Chapter 2
Chapter 2
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Yuri
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Yuri
Dodged the axe.
Dove into his embrace.
Smashed his chin with a right fist.
Followed up with a left fist.
Grabbed his head with both hands and snapped it.
That was what had just happened. Oh Bong-chun died with his neck broken.
Yuri was the one who ended up flustered instead. He had thought about doing it that way in his head. But it had been easier than expected, and it had worked out perfectly.
For one, the movements looked too slow. He could instinctively sense the axe coming before it even moved. Where it would aim, how it would swing.
“It works, huh...”
Muttering to himself, Yuri recalled memories from before the possession.
The Goddess of Order stood at the opposite pole from the God of Chaos. The priests of the Order Church who served her welcomed possessors, guided them, and trained them before the possession took place.
Lee Soo-hyuk had received that training too.
“...”
Could that even be called training? What Lee Soo-hyuk had gone through was violence masquerading as education.
In the mental space called the waiting room, Lee Soo-hyuk had been beaten countless times, rolled across the floor, forced back to his feet, and made to charge at the priests as they commanded.
‘Fuck you, Lorellia.’
His body shuddered as he remembered the attending priest who had praised violence with a refreshing smile.
“Hyung? Hyung!”
Oh Bong-seok, clutching his ankle, kept calling out to his dead brother as if he couldn’t accept the situation.
Yuri was just as shaken. He had no choice, but he had killed a man. Snapped his neck with these very hands.
An indescribable emotion surged up. He had thought he’d never kill anyone in his life...
“...”
At the same time, Yuri understood his situation. Possessor or not, in a world like this, you died if you were unlucky.
So he had no desire to wallow in sentiment. If he hadn’t killed, he would have been the one dead. That was a fine rationalization, and it calmed his emotions.
And his fists hurt.
Yuri glanced at his throbbing fists. The skin on his left fist, which had smashed Oh Bong-chun’s jaw, was torn and bleeding.
‘In the waiting room, I could swing my fists endlessly without a drop of blood...’
The mental world and reality were different, after all. Should he train his fists? Thinking that, Yuri turned to Oh Bong-seok.
“Hey.”
His wrists ached too. Had he sprained them while punching? This Yuri bastard apparently never used his left fist properly.
“Why did you attack this place?”
He had a rough idea of the reason, but he wanted to hear it directly. Oh Bong-seok, staring blankly at his brother’s corpse, flinched and looked up at Yuri.
The Oh brothers hadn’t mastered any great martial arts. If anything, they were third-rate. But with that level of skill and reckless guts, they could thrive in these back-alley boonies without any proper black path sects around.
In fact, just today, the Oh brothers had easily wiped out the Black Snake Gang crew that ruled this area.
They had sent underlings first to create chaos, but it was true that the Oh brothers were far stronger than the local thugs. And like most brothers, the older one was stronger than the younger.
‘A... a master.’
Oh Bong-seok reached that conclusion with his dim wits. His brother, stronger than him, had died without even a scream. And this unknown guy had snapped his neck barehanded, without even using a weapon.
‘That Decan fucker... he wasn’t just pretending to be black path—he really had backing from the real black path?’
If so, was this unknown guy a black path master? With this much difference in skill, yet approaching with a sneak attack instead of head-on... And from how he’d played dead at first to wait for an opening, he might even be an assassin.
If that was the case, it was even worse... Assassins were a group in the black path you absolutely never wanted to tangle with.
“You gonna answer?”
Yuri’s voice grew rough. Only then did Oh Bong-seok jolt in fright and flatten himself on the ground.
“Y-Yes? Sorry, could you say that once more...”
“Why did you attack here?”
“I-It wasn’t my idea. The brother you killed, that fucker—he’s the one who said we should do it.”
“Who asked why? I asked why you attacked.”
Words alone wouldn’t cut it. Yuri picked up the axe Oh Bong-chun had dropped.
“T-To clear out the Black Snake Gang and take over this turf... Th-That’s why! That’s all! If we’d known there was a master like you behind the Black Snake Gang, we never would’ve come here...”
Just as he’d guessed. From the memories he recalled, the Oh brothers had been eyeing Black Snake Gang territory for a while. It was a situation where a fight could break out any moment, and the Oh brothers had simply struck first.
“Who sent you?”
He asked just in case someone else was backing the Oh brothers. If they’d been hired to attack this place, it could put the sole survivor Yuri in a tricky spot.
“S-Sent? Who?”
Oh Bong-seok blinked in confusion. Yuri wiped his still-bleeding nose once more and hefted the axe.
“Tell me the truth, and I’ll let you live. But the one who sent you? I’ll kill him myself. What do you say?”
