Chapter 24
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Hunting Dog (2)
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In front of the abandoned warehouse.
Four men sat around a bonfire they'd lit.
The night air was chilly,
but the conversation spilling from the men's mouths carried a sticky heat.
"Hey, that girl you picked up under the bridge last time. How was she?"
"Don't even ask. She was a real prize."
Jack, the man grinning with his yellowed teeth, spat on the ground and answered.
"She put up a fight at first, so I gave her a good beating. But she stayed so stiff, it wasn't any fun."
"So? You just let her go?"
"You crazy? Why would I let good meat go to waste?"
Jack pulled a crumpled paper from his pocket and waved it.
Paradise powder.
"Shoved a handful up her nose. And then... kuh."
He licked his lips as if reliving the memory,
thrusting his hips lewdly into the air.
"About three minutes in? Suddenly her eyes rolled back all white...
and she started foaming at the mouth, convulsing like a rabid dog."
"Ooh, the drug hit her good."
"Yeah. Her body was shaking all over... pure bliss."
Jack's voice dropped even lower, more intimate.
"Her pussy clenched up tight... sucked me right in and wouldn't let go.
Out of her mind, didn't even know what was happening to her.
Gasping like an animal, clawing at my neck... fuck, I nearly blew my load right then."
The men cackled as they swapped their tales of conquest.
Beasts treating drug-ravaged humans as mere slabs of meat for pleasure.
"Hey, share some with me. The bitches we've been getting lately suck..."
They were deep in their filthy talk when—
"......?"
The burliest guard flared his nostrils.
"Sniff sniff."
"What? What's up?"
"...Don't you smell something burning?"
Jack scoffed and ribbed him.
"Hey, you bald pig-fuck, can't you see this right in front of your eyes?"
"......What?"
"We got a fire going. Burning smell not coming from that would be weirder."
Jack jerked his chin at the crackling firewood.
But the big guy shook his head, frowning.
"No, not that..."
"Not what? It is."
"Not wood smoke. Something fouler... like burning oil."
"Bullshit."
Jack sneered and casually turned his head—that very moment.
"Hey, look at that!"
"Fuck, what is it? Fire?"
The men jumped up in alarm.
It wasn't just bonfire smoke.
Accompanied by black soot, the acrid stench of burning oil.
"Some crazy fuck lit a fire...!"
"Hey! Over there! That's where we stash the powder!"
"Shit, if that all burns, we're dead meat!"
This was the storage site for Paradise powder.
If the flames spread and turned the stash to ash?
Death would be the least of it.
They'd face the reckoning—limbs torn off alive,
chopped-up corpses dumped in the sea as eternal fish food.
Terror that made their legs buckle just imagining it.
"Go check it out quick! Put it out!"
"Hey, Jack! You and you go! Grab buckets, you idiots!"
Two of the panicked men cursed as they bolted toward the smoke.
The remaining pair paced anxiously, eyes glued to the rising plume.
"Fuck, who fucked up fire watch..."
Chaos and clamor.
Their attention wholly fixed on the smoke—
that's when, from the deep shadows of a blind spot,
swish.
A black shadow descended silently.
Tap.
No sound of landing.
Just the toes brushing the dirt floor.
Before me, the unprotected napes of two men with their backs turned.
They stared blankly at the smoke billowing from behind the warehouse.
"Fuck... if that spreads, we're fucked..."
"Hey! Hurry up and douse it!!"
Anxiety breeding negligence in rear watch.
Perfect for an ambush.
I slid behind the left one without hesitation.
Left hand clamped his mouth shut as
right hand gripped the dagger reverse and sliced deep into his nape.
Slash.
'One.'
The clean sensation of slicing meat.
He twitched with a muffled grunt but couldn't scream.
I caught his slumping body.
"......Huh?"
The big guy beside turned his head.
"Wha... what the..."
As his pupils shook like in an earthquake,
I tossed the corpse at him to block his view.
As he flailed in panic,
I sprang from the shadow.
Stab!
'Two.'
The dagger pierced under his jaw straight to the brain.
"Guh...... urk......"
He convulsed, eyes rolling back.
I twisted the blade free and whispered in his ear.
"Look away on duty? Negligence."
Thud.
The second body hit the dirt.
I toed the corpses into the shadows.
Wiped the bloody blade on my hem,
then leaped into the warehouse grounds amid the choking smoke.
.....
Inside was pandemonium.
Smoke from behind the building had them hauling buckets and yelling frantically.
"Hey! Jack! What the fuck are you doing, get water!"
"You dumb shits! Move faster!"
Two hauling buckets came running from afar.
They didn't spot me in the shadows, charging straight my way.
Or rather, toward the fire behind me.
Lead runner and follower.
As the follower brushed past, I hooked his ankle.
