21. Threats Are Scary, but the Future Is Scarier
21. Threats Are Scary, but the Future Is Scarier
A dark room, thick with moisture.
The cold of the floor.
Bound in chains and silent, I watched seven figures within a light that illuminated only them.
"I'm telling you, there has to be a justifiable reason! The clients are bitching that we handled it as a missing person case and refusing to pay...!"
"Let's just kill him clean. We're short on funds as it is. Is there really a need to keep him alive?"
People who weighed my life as casually as flipping a coin.
The life I had always cherished seemed absurdly trivial to them.
They really were no better than beasts at this point.
Beings who chased only their own pleasure and held the lives of others in contempt.
How could anyone put them on the same level as a human being?
Yet all I could do was suppress my trembling under the crushing pressure and listen to their conversation.
Han Yu-wol had to explain to her organization members why she should keep me alive.
"A reason to keep him alive. That reason definitely exists. Did you think I hadn't thought about it?"
"...Based on your actions, I doubt you did... Still, let's hear it."
Well, I wanted to hear their opinions too.
If I was going to die, shouldn't I at least know why?
I wanted to know who had commissioned my death, why Han Yu-wol had broken the contract and spared me, and what had happened.
What had become of Yu Ha-yeon after I lost consciousness? Her eyes—the last thing I saw they weighed most heavily on my mind.
Before she could begin, I cut into the conversation.
"So, why did you spare me?"
Bound as I was, the only thing left to me was my pathetic pride.
I know perfectly well that pride doesn't put food on the table.
But strip my pride away, and I'm nothing but an empty shell.
It was an act that could shorten my life—brazen behavior unbefitting a captive.
At my question, a blunt-tongued woman looked bewildered.
"Ha... you really don't understand the situation you're in right now?"
"...I understand pretty clearly. Down to the part about being tied up and being told I'm going to die."
"This kid has no manners. And I mean zero. I'm firmly in favor of killing him."
Fine, just kill me then.
Even if I wanted to live, I wasn't going to beg pathetically for my life.
It seems Han Si-jun's pride in this world was far greater than I had thought.
In the face of death, that pride refused to bend.
Han Yu-wol spoke, seeming quite pleased with my reaction.
"Han Si-jun. I see there was a reason I took a liking to you. An unyielding spirit, pride. You're different from that woman. Enough to make me want to break you."
Yu Ha-yeon.
I had to ask about her whereabouts immediately.
"...What did you do to Yu Ha-yeon?"
"Are you worried? Please don't look at me like that. I didn't do anything, you know. It's quite unjust."
According to Han Yu-wol's words, Yu Ha-yeon's life was not in any danger.
I could set my mind at ease for a moment.
Still, what kind of twisted mind says they want to break someone just because they're unyielding?
She's seriously insane.
With those words, she walked toward me, her dress shoes clicking.
Click. Clack.
'...The sound doesn't travel outside.'
The echo of her footsteps filled the room.
The fact that it echoed meant the sound wasn't leaking out.
This place was probably beneath Black Dawn's living quarters, or a hidden room.
That was my guess.
With the small light behind her, she stepped toward where I was in the darkness and whispered quietly.
"Pride is good and all... but do you really want to die like that...? No. I'll make you beg for death."
Her voice was icy cold.
For a moment, her crushing presence seemed to stop my heart.
"Just as wine becomes delicious with long aging, a person's blood also becomes far more fragrant after a long time, you see?"
A moderate warning.
Do not interrupt when we are talking.
The faint smile on Han Yu-wol's face reminded me of a scene from a thriller movie.
For now, I was in a situation where I had to listen.
I decided to keep my mouth shut for the moment, following her order.
"Hmm... Where did I leave off?"
"The reason to keep him alive. You need to state it."
"Ah. Right. The reason to keep him alive."
Han Yu-wol placed a finger on her chin as if briefly pondering.
The gesture exuded an elegance reminiscent of a noble from a bygone era.
After a moment, as if having collected her thoughts, she began her explanation with a confident expression.
"First off, I've taken a liking to him. His face is decent, his blood is top grade, his entangled relationships are amusing, and it's far better to keep him alive."
"Vice-leader, that gives us zero benefit."
"Let's just kill him and take the money. I don't need him since he's a man, and I don't drink blood, so it's not really..."
A woman with a stiff tone and a man with a flippant attitude.
Their stance was closer to 'kill him' even before the debate of 'should we keep him alive' had truly started.
However, the vote to kill me wasn't unanimous.
"I say we keep him alive. I guarantee it."
"...The Vice-leader must have her reasons. Or maybe not..."
Hwang Pil-du and a quiet-voiced woman were on the side of approval.
It seemed they trusted Han Yu-wol.
Han Yu-wol continued her explanation.
"And second. The youngest's education is absolute garbage. I'm saying it's not appropriate for her age."
"...Are you talking about me?"
A member of Black Dawn turned her head at Han Yu-wol's words.
There, a girl with pink hair clutched a rabbit doll.
She looked about my age, slim, with a cute, rabbit-like face.
Contrary to her innocent smile, she was a villain who would blow away half of Seoul in the future.
As if feeling wronged, she shouted at her fellow members.
"Wha... what's wrong with me...!! I'm smart, you know...!?"
The members of Black Dawn, seeing that, nodded as if they understood.
