Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Underground Slaughterhouse
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The underground arena had become a slaughterhouse.
Every time Lady Apophis so much as twitched a finger, the gang members' bodies burst open like mosquitoes.
Bullets were useless. Awakening abilities meant nothing. Before her tentacles, even hunter-grade alloy steel snapped like twigs.
"H-Hiiik... P-Please... s-spare me...!"
"R-Run!!"
The gang members scurried this way and that across the vast underground space.
They'd been wailing and fleeing for a while now.
Of course, there was nowhere to run in this underground hell.
But there were just so damn many of them. And since Lady Apophis was stuck right by my side, she seemed annoyed at the hassle of hunting them down one by one.
"Tch, what a pain. For insects like you."
Clicking her tongue and furrowing her brow, Lady Apophis seemed to have a sudden idea. She elegantly stomped her foot.
Ssssh—
Black shadows, different from her tentacles, slithered out like living snakes and coiled around the ankles of the surviving gang members.
"Wh-What the hell is this?! I can't move!"
"My legs! My legs!"
The men screamed.
It was the awakening ability of the hunter team leader we'd just taken down: [Shadow Bind].
"...This is surprisingly useful. Perfect for squashing annoying cockroaches."
Lady Apophis licked her lips with a grin.
She crushed the wriggling men one by one with her tentacles.
Like popping bubble wrap. A casual, brutal game.
And finally.
Only one survivor remained in this infernal scene.
Kwak Executive, huddled in the corner, trembling uncontrollably.
"P-Please... spare me... Money! I'll give you money! I'm the Viper Gang's number two! N-No, the real boss! Slush funds! Yeah, slush fund ledgers too!!"
Kwak Executive begged, snot and tears streaming down his face.
Gone was his arrogant demeanor. He'd pissed himself and groveled pathetically.
Lady Apophis approached and looked down at him with pitiful disdain.
"Money? Of course we'll take it. It'll go toward our new nest."
Her tentacle snatched his collar, hoisting him into the air.
"Guhk...!"
"But begging for your life... Your crimes are far too grave for that."
She turned to me.
To me, standing there dazed, covered in blood.
"Minwoo."
Her voice softened.
"Come here."
I approached her as if entranced.
The sticky feel of blood squelching under my soles was vivid.
Lady Apophis flung Kwak Executive at my feet.
Thud!
"Kuhk...!"
"Eat him."
She said curtly.
"Pardon...?"
As my eyes widened, she pointed to Squirmy wriggling behind my butt.
"You have to replenish the blood you spilled. He hurt you, didn't he? Tied you up, humiliated you, made you cry."
She stroked my cheek and whispered.
"Pay it back. And take what's yours. That's our way."
"..."
Our way.
The monster's way.
The law of the jungle.
I looked down at Kwak Executive sprawled on the floor.
He stared up at me in terror.
"K-K-Kang... Kang Minwoo! Spare me! Please! I-I'm sorry! I'll do anything you say! Money? Drugs? Take it all! Please!"
His groveling voice.
The same mouth that had mocked me like an animal just minutes ago.
The mouth that ordered them to cut off my dick.
I wanted to kill him.
Shut that filthy mouth forever.
"Kieeeek!"
Squirmy screeched sharply in response to my killing intent.
It was ready, its pointed maw aimed at Kwak Executive's nape.
One stab would do it.
Then that disgusting life force would be mine.
But.
"Stop."
My hand grabbed Squirmy.
"Kiiing?"
Squirmy turned to me quizzically.
I bit my lip.
My hand shook.
Viper... there was no choice.
I'd swung reflexively to survive, to protect us.
But this was different.
Killing a defenseless human on purpose. Eating them with my own will.
That was...
"...I can't do it."
It was too much...
Watching evil bastards explode was satisfying, but getting blood directly on my hands and chewing their flesh... no, impossible.
I'm still human. Even if I want to become a cool monster like Lady Apophis, a pathetic Kang Minwoo lingers in my heart.