"Whoa?!"
He stumbled forward.
My dagger plunged deep into his side and out.
Stab!
"Gahk?!"
He crashed with the bucket, unable to scream.
Water and blood pooled slickly.
"Hey! Why'd you..."
The leader turned—and froze, eyes wide.
I stepped on the fallen one's back and leaped,
driving the blade into the leader's crown mid-air.
Splat!
"Grk..."
'Three, and four.'
I slipped into the warehouse without pause.
"Cough! Cough!"
"Fuck, why's the smoke getting inside!"
Three inside bustled moving powder crates.
Smoke blurring vision was a boon for me,
and the mask helped breathing.
Clamped the rearmost's mouth from behind, stabbed the heart.
'Five.'
Laid him down quietly, next one.
"Hey, that crate over..."
He turned calling his buddy—saw me.
"Hey."
Slash.
Carotid severed, blood fountaining as he fell.
'Six.'
"Wh-who the fuck!!"
The last yanked an axe from his belt in terror.
But fear slowed his hands.
I slashed his wrist, dropped the axe, grabbed his collar.
"You the Viper?"
"M-mercy..."
"Nope."
Crack.
Twisted his neck without mercy.
'Seven.'
Warehouse cleared in seconds.
I nudged the sprawled bodies with my foot, frowning.
"No way one of these dead fucks is the guy already?"
That'd be too anticlimactic. No payoff.
[The ones distributing that powder. And their head.]
More important than wiping them out: intel.
Hard to believe these thugs made Paradise powder.
From production to distribution, a bigger shadow lurked.
The 'Viper' was the sole link to the higher-ups.
My gaze shifted to the warehouse's deepest corner.
A rickety two-story wooden building, sole light leaking out.
No sign of life despite the chaos outside.
Eerily quiet amid the inferno.
"Got all the outside ones."
I toed a hand axe rolling on the floor into my grip.
The heavy iron felt solid in my palm.
Step, step.
No need to hide now—I strode up the stairs boldly.
Finally, the firmly shut wooden door.
I smashed the handle with the axe blade without hesitation.
Crack!
Lock shattered amid splintering wood,
I kicked the door open.
Bang!
"Coming in!"
Door flew wide, bright light pouring out.
But the scene it illuminated was,
"......Urp."
The moment I stepped in, a nauseating stench assaulted my nose.
Blood, semen, a sickly sweet mingled reek.
And the sight before me.
"Hahk, ugh......"
Center of the room, atop a large round table.
A naked woman sprawled beast-like.
Worse than a beast, really.
Lower body a mess of blood, cum, juices,
back and thighs lacerated in dozens of sharp cuts, flesh dangling.
A man gripping her waist from behind froze mid-thrust at my entrance.
"Uh......?"
As his cock slipped out, she flopped like a marionette with cut strings.
Eyes rolled back, whites only,
white foam bubbling from her gaping mouth.
That wasn't all.
"Heeeh... hehe..."
In the corner, another woman sprawled.
Hers worse: nipples shredded,
brain melted by drugs, she toyed with her torn flesh, giggling grotesquely.
And at the heart of this hell.
"......A guest?"
A man lounged on a fine leather sofa,
sipping wine, taking in the horror as an appetizer.
Snake-slit eyes, corpse-pale skin.
His look screamed who he was.
Beside him, a muscle pig puffed a cigar,
the recent rapist hastily pulling up pants.
"Hey, who the fuck are you!!"
Pants guy snatched a dagger from the table, yelling.
I ignored him, slowly scanning the room.
"Your tastes are... pretty hardcore."
I nodded at the floor woman, axe on shoulder.
"You get consent for this kinda play?"
"Pity for these things?"
Viper smirked, sipping wine.
"Slum trash anyway. Gave 'em pleasure, drugs... they should be grateful."
"Grateful?"
"Yeah. Happier now than sane."
Revulsion thickened the air; I hawked phlegm.
"Yeah... their faces do look blissful."
I approached slowly.
"Not my business anyway. OD or fuck to death."
"Hm. Then what's your purpose here?"
"Pissed off some nasty old fuck."
I shrugged, tapping the axe blade.
"Said kill or die. What can I do?"
"Heh... know who's behind me?"
"Nope. Here to find out."
His smile vanished.
He waved lazily.
"Annoying pest. Kill it."
Instantly,
"You fucker!!"
Pants guy charged, dagger gripped tight.
His lust-weak legs wobbled visibly.
I watched his swing's arc, sidestepped.
Whoosh—
Blade cut air; he gaped wide open.
"Thought my eyes were fucked for a sec."
I reversed the axe grip,
slammed it up precise into his groin.
Crunch!
"Gaaaaahhhhhh!!!!"
Scream shook the room.
He rolled clutching the embedded axe.