Indeed, even from my view, she seemed far too childish, the lone splash of pink among these dark, dreary people.
"Still, that's not grounds to say it's better than money, Vice-leader. There's nothing that definitively lands."
"I hate to admit it, but you're right."
They still seemed reluctant to accept me.
Han Yu-wol's lips twitched.
The final reason she presented was quite surprising even to me.
"Lastly, this child. Han Si-jun has no mana core. You all understand what that means, right?"
""...!!""
The last reason Han Yu-wol presented.
The absence of a mana core.
I didn't know why that was a reason to keep me alive, but no further objections came from them.
'...Why? What does having no mana core mean to them...?'
I couldn't understand it at all.
The situation was that every member of Black Dawn had silently agreed to keep me alive.
That meant things were flowing exactly as Han Yu-wol had intended.
"...So, Vice-leader. What are you concretely planning to do by keeping him alive? You know our organization maxes out at seven members."
Black Dawn was a group that always maintained seven members.
Unless the current seven were replaced, they would likely disband immediately if one was added.
Military might, intellect, wealth, power.
Only when all were gathered did the group achieve balance.
A group with no flaws.
There wasn't really any space for me to wedge myself between them.
Han Yu-wol began to explain her concrete plan to them.
"Let's think simply. You can all just consider him a pet."
"...That's utter bullshit."
A pet.
At her words declaring she wouldn't even treat me as a person, coarse words slipped out of my mouth.
A life is a life, but if I had to live under such treatment, I would rather choose death. It was far more comfortable.
Born a human, die a human.
Because that is the reason for living.
I shouted at them sharply.
"Why don't you just leave me out of your little family play? I don't want to mix in with criminals."
"..."
False bravado.
The moment I spat those words out, I immediately felt the atmosphere turn sharply turbulent.
If my Will stat weren't high, I'd probably be crawling on the floor by now.
Seven pairs of eyes stabbed into me, and I sensed death.
Bang!
The thick brick shattered with a loud noise.
He shouted, enraged.
"A little shit barking at his owner spells big trouble. I'll handle the education."
The two-meter-tall Hwang Pil-du was walking toward me, rotating his wrist.
Even if he merely tapped me lightly, I'd be halfway to death.
It would be much easier if I just died without pain.
"Just kill me. You muscle-brained bastard."
Rather than become a criminal, I'd choose death.
That was my stubborn creed.
The bravado of the weak.
The moment I saw Han Yu-wol's hardened expression and Hwang Pil-du's giant frame striding over,
the leader of Black Dawn, who had said nothing during the entire meeting, spoke for the first time.
"Stop, Hwang Pil-du. Physical conversation will be useless with him."
A man with an imperious tone.
His voice sounded quite aged, and it stopped the peerless Hwang Pil-du in his tracks at once.
He, who had been sitting in a chair, pressed his cane into the ground and rose from his seat.
The sound of his footsteps always orbited around the sound of his cane.
Tap. Tap.
The vibration of the cane striking the floor.
As far as I knew, he had lost his sight long ago.
And he was a being who had vanished into the glory of the past.
"Han Si-jun. A truly fine name. Was it given to you by your parents?"
"...Yes... it was."
He approached me, his appearance that of an ordinary old man.
Though he had lost all vision and could not see ahead, I had the sensation that he was looking at me from somewhere.
'The One Who Sees Through. Shin Hae-il.'
A hero who once operated under that alias in the past.
He who had once held the rank of S-rank was now the worst of villains.
"Your parents, then... Seeing that your spirit is not broken in this situation, they must always have been good people to you. You were raised firmly."
"...Are you threatening me right now?"
Han Si-jun's parents lived in an ordinary house a distance away from Hero Academy in Seoul.
My feelings toward them were genuine, so I spoke as if thorns had sprouted from my words.
It was enough to strike a nerve with the others.
"...Show some respect in front of the elder. If you don't want to die."
"...Why don't you just stab me?"
The quiet-voiced woman had moved behind my back in an instant.
A cold, sharp blade touched my throat.
A killing intent that made the skin tingle lingered in her voice.
Shin Hae-il spoke to her in a gentle tone.
"Stop. You must not kill this child. You know that as well as I do, don't you."
"...I apologize, Elder."
She released the force on the dagger and returned to her original position at a speed nearly invisible to the eye.
It seemed they had no intention of killing me, no matter what I did.
"Han Si-jun."
The leader of Black Dawn spoke my name softly.
Shin Hae-il stared firmly at me with his closed eyes.
Though aged, his face was benevolent.
It was an appearance that did not seem like a villain's at all.
In that moment, his dry lips parted.
The words that came from his mouth were close to a threat.
"Miracle Child Han Si-jun. You must come with us."
Miracle Child? What the hell is that?
"Without any rhyme or reason, what do you..."
"Yu Ha-yeon. Are you not worried about that child?"
"...!"
"If you die, that child will fall into the darkness below."
Shin Hae-il's statement was close to prophecy.
He was the One Who Sees Through.
He, who seemed to see through the future, spoke.
"You may wish to die, but we have no intention of killing you. And if you die,"
Yu Ha-yeon.
That young child will throw the world into chaos.
The villainization of Yu Ha-yeon, and the future of her childhood friend.
Shin Hae-il's statement forced me to weigh those two things.
It was practically a threat.