Snapping his brother’s neck must have impressed him, because Oh Bong-seok was calling Yuri a “master.” He didn’t seem interested in avenging his brother—just saving his own skin. A threat like this might loosen his tongue.
Of course, Yuri had no real confidence he could back it up. If there was actually someone powerful behind the Oh brothers, running away without fighting would be smarter.
“W-What are you talking about? Who would send us to do something like this?”
“I said I’d let you live if you tell the truth.”
“Oh, master...! It’s not a lie. I, Oh Bong-seok, swear on heaven and earth and my parents in the sky that everything I’m saying is true.”
“You an orphan?”
“Yes, an orphan...!”
“Me too.”
It wasn’t a lie. Both Lee Soo-hyuk and Yuri were orphans.
Maybe bonding over shared circumstances would get him to talk? He tried it, but Oh Bong-seok just blinked without responding.
“Oh... Oh dear, master, that’s truly tragic...”
He hadn’t shared that truth just to get pity.
“Really no one?”
“Master...! Believe me. Isn’t it obvious? The Black Snake Gang here isn’t some big deal—they’re just beggars pretending to be black path without even a Black Token! Why would we need backers to hit them?”
Black Token.
It wasn’t an unfamiliar term. It appeared in “Seronis,” the game that had dragged Lee Soo-hyuk into this world, and in Yuri’s memories too.
The Black Dragon Society, the black path alliance commanding hundreds of organizations. Affiliated groups paid tribute but gained the backing of the Black Dragon Society’s name.
The Black Snake Gang wasn’t affiliated with the Black Dragon Society. So even if they got wiped out in a raid, the Black Dragon Society wouldn’t step in.
‘The Black Dragon Society lord in the game was that old monster, Ferocious Monster.’
Yuri’s memories differed. The current Black Dragon Society lord had killed Ferocious Monster ten years ago and taken over.
Not cleanly, either. The new lord hadn’t even given him a warrior’s funeral—instead, he’d decorated the east, west, south, and north gates and the central plaza of Dark Sheep, the city under Black Dragon Society control, with Ferocious Monster’s limbs and head.
Despite such a radical move, the new lord’s identity remained unknown to the world. Rumors said he might be a “possessor,” but it was unverified gossip.
“I only followed because my dead brother said to...! It’s true, please believe me!”
“Got it.”
Oh Bong-seok pleaded toward Yuri, who was frowning in thought. It didn’t sound like a lie. Yuri nodded slightly and continued.
“You told the truth, so I’ll let you live.”
“R-Really?”
“Yeah. But crawl out the door.”
Oh Bong-seok hesitated, glancing at Yuri’s face, then at his own legs. His right ankle was deeply slashed by the knife... No feeling in his toes. The left leg was usable, but it couldn’t support his weight.
‘Fuck...’
Without help, crawling was the only option. Oh Bong-seok finally planted his hands on the floor and started crawling awkwardly. His body drew a line like a paintbrush across the blood-soaked floor.
Watching him, Yuri steadied his emotions.
He had to do it. With that resolve, he strode toward Oh Bong-seok. The crawling man flinched.
“You fucker...”
Oh Bong-seok stopped and spat curses.
“You bastard... You think I don’t know what you’re planning? Let me live? Crawl? You f-fucking...”
Oh Bong-seok wasn’t a complete idiot. He knew Yuri had no reason to let him live, and that charging in his current state meant certain defeat against Yuri.
This guy had killed his stronger brother in one blow, even putting on a stupid act of wildly swinging a sword to set it up. Telling him to crawl to “let him live” was just a ploy to kill him easily.
“F-Fuck, fuck... H-Head. Crush my head. Huh? I did what you said, so please... kill me quick...”
No need to reply.
Crunch!
The brother’s axe smashed the brother’s head. Oh Bong-seok convulsed, then went limp after a moment.
“Whew...”
The feeling was different from killing Oh Bong-chun. His head spun, and nausea rose. Yuri clamped a hand over his mouth and swallowed it down.
‘What now?’
The Black Snake Gang and the attackers were all dead. No backers behind the Oh brothers.
Yuri was alive. Should he just run and become a missing person? Fortunately, Yuri’s relationships were thin, so no issues there.
But he couldn’t flee yet. He still had something to receive from Lorellia. Yuri pulled a key marked “203” from his pants pocket.
“...”
He decided. For now, he’d live as Yuri and assess the situation. In a world like this, a verified identity was too valuable to discard. Getting a new one through black market brokers cost a fortune.
The upside was that Yuri was an orphan with scant ties—same as Lee Soo-hyuk.
‘Our dear orphan-possessing Lee Soo-hyuk is incredibly lucky!’
