Lost Beneath the Lamp (3)
"...You got lost on the way here, kid."
"Eh?!"
I kicked open the door to the shop and burst out into the street. It was a crazy move, but I had to do it to clear my head, and once I did I only felt even more pissed off.
"Stupid little bitch. Do you really think a place like this would just take in a girl like you?!"
Ren clicked her tongue in pure exasperation. There was nothing for me to say. I had known all along that I was being booted out anyway.
"Damn it… even if I just see it now, I really want a drink."
The only alcohol I had ever tasted on Earth was beer and soju, aside from the demon-made liquor back in the Demon Realm, but I still wanted it. In the end I walked back out into the night and wandered the neon-drenched entertainment district.
Amid all the flashing lights I spotted an arcade.
No one threw me out even though I looked like a minor. Thankfully, this world had no curfew rules for minors.
"I've been dying to play this for ages."
I swapped out some money and slid into the seat in front of the machine. I had heard the fighting game had its share of good players.
"Eh?"
While I was lost in the controls, someone scanned me from head to toe and took the seat beside me.
This bastard was clearly trying to prey on a little girl who looked like she was barely half his weight—pure evil and low cunning.
"I-I can win? He's an adult!"
Ren had been paying attention to the game and suddenly smacked my head. A chuckle escaped me. How could an adult compete with me when it came to skill?
The second the game started I unleashed a full barrage.
"Ugh?!"
He flinched, but even rattled he blocked pretty well. I loosened the limit just a little.
With a rapid *tadadadak* my eyes and hands moved even faster.
I had once controlled dozens of tentacles at once. Typing a few keys was child's play.
"Finishing move."
I didn't even bother holding back my laughter. I crushed the challenger who had mocked me and indulged in a little sadistic pleasure.
It was one of those thrills I only felt in the Demon Realm.
"Oh, one more round, mister?"
"... "
He said nothing and added more money. If he wanted to challenge me, I had no reason to refuse.
Round two, three, four.
I kept beating him mercilessly, stamping him into the ground, until I started to get bored.
"Why, old man? Getting annoyed because you're losing again?"
He stood up and walked over to me.
"It's not like that at all."
"Really? Sounds like you've got something to say."
"You… don't go home? It's already eleven o'clock."
"You calling me an old fool just because I lost?"
I spilled every word I couldn't hold back. After all, I couldn't lose. His brows twitched slightly. Of course I wasn't rude to just anyone.
"This guy has a pretty deep grudge."
According to Ren, thick malice radiated off him. It was the kind of malice a drug mule like Kim Gwanghun would wear if he were disguised as a girl.
"It's not that. If you have no place to go home, I can help you."
"Help how?"
"If you follow me, you'll find out."
Straight-up kidnapping pattern? I managed to suppress the laugh that almost came out. If I acted too crazy I might not get taken.
"Then what's there?"
"Anything you want to eat?"
I smirked at the man with the kind smile.
"Drink. Anything."
Of course the smile vanished the moment I answered, replaced by a wary expression.
"This way."
He led me somewhere I couldn't see from where we stood. Of course I followed quietly. After all, I wanted to check out these guys and do a quick sweep.
*[But it's really pissing me off. Why do I always get dragged into this crap?]*
"You don't think someone like you is an easy target for crime?"
Ren shook her head at my muttering. Thinking about it, that wasn't entirely wrong.
Who was the most vulnerable layer in crime? A child without parents or a home, wasn't it?
"Get in the car."
"What the hell are you doing?"
He put me in the car. It was a heavily tinted van. He told me to wait a moment and then dialed someone on his phone.
"... Long-term slave trade? This level of malice should be enough to call it that, right?"
Ren prowled around the car, poking into every corner.
*[If you look, you'll know.]*
But honestly, the second I climbed in I felt something sink in. My nose twitched.
*[Can't hide the blood smell even with a diffuser. And that… semen smell.]*
I swear these bastards would have nothing to say even if I killed them on the spot.
"Want a drink?"