Yellow pus mixed with blood soaked his pants.
No need to check. Castrated, bleeding out.
I stomped his head, yanked the axe free.
"Next."
Axe on shoulder, eyed Viper.
He remained calm.
At his nod, the cigar-puffing brute stepped forward.
Arms thicker than my thighs—monster.
He ground the cigar underfoot, cracking knuckles.
"Piglet wanna get balls burst too?"
"......"
Boom!
He exploded off the floor. Speed belying his bulk.
'......Huh?'
Faster than expected.
I instinctively raised the axe haft to block his fist.
Clang!
Metal on metal roar. Impact numbed my wrist.
Brass knuckles gleamed on his fist.
"Ow fuck... strong too."
Pure power pushed me back. Hands shook on the haft.
"Heh... little dick."
He grinned sickly, unleashing combos.
Hook, uppercut, straight.
Simple, heavy punches stormed in.
I used the axe as shield, barely blocking.
One slip and my skull cracks.
Muscle pigs are a pain.
Power match-up's bad, tough hides eat weak hits.
But,
'Bulk believers all have one flaw...'
Big motions. Gaps galore.
I ducked his hook razor-close, burrowed under armpit.
Stab!
Hidden left dagger sank deep in side.
"Krrk!"
As he flinched,
I twisted the blade to widen, grabbed his arm for a shoulder throw.
"Where you get off?!"
Failed.
He didn't budge—instead snatched my collar, hoisted me.
"Rat fuck!"
As he slammed me down,
I twisted mid-air, locked his neck with legs.
Triangle choke. Ever heard of it, you savage?
Squeeze and suffocate.
"Grrk...!"
His face flushed crimson.
But no tap—he thrashed wildly, charged the wall.
Bang!
My back hit wall. Breath caught.
'This psycho... monster.'
I endured pain, squeezed harder with legs.
His eyes rolled white.
"Krhek...!"
Felt his strength fade.
I poured all into crushing his carotid.
.....
Thud.
Brute collapsed.
I extricated, regripped axe, panting.
"Huff, huff......"
Checked him: out cold or dead, no twitch.
"...Fucking pig, gave me trouble."
Stepped on nape, raised axe high.
Confirm kill proper.
Crunch!
Dull rupture; blade severed thick neck bone.
Like bursting melon, head rolled.
Stump fountained blood, splattering ceiling.
"Huff......"
I rose, blood dripping ignored, eyed the last: Viper.
"......!!"
His formerly smug face now ghost-white corpse-pale.
Wine glass trembled in hand,
eyes fixed on the rolling head.
"Just us now?"
I dragged the dripping axe toward him.
"W-wait! Hold on!"
He scrambled behind sofa, screeching.
No more suave tone—just falsetto panic.
"C-calmdown! Talk! Let's talk!"
"Talk?"
"Yes! Why this? Money? Women?"
He pointed shakily at table safe.
"M-money, take all!
Not just cash here. Sell the warehouse powder, live easy forever!"
"Oho."
"Women too, best quality! So..."
He peeked at me, grinning obsequiously.
I halted, pretended to mull.
"Money... yeah, money's good. Live easy forever, huh..."
"R-right? Why rough it with your skills? Partner with me..."
Relief bloomed on his face—
I smirked, grabbed the table wine bottle.
"Throat's dry."
Gulped straight from neck.
Sweet-bitter, smooth finest vintage.
"Ahh. Good stuff."
"D-drink up! More here!"
I wiped my mouth,
snatched his empty glass, filled it brimful.
Slosh.
Crimson liquid near overflow. Offered it.
"Here, you too."
"Uh? N-no, I..."
"Partners? Let me pour."
His face lit up,
"I-if that's it... sure..."
Reached trembling—
my hand passed his.
"Not hand."
Forced his jaw open.
"Mouth."
"Mmph?! Mm!!"
Shoved glass whole into mouth.
Rim packed his jaws full.
"Big mouth. Snake thing?"
Some snakes swallow elephants—python?
Grabbed his hair, forced jaws shut on glass.
"Chew."
"Mmmph!! Mmm!!"
He thrashed, but couldn't break my grip.
I smiled coldly, pressed harder.
"Chew."
Crunch!
Satisfying shatter. Glass exploded in mouth.
"Gaaaaah!!!!"
Scream with wine,
shredded flesh, blood gushed out.
Blood brighter than wine streamed jaw-down.
"Gack! Hack! Ptui! Blech!"
He rolled, vomiting bloody glass shards.
Tongue, palate rags now; he roared beastly in agony.
I hauled him up by hair.
Blood-soaked lips quivered.
I spoke warmly,
"Shared a drink. Now, serious talk?"
Set the mood for intimate time.
Fangless snake's only trick:
grovel flat,
lick till the hunting dog’s sated.