‘Possessors with parents or family have a high chance of homesickness leading to suicide. Same for those from wealthy, happy lives.’
‘When the possessed body has parents or family, maintaining smooth relations is hard. They might get found out as a possessor and killed.’
His lips ground together as he recalled the cheerful explanations. Yuri tried to shake off the vivid image of silver hair and smiling red eyes.
First, he dragged Oh Bong-chun’s corpse.
Today, these guys had fought among themselves and all died. He had to stage the scene that way.
Black Snake Gang boss Decan’s weapon was a hefty war hammer.
Oh Bong-chun had died from a broken neck. A war hammer would make a believable murder weapon, right? A head smashed by something that size would naturally snap the neck.
No one would investigate deeply into back-alley thugs killing each other in a turf war. They’d probably already paid off officials for the raid anyway. In this world, a few poor dead meant nothing.
He propped Oh Bong-chun’s corpse in a chair. Roughly tilted the limp, broken head against the headrest.
Crunch!
Swung the hammer. The already-broken neck flopped wildly, and the head caved in. He laid the corpse back on the floor and placed the hammer in Decan’s hand.
Next, Oh Bong-seok. Grabbed a nearby machete, hacked a few more times at the ankle already gashed by the dagger. Then stabbed several daggers into his relatively intact back.
“Fuck... what the hell am I doing?”
A hollow laugh escaped him. What should he call these feelings? Nauseating, shitty... Yuri chuckled as he slumped into a seat.
All to survive. Possessed into this shitty game, forced into a shitty life—but Yuri didn’t want to die.
Maybe someday he’d think dying was better when living got too hard.
But not today.
He’d survive somehow.
If possessors killed the God of Chaos, they could return to their original world.
The one who killed him directly even got a wish granted by the Goddess of Order.
‘Padrip Immunity Lee Soo-hyuk can do it!’
Just some guy who grinded the game hard—what made him so special? Lorellia’s voice echoed, her fist pumped in baseless optimism, beaming widely.
Yuri let out a hollow laugh and gripped the dagger.
Like in movies or dramas, he tore a strip from his clothes and bit down on it. He didn’t know exactly what it did, but there had to be a reason.
The Black Snake Gang and the Oh brothers’ crew had fought and all died.
The 20-year-old maknae Yuri had luckily survived the mess.
Surviving unscathed was too convenient a story. Yuri bit down hard on the cloth and looked at his body.
Slashes over stabs, he thought.
“Guh...”
Unlike the violence disguised as training, this was self-mutilation—cutting his own flesh.
He instantly understood why they stuffed something in the mouth during torture scenes in movies and dramas.
*
Gordon of the general store.
He was one of the few good people in Yuri’s sparse relationships.
Even dusty, unsold old goods—he donated them regularly to the Oldor Orphanage, and when business was a bit good, he sent small sums too.
Yuri had met him several times back at the orphanage.
Even then, as a troublemaker, Yuri had gotten lectures from Gordon plenty of times.
After leaving the orphanage and turning to pickpocketing and worse in the alleys, Gordon had nagged him to get a job at the store instead of living like that.
When Yuri finally joined the Black Snake Gang and started gang life, Gordon had sighed deeply.
When Yuri, the maknae, came collecting tribute—he never used old ties to make things awkward. Instead, he asked if Yuri was eating well, shared concerns.
“Yuri...?”
Yawning in his quiet, customer-less store, Gordon shot to his feet at the sight of Yuri staggering in, covered in blood.
“Yuri, Yuri?! You brat! What the hell happened?”
“U-Uncle.”
Yuri stammered his name. Gordon rushed over, supported him, and grimaced.
“What’s all this blood...! Don’t talk. Stay still.”
His top, soaked and slashed everywhere, was more rag than clothes. Gordon stripped it off and examined Yuri’s body.
“You...”
Old scars and burns. New wounds on top. Gordon trembled, unable to continue.
“Elena... if she saw you now... what would she think.”
Yuri’s cheek twitched at the name.
Elena. Same Oldor Orphanage, same-age childhood friend.
But not all orphans were equal. Yuri hadn’t seen Elena once in ten years.
“What happened? Where’d you get these wounds?”
“The Black Snake Gang’s done for.”
He gave the prepared answer.
“The Oh brothers. Those fuckers. Brought their crew and stormed the office. And... and everyone died. The bosses, the Oh brothers fuckers too.”
“Everyone? All dead? What do you mean?”
“I... I don’t know. I hid and...”
No need to finish. He trailed off, biting his lip. Gordon stared blankly, then squeezed his eyes shut.
“Good.”
After a brief silence, Gordon let out a long sigh.
“Those fuckers all dying is good... and you surviving is good.”
Yuri couldn’t help feeling complicated at those words.