The Chainsaw's Inheritance
Rank: C
Trait: Chainsaw Killer
Penalty: Murderous Impulse
▼ The Chainsaw Killer grows stronger the more fear he instills in his victims. Can transform for 10 minutes.
Enhancement Conditions:
1. Instill fear in humans
2. Instill fear in Hwanjong
3. Commit massacre
Warnings:
1. This trait cannot be canceled once activated.
2. Murderous Impulse persists during transformation.
3. Jason will evolve once all enhancement conditions are met.
The new ability gained after devouring Jason. A terrifying penalty called Murderous Impulse, far beyond the temporary loss of self from the Neck-Snapping Statue. With this, I could legally become the Texas Chainsaw Killer. Somehow, the thought of dragging Naram noona outside the door felt more frightening by the day.
I could absorb the mysterious powers of the Hwanjong, but I was also absorbing their unethical rules wholesale. If the day ever came when my power hurt Naram noona…
“Suho, you okay?”
“Stop talking to me while I’m in the bathroom……”
“Uung, sorry.”
I was going to lose it. I really wished she’d just give me some quiet time alone. I closed the hologram window, finished my business, and stood up.
Originally, I had no intention of fighting Jason fair and square. Once I’d earned the manager’s trust, sneaking into the room where Jason was staying hadn’t been difficult. I understood his trait—he grew stronger from fear and weakened when his victims felt none—so I’d planned to absorb him before the match even began.
But Jason had gone berserk like a madman, and the moment I moved to clean up the mess, everything went wrong. If I hadn’t met that woman, the situation would’ve spiraled completely out of control.
“So what do we do now?”
“Uung, I was just about to say that.”
I sighed, recalling my encounter with the mage who’d introduced herself as Lulu.
“We’re screwed.”
That was the first thing I said while staring at the mountain of corpses. Devouring Jason, who had grown stronger by feeding on fear, had been incredibly difficult. I’d had to die hundreds of times before I could finally absorb him. The result was a situation that was now impossible to clean up.
Running away would draw far too much attention. After all, if people saw dozens of corpses all wearing the same face, the otherworlders would brand this Woo Suho not just a demon, but Satan himself……
Remembering the Sword Saint who had called me a demon the moment we met made my head spin. People could die and come back to life sometimes. Even in religion, people resurrected after three days or became stars in the sky. Couldn’t I think of it that way too?
While I was staring at the blood- and entrail-stained arena, wondering what to do, a girl walked in through the entrance.
“Hello.”
“Hello,” I replied, raising my gun.
“Ahaha…… Wait, wait, I’m not here to fight you, so calm down~”
The girl who had suddenly barged in looked harmless. Long silver hair reaching her waist, crimson eyes like a burning sunset. Compared to Naram noona, she was embarrassingly small in every way. If Naram noona was a hamster, this one was a field mouse.
“You look like you’re in trouble. Want some help?”
The mysterious figure wearing the appearance of a young girl smiled with a scheming, suggestive curve to her lips.
“You’re going to help me?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
The girl summoned wind in her hand. The blade-sharp gust began to carve through the corpses around me, mangling them beyond recognition—just like victims of Jason’s chainsaw. So she was a mage too.
“I’m Lulu. Despite how I look, I’m a pretty skilled Academy student~ My magic should be able to solve the problem you’re facing. You don’t want too many people finding out you can come back from the dead, right?”
I lowered the gun.
I ignored Naram noona’s flustered message for now and dropped to my knees. Looking up at Lulu with serious eyes, I pressed my hands together and began rubbing them frantically.
“Please save me……”
Honestly, I hadn’t expected things to get this bad. I didn’t know what Lulu was plotting, but I couldn’t afford to put on airs in front of a girl who had appeared like a savior. One thing I’d learned during my year working at the Supernatural Research Institute was that pride didn’t put food on the table.
“Puhaha.”
Apparently pleased by my shameless display, Lulu did what needed to be done. Together, we shredded the corpses in the arena and fled.
Sunflower Town, nearby forest. I finally stopped running and caught my breath.
“So what’s your goal?”
“You’re talking casually to the person who helped you. Want me to just spill everything……?”
“What is your goal, benefactor?”
In this harsh world, no one helped without a reason. Of course, someone as kind and pretty as Naram noona was an exception. But the vibe this girl gave off was definitely not that.
A transaction. Lulu clearly wanted something from me. That was why she’d risked cleaning up my traces in the arena. Judging by the scale of the magic she’d used, she was on a completely different level from Adam. A wind had swept across the arena in an instant, turning into blades that carved up the corpses. She seemed weaker than the Sword Saint in terms of presence, but still a formidable mage.
Naram noona crying was an emergency. I needed to comfort her through Nadenade right away. But Lulu was standing right in front of me, watching me with relaxed, sunset-colored eyes……
Huh? Lulu’s voice had been trembling faintly at the end of her sentences for a while now. I’d thought it was my imagination, but her fingertips were shaking too—her whole body was trembling badly. It wasn’t cold; the spring weather was mild. Why was she shaking like that?
Don’t tell me she was scared of this Woo Suho.
“My goal……”
Lulu took a deep breath and looked at me, her expression resolute.
“You know about the strange phenomena, right.”
“Strange phenomena?”
“Red tissue or blue tissue—which one will you give me?”
A terrible premonition crept over me.
“I’m pretty. Haven’t you ever heard that before?”
I had. It was a famous Korean urban legend that every citizen of South Korea would recognize. As a cleaner at the Supernatural Research Institute, I’d cleaned the containment rooms of those Hwanjong every single day.
But why was it coming out of this girl’s mouth?
“Your expression says I’m right. I’m really interested in those kinds of strange phenomena. Won’t you tell me about them too?”
My first thought was: We’re screwed.
Seeing Jason living freely as a gladiator in the arena, I’d already suspected the Hwanjong wouldn’t stay quiet. I just hadn’t expected them to cause this much chaos so boldly. To think their characteristics would come spilling out of this mysterious girl’s mouth.
The ball Wormhole had launched was beginning to throw the Solis Kingdom into disorder. A Korean had unleashed urban legends upon another world—and on a grand scale at that.
The more I understood, the worse my headache became. If the otherworlders who viewed Hwanjong with hostility ever discovered the Supernatural Research Institute, it would be doomsday. The day the institute met its end.
Maybe the day would come when the Sword Saint who had called me a demon would seem like a saint in comparison. The thought was terrifying.
Naram noona seemed to share the same thought. She turned her mic back on, her voice filled with panic.
“Suho heard that too, right? I didn’t just mishear because I spaced out for a second, did I?”
Of course not. My silence at times like this was generally an affirmation. Naram noona’s face came to mind—clutching her head, eyes brimming with tears. It was incredibly cute, but—
“Kuaaaang……”
Naram noona’s violent scream echoed in my ears. An equally loud scream resounded inside my own heart.