Deepen, Deepen
Deepen. Deepen.
Returning as Song Jihyeok, I stepped through the portal back to the house in Uijeongbu and examined my neck with a cold expression. It was fine. The grip had been strong, but there was no need for medical equipment. If it had reached the point of choking my father’s neck, it was time to begin the final phase…
Should I show them how wicked humans can become, just like I had with Sehwa? No. That wouldn’t work.
Yuria had already condemned humans as evil. No matter what vile acts those wicked creatures committed, she would simply deem it natural. The same approach that worked on Sehwa would be useless here. Earlier, when Yuria had choked Kim Taegon’s neck, she had grown excited. To corrupt Yuria—now synchronized with my tyranny—the answer was to let her unleash her violence.
But ordering her to slaughter humans outright might trigger instinctive revulsion. She could devolve into nothing more than a blood-crazed killer. That wouldn’t be entirely bad, but Yuria needed to maintain her sanity while pledging absolute loyalty to me. I would darken her stigma one more stage, then begin the final process.
After lounging on the sofa with a relaxed expression for some time, a clunk sounded and Yuria entered.
“Ah… Jihyeok…”
Her eyes were swollen and puffy. She must have cried heavily on the way back. Using violence against her father would have been painful for her. I understood that feeling. It had hurt me too.
“Did you cry? What happened?”
“Jihyeok… I… Hic!”
As fresh tears threatened to spill, I opened my arms. Yuria rushed forward and buried herself in my embrace. I stroked the back of her neck to soothe her and spoke gently.
“You fought with Kim Taegon.”
“Yes… that’s right… Waaah!”
Yuria burst into heavy sobs. Her tears instantly soaked through my t-shirt. Sorry, but I couldn’t cry along with her. I was in an exceptionally good mood right now.
I lifted her silently, carried her to the bedroom, and laid her down. Pulling the blanket over her, I comforted her for a long while. Yuria cried sorrowfully until the sun went down. The moment she calmed, she explained everything that had happened with Kim Taegon—without adding or omitting a single detail.
“It’s so hard… Hng… Jihyeok… Is this my fault…?”
I listened to her story in silence, then shook my head.
“You did nothing wrong.”
“Hic…! I hate Dad so much…! He deceived me without even blinking an eye…”
“It’s horrible that you’ve lived with a man like that until now.”
Sniffling as she wiped her eyes, Yuria nodded.
“You’re right… I hate it so much… It’s horrible… And lately everything feels so strange. I’ve been getting stupider and stupider, to the point where I can’t even make rational judgments anymore.”
Why do you think that is? It’s because of me.
“No. Your true nature is simply beginning to reveal itself.”
“Is… that what it is?”
“Yes. True nature cannot be hidden just because you try to conceal it. Until now you’ve been benchmarking yourself after the outstanding nobles of the kingdom… but that’s changed. With no one left to watch you, you think this is your world, and your true nature has surfaced. Staying close to a man like that is dangerous. Starting today, don’t go home. Stay here. I’ll remain by your side.”
“Really? You’ll really do that for me…?”
“Of course.”
“What about Sehwa…”
“I won’t leave your side for even a moment. Let’s forget about Sehwa for now.”
Yuria looked overjoyed. She was clearly moved at being placed above Sehwa. Beaming, she began acting coquettish toward me—then suddenly turned serious.
“Dad says he’s going to sue you, Jihyeok… What should we do?”
“A lawsuit is something I can handle at my discretion. If Kim Taegon causes a scene, I’ll simply have him detained.”
“Yes… That’s a relief. And I’m sorry…”
“For what?”
“Dad made you feel unpleasant… I promised I wouldn’t let him bother you…”
Even though it involved using the lab’s technology for personal purposes, even though it meant she might have to commit violence against her own father, Yuria showed not the slightest hesitation. She was only desperate to please me.
“It’s fine. If anything, I feel like I should apologize to you.”
“Why?”
“Because I hit Kim Taegon.”
“Ah, I actually wanted to thank you for that. Thank you for being considerate of my father…”
She hadn’t completely severed her affection yet. Even though he was a pathetic excuse for a father, blood was still blood.
“Is Kim Taegon precious to you?”
“Yes… Honestly, he is. He’s my father…”
“Yet you nearly choked that same father’s neck until he passed out?”
Yuria flinched. Pouting her lips, she offered an excuse.
“Jihyeok… that was in the heat of the moment… I suddenly lost my reason…”
“Is that truly all it was?”
“Huh…?”
I smirked and slid my hand between her legs. Yuria let out a startled gasp at the sudden move. But the moment my fingers slipped inside her panties and began to move, her eyes quickly grew hazy.
“Huuu…”
After caressing her for a brief moment, I withdrew my hand and held it before her eyes.
“Look.”
Yuria’s pupils widened as she stared at the sticky, transparent fluid coating my fingers.
“That’s… because you touched me, Jihyeok…”
“It was already like this before I touched you, wasn’t it? You got excited while choking Kim Taegon’s neck.”
“T-that can’t be…”
“Why not? You said it yourself earlier. That it felt thrilling when Kim Taegon became terrified.”
“…..”
She pressed her lips tightly together. She couldn’t claim my words were wrong. Don’t deny it. Just accept it. You’ll feel even better that way.
I decided to guide her with a little empathy.
“If it were me, I would have felt pleasure while hitting him too.”
“R-really…?”
“Of course. Among the weak there are always rat-like bastards. Kim Taegon is exactly that type. Crushing men like him is always thrilling.”
“But Dad is…”
“He made foolish decisions that led to the kingdom’s destruction, then turned the arrows of blame toward Tyrat. If that isn’t the behavior of a rat, what is? If it had been me, I would have sewn his mouth shut so he could never open it again. So he could never incite the people.”
