Kim Arin frozen in place. Then, a unfamiliar voice hit him.
— Hey, just like I said, right?
"......"
Minjun peeked past Arin toward the voice. His expression hardened just like hers.
— Put down some bloodstains, and they'd crawl right here on their own.
— Yeah, yeah, you're a genius...
— Hey, that's how you talk to the vice-guildmaster?! Apologize quick!
— Anyway, this is our shot—Selverion's split off!
"......"
Blocking Arin and Minjun's path stood a dozen or so Cemetery Guild members, bold as if waiting for them.
"Unbelievable..."
Realizing the blood lured them deep into the food court—to wherever the enemy wanted—Arin let out a scoff.
— Hm?
Seeing her scowl, the black-haired woman at the front shrugged and sneered.
— What, mad you got tricked?
She mocked Arin and Minjun. Her red lips curved faintly, revealing sharp, filed white fangs.
Perfect for tearing flesh. Like shark or crocodile teeth.
...And Kim Arin knew only one person with such unique customization.
"Evangel..."
Cemetery Guild's vice-guildmaster,
top-level Necromancer, aka Evangel.
"What a displeasure..."
Undetectable by scans,
absent despite scouring three floors of the mall,
the Cemetery Guild executive had finally shown herself.