He handed me a bottled drink with the cap already off. The label was obviously fake and the product looked cheap, but a normal girl would just pass out after drinking it.
I had to be back before morning, so I took a sip and pretended to fall asleep for quick progress.
*
"This is insane… He's way too young!"
"What's the point of that? They'd pay even more for a younger one. And this level is considered premium stock."
The car didn't drive long before it stopped somewhere. I opened my eyes slightly and looked around. The area wasn't much different from the entertainment district I had been in—only a bit more depraved and darker.
"First we move you. Even if your appearance is different, you're still a cocky little brat all the way to the back of the van."
"Damn…"
Someone picked me up and carried me down the stairs that led to the basement.
The thick smell of cigarettes almost made me gag. At least cigarettes were one of the things I hated most.
"Hey, Kim Ddolttong! Strip the kid first and start basic training…"
"Training my ass. Today is your holiday."
I opened my eyes and pulled in my mana. That disgusting cigarette smell and the malice that kept pricking my nerves.
A minor sex slave? She deserved to die a thousand times.
"Gu… guaaaah!"
"Aaaah!"
Just the shockwave from my outfit ripping apart sent the men flying and they died where they fell.
The next one to get his throat cut was the staff member standing dumbly right beside me.
"From my perspective there are no innocent people here. Maybe only I got dragged in against my will? Was I wrong, Ren? They all have malice way above the threshold."
"That's…"
"So we can just kill them all, right? We killed the escaped ones, now we have to kill the ones who stayed, right?"
I swung my blade and split the prostitute who was screaming right in half. After all, she had seen my face, so I couldn't let her live.
"T-Takilas!"
"The only entrance is the one behind my back… Then you all die here?"
A few staff members who had come running in panic pulled something from their pockets.
Guns. I was starting to wonder if this country had gun regulations after all.
"Even if you resist, you'll just die in pain."
I collected the bullets that had hit my belly and face and crushed them into the floor. At the same time shadows shot out across the walls, floor, and ceiling in an instant.
The narrow space made the speed even faster.
"Kyaaah…"
"Guugh…"
The spears that burst out pierced and killed them. Only then did even the drunkards realize what was happening, and screams of terror rang out from every direction, men and women alike.
"Haa…"
Ren, looking utterly defeated, just sighed heavily beside me.
"Don't tense up like that. We won't lose anything."
I pierced the naked prostitute who had been trying to escape together with the staff member.
As I walked slowly forward guided by shadows, no one remained in the corridors or rooms behind me.
"I don't know who I am! I'm the congressman of this country—"
"What kind of bullshit are you spewing, bald criminal?"
The bald old man who had used the prostitute as a shield and yelled that he was a congressman was pierced together with the woman.
"U-Our dad is a three-term congressman…"
"You killed the incumbent just now? What a worthless brat."
The idiot who had been bragging about his father's congressional career even in the face of death had his throat cut.
And every last one of them.
The ones who had been on drugs were tortured until the effects wore off and then killed. The ones who begged to be spared because they had messed up had their throats cleanly slit.
"They weren't even a big place and they're already kidnapping people."
And it had all taken less than thirty minutes. I smashed my way into what I assumed was the boss's office.
The boss had just been ripped apart himself, but there might be something worth taking here.
"Business partner ledger."
For example, this. It didn't seem like something worth looting.
"Everything's in chaos outside! Hurry and get out!"
"Wait. Is this ledger the only thing worth taking?"
I read through the pages. Even in this era they still used analog records for information. The ledger contained details of other illegal entertainment establishments around here.
I tucked it into my pocket. Even if collecting merit was annoying, I might be able to use it if needed.
"Then let's go."
He stepped out, stepping in puddles of blood. The outside was already packed with people. I let out a quiet laugh and grabbed Ren's ear.
"Wait, just a second… Aaaah!"
And in the blink of an eye I smashed everything and shot into the sky. Half the people were flattened, half were lying on the ground waving at me like idiots.
"You idiots."
I laughed at them and erased my presence before vanishing in a flash and heading straight for the facility.
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