Yuria’s eyes sharpened. Her gaze grew fierce. As she empathized with my opinion, a purple hue slowly crept from the center of her blue irises, changing their color—before vanishing again.
She had already fallen this far… yet the last remnants of her morality remained the problem. The reason she had hesitated while choking Kim Taegon’s neck was because that final scrap of morality had surfaced. Even though I had begun conquering her from an overwhelmingly advantageous position, she still possessed considerable resilience. That was exactly what made her a Beast Slayer. And the greater the fall, the greater the pleasure.
If I suddenly forced her to cross the line here, that moral sense would surge forth and restrain her. That was why I intended to darken her stigma one more stage. Marcela had already completed all preparations for the final process… so I needed to focus.
“Shall we go out for a bit? Want to clear your head?”
“I… I’d like that.”
“Good. Change your clothes.”
“W-wait… Can I take a shower first… and rest a little longer before we go?”
“Why?”
“My face is swollen… It’s embarrassing…”
Yuria lightly covered both eyes with her hands. How cute. It made me want to devour her immediately. I chuckled softly and nodded.
“Go ahead.”
We took a flying taxi and arrived in Seoul. Even though it was late at night, the streets were bustling and numerous bars were thriving.
I took Yuria to a billiard hall, taught her how to play pocket billiards, and spent time at claw machines—doing all the things ordinary couples did. Today, I decided to indulge every one of her whims. It was a special treat. After all, she had committed patricide and put me in an exceptionally good mood.
“Jihyeok! What’s that?”
Yuria pointed at a street stall. When I saw the food, I let out a small laugh.
“Silkworm pupae. Didn’t expect to see them here.”
“S-silkworm pupae? The ones I’m thinking of?”
“That’s right.”
“Ugh…”
She clung tightly to my arm and scrunched her face as much as possible, even burying it in my chest. Her cuteness was overflowing today.
“Want to try some?”
“…..”
Yuria fell into deep thought and glanced at me, trying to gauge whether I wanted to see her eat it. I spoke honestly.
“Just tell me the truth. I said you could do everything you want today.”
“Umm… I don’t want to eat it. Actually, I really, really don’t want to.”
“Okay.”
At my simple reply, Yuria’s face brightened. When a commotion broke out in the distance, she grabbed my hand and pulled me along. As we drew closer, the noise grew louder. Standing on tiptoes behind the crowd, I saw vigorous young men, heavily drunk, fighting.
Yuria also poked her head out and watched the two men trading punches. After observing for a while, she asked,
“Why are they fighting?”
“They got into an argument on the street, or maybe one of them hit on a girl who already had a boyfriend… There are many possible reasons. Want to watch more?”
“Yes. I want to see more.”
I pushed through the circular crowd and reached the front row. A man in a checkered shirt was mounted on a man in a t-shirt, pounding him relentlessly. He had already seized the advantage, so the fight felt dull.
As expected, it ended quickly with the checkered shirt’s victory. When he kicked the unconscious man’s head and spat on him, a loud siren blared and a police car approached.
“Let’s go before we get caught up in something annoying.”
“Yes.”
Yuria, who had watched the fight with great interest, took my hand. We slipped into the dispersing crowd and left the scene.
Walking slowly to match my pace, Yuria gazed at me intently.
“Jihyeok, the reason those people disturb public order… is because the leader is incompetent, right?”
“You think so?”
“Yes. If they were ruled by strength, they wouldn’t even dare to cause trouble.”
“Correct. You’re even figuring out the answers yourself now… How admirable.”
Yuria’s cheeks flushed red, and the hand holding mine tightened. Seeing her reversed values on full display filled me with satisfaction as well.
“Let’s walk a little more.”
“Yes.”
As we continued strolling, we saw all kinds of people: street scammers, medicine peddlers straight out of the Joseon era, men growling at each other before storming off, fighting couples, a middle-aged man urinating on the street… Among the many human figures, most of the noticeable ones were exactly the sort Yuria would view negatively.
After carefully observing them, she offered her opinion.
“People are only increasing the chaos. The police don’t even seem to bother arresting them—maybe they’re short on manpower. It’s worse than the kingdom I lived in.”
“I see.”
“And the more I think about it, the more pathetic Dad seems. An absolute monarch holds all governing power, doesn’t he? Yet incidents still occur, and a kingdom that stood for so long was destroyed… It means there were serious problems.”
“Exactly. Just looking at his attitude tells you how incompetent he was.”
“If it weren’t for Dad, Mom wouldn’t have died… The more I think about it, the more unfair it feels… If… you had ruled the kingdom, Jihyeok, the result would have been completely different.”
Yuria was revealing her true heart. This was her firm conviction—the conclusion she had reached by herself, while still in a sound state of mind. We had said similar things many times before, but today her words carried complete sincerity.
I smiled brightly.
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. I’m certain.”
I was certain too. That once I executed the final plan and it reached its conclusion, Yuria would fall completely into my hands.
Whoosh—!
As we passed through the commercial alley, a foreigner who appeared to be a tourist catcalled at Yuria. We stopped.
Perfect timing. This was an opportunity to darken Yuria’s stigma further while observing just how violent she had become. Looking around, it was an alley with few people. Even if there had been many, I could handle it.
The corner of my mouth lifted slightly as I asked her,
“Does it bother you?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because insignificant creatures don’t know their place and dare to climb above their station.”
A most satisfying answer. I gave her a single nod. It meant she should do as she pleased without worrying about the consequences.
Yuria, who understood my gesture perfectly, trembled all over like a child nervous before giving a presentation.