"I'm sorry... Lady Apophis."
I bowed my head.
"I... I can't. Eating... I just can't..."
Lady Apophis stared at me intently.
Disappointed? Would she rage at my weakness?
I shrank back in fear.
But.
"Pfft."
A soft laugh.
A warm hand stroked my head.
"It's fine."
"Pardon...?"
"You're not ready yet. You're like a newborn babe."
She hugged me tight. Even amid the blood reek, her embrace was comforting.
"No need to rush. We have all the time in the world together. Learn slowly... very slowly."
"Lady Apophis..."
Relief nearly buckled my knees.
She even found my weakness endearing.
"Th-Thank you! Thank you!!"
Kwak Executive, prostrated on the floor, cheered at the sight.
He banged his forehead on the ground in joy.
"As expected, Kang Minwoo is kind! I'll repay this favor! The safe! Code is 7588! Penthouse keycard too! Take it all!"
He fumbled a keycard and wallet from his inner pocket, shoving them at my feet.
"S-So... can I go now? You'll keep your promise, right?"
He backed away obsequiously.
I nodded with a bitter expression. Was letting him live right? But murder... I couldn't.
"Go. And never show your face to us again..."
"Thank you! Thank you!"
Kwak Executive turned toward the exit, practically leaping with joy.
I'm alive. Escaping this hell!
Hope bloomed on his face in that instant.
Squelch.
A wet sound, and his steps halted.
"Huh...?"
Kwak Executive slowly looked down.
Piercing his chest... a black, massive tentacle.
"G-Guhk... Wh-What... promise..."
He spat blood and turned.
Lady Apophis stood there.
Gone was the gentle face comforting me moments ago. Now, chillingly cold predator eyes.
"Don't delude yourself, insect."
She sneered coldly.
"My bride is tender, so she spared you."
Crack.
The tentacle twisted, lifting his body into the air.
"But I won't."
"Gaaaahhh!!!"
Splat—!
Lady Apophis's tentacle tore Kwak Executive in half.
The scream was brief.
She wrapped the shredded flesh in tentacles and fed it to her mouth. The rest, her tentacles turned into mouths and swallowed whole.
"..."
I watched blankly.
Cruel. Horrific.
But... strangely, no revulsion.
If anything, gratitude toward her for lifting my burden.
"Delicious."
Lady Apophis licked blood from her lips and smiled softly.
Then, she picked up the penthouse keycard from the floor and placed it in my hand.
"Let's go, Minwoo. I've cleaned up the mess."
"Yes...!"
We walked away, leaving the pile of corpses behind.
Her hand was warm. Hard to believe it had just killed.
The blood-soaked arena lights flickered.
Under that blinking light, I gripped her hand tight and headed topside.
Two days later.
A motel room on the outskirts of Seoul.
[Breaking news. An illegal monster arena has been uncovered in an abandoned factory on the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province. The scene is nothing short of hellish.]
The anchor on the TV screen delivered the urgent report with a grave expression.
[Dozens of people connected to the facility were brutally devoured by escaped monsters. The government has issued a danger alert for monsters fleeing into nearby mountains. Experts believe this incident was caused by around ten illegally captured monsters breaking out simultaneously...]
"Bullshit."
Jang Manager—no, Jang Hyunsoo—gripped the remote with trembling hands.
Monster breakout? Don't make me laugh.
He'd seen it.
That night, in the cramped semi-basement room.
Over ten gang members and veteran hunters devoured by a single girl (monster).
"Urk..."
Nausea rose.
Since then, he'd holed up in this cheap motel, avoiding the office, turning off his phone. Couldn't even go home.
His only daughter would be in danger!
Closing his eyes brought those golden pupils to mind.
The mad monster's terrifying madness.
[In response, the Management Bureau has dispatched five teams of B-rank veteran hunters and the B-rank Magical Girl, 'Gun Finer'...]
The news droned on, but it didn't register.
He knew.
The arena massacre wasn't monsters.
That monster girl did it.
Stormed in for her 'bride' and slaughtered everyone.
Bzzz— Bzzz—
Then, his work phone—which he'd thought was off—rang.
Jang Hyunsoo nearly flung the remote in shock.
The screen on the shelf-lit phone showed a familiar name.
Caller: [Kwak Executive].
"Hup!"
His breath caught.
Kwak Executive?
Alive? From that hell?
"N-No way..."
He snatched the phone with shaking hands.
The call ended, and a text arrived.
[Jang Manager. Urgent. Important commission.]
[You saw that monster too. To catch it, we need your skills.]
[Got connections in the Management Bureau. Succeed this time, and you'll live easy forever.]
[Address: Hermes Tower Penthouse, XX-dong, Gangnam-gu]
"Is this... real?"
Jang Hyunsoo swallowed hard.
Kwak Executive's style. Concise, arrogant, solving everything with money.
He might've survived. Sly bastard. Maybe used hunters as meat shields to escape.
'Connections in the Management Bureau? Then maybe a chance...'
His detective instincts stirred.
Couldn't hide forever.
Government was pinning this on Viper Gang. They'd crack down on outfits like his to win public favor. Underworld logic: gang wiped out, contractors like him starve.
'Better side with Kwak Executive, take down that monster, grab a cut?'
Plus, those monstrous Magical Girls from the Bureau could surely handle it!
"Hoo..."
Decision made fast.
Jang Hyunsoo dressed hurriedly and left the motel.
The top floor of Hermes Tower, Gangnam's luxury residential skyscraper.
Jang Hyunsoo pressed the intercom with a tense face.
"Who is it?"
The voice beyond was low and hoarse.
"J-Jang Manager. Here for Kwak Executive..."
The door opened before he finished.
Two men in black suits stood in the entryway. Viper Gang thugs.
"I-I'm here to see Kwak Executive."
"Come in."
They stepped aside.
But something was off.
Their eyes... glazed over.
Like drugged haze, movements sluggish.
'On something?'
Jang Hyunsoo pushed aside the unease and entered the penthouse living room.
The vast space was shrouded in dim shadow.
Only the flickering fireplace logs and Seoul nightscape through the huge window lit it.
Crackle, pop.
A luxury sofa sat before the flames, someone reclining on it.
"Executive...?"
Jang Hyunsoo approached cautiously.
But it wasn't Kwak Executive.
Snore, snore.
A woman... no, a man, sleeping peacefully.
Kang Minwoo.
"Hiiik...!"
Goosebumps erupted over Jang Hyunsoo.
Why the hell was this guy here?
Then what about Kwak Executive?
Bzzz—
His pocket phone buzzed again.
Caller: [Kwak Executive].
He stiffly turned his head.
Beside the sofa, in the shadow-draped armchair.
A shadow rose.
Click, clack.
High heels shattered the silence.
A tall woman in an elegant black dress.
In her hand: Kwak Executive's phone.
"Welcome, detective."
She shook the phone with a smile.
Her face, lit by firelight, was inhumanly beautiful.
But it bore the monster's grin from that night, the one that chewed hunters.
"Ah, aaah..."
Jang Hyunsoo collapsed, unable to even scream.
It was a trap.
Kwak Executive was dead. This monster lured him with the phone.
"I called because I have a commission."
Apophis approached, lifting his chin.
Her golden eyes pierced his soul.
"Rats who touched my mate are still out there. They say you're good at finding scum like that?"
"P-Please... spare me... I'll do anything..."
"Good. You will."
She whispered with a grin.
"Your fee... is your life. Succeed, you live. Fail, you're dinner. Fair, right?"
Jang Hyunsoo nodded frantically.
Refuse? Never an option.
Crackle, pop.
The fireplace roared.
In its red glow, one man bargained with hell for survival—while Kang Minwoo slept soundly.