Chapter 71
Chapter 71
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 71
Chapter Title: Trash Has to Be Removed
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‘What the hell.’
The man was currently freaking out. His brain couldn't process what was happening, leaving him frozen stiff.
His mind just wouldn't work.
Why? One look at his body told the story. A skeletal frame with nothing but bones, skin tinged almost purple, and the demonic energy pouring out of him.
He was a demifiend.
A being who had traded his soul and lifespan—his flesh and mind—for a pact with a devil, transcending humanity.
No ordinary human could even scratch a demifiend's skin. They were so powerful that even those legendary heroes had a dedicated Demifiend Countermeasure Team to deal with them. That's what a demifiend was.
But what was this situation right now?
His vision was fixed on the floor. His body wouldn't move. He'd been subdued.
‘No way.’
His eyes couldn't move, but he knew exactly what was on top of him.
A slender girl. With a kid in tow.
A golden-haired beauty. A girl so stunning that "beautiful" didn't even do her justice.
He'd thought he'd hit the jackpot. A fragile-looking girl wandering around defenseless with a child.
Two sacrifices falling right into his lap for free. That's what he'd thought—right up until the girl punched him once.
‘It's not even about strength.’
One hit, and all power drained from his body. Literally. Like paralysis, every ounce of strength fled his limbs.
The demonic energy that formed the core of his being had vanished.
‘What do I do?’
There was no answer. As long as the girl was stepping on him, he couldn't even run. The moment demonic energy tried to regenerate, it broke down and dissipated.
As he agonized over it for a while, something appeared in front of the man's eyes.
A little kid. Maybe five years old? The golden-haired girl toddled up to him with an innocent smile.
This was it. A flash of inspiration hit the man, and he acted on it immediately.
"K-Kid."
But as if mocking his idea, the kid just gave him a single glance and ignored him completely. Her attention was elsewhere.
[Daddy~]
An arm came down. The kid vanished from his sight. In her place, someone crouched down.
Black hair. Black eyes. A face that pissed him off even on first sight. The man grinned.
He held a strange vial in his hand.
"Raphael. You can move your foot now."
"Really? This guy's a demifiend, you know? Trash who made a pact with a devil."
"I know."
Trash, huh. The man frowned for a split second but didn't show it. Her lifting her foot was a win, right?
The foot lifted. He seized the moment as his demonic energy surged back—instantly targeting the man in front of him—
Crash!!
With that sound, his vision flickered. It was definitely water. But it hit like a blunt weapon slamming into him.
The man collapsed. Power drained from his body, and his consciousness faded away.
—Daddy, what was that?
—Trash cleanup. Remember this well, Levatein. Trash has to be removed.
—Okay! Trash cleanup!
—You're learning good stuff. But trash fights back, so... whatever.
—Mister. Know any good spots? Like for torture.
—Got one, but...
His vision went black.
Drip—
"Ugh..."
Drip—
It hurt. No, more like it stung. The man's consciousness slowly rose to the surface. And when he fully opened his eyes...
"—!!!!"
He bit down on his lip against the pain. He had no choice. It was agony. Not just any pain—this was like a utility knife carving into his flesh.
The man looked at the source. His left thigh. Water was dripping onto it.
One drop. One drop. Each one felt like his bare skin was being shredded by a blade.
He wanted to swat that water away right now, but his body was bound. Same as before. No strength at all.
‘Why?!’
The girl from earlier wasn't even there. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he scanned his surroundings—but there was only one thing there.
A boy sitting in front of him.
In the dark room, he sat quietly.
"You're awake? I was just about to go looking for you, but you came right to me. How convenient."
"Bullshit."
Unbelievable. Did this kid think he could take on a demifiend with water? The girl earlier aside—this boy didn't give off any presence at all.
It was bravado. Hunting demifiends? The moment he saw him, the kid would become the sacrifice.
"What? That attitude?"
Didn't he grasp his own situation? The boy stood up. It was dark, so hard to see, but something was in his hand.
"Listen up. You can't use demonic energy right now. Know why? What’s touching your body is way better than the premium holy water they make in churches. Probably no one in this world but me could get it."
"Bullshit."
"Hmm. Really?"
The boy approached. He shoved what he held right up close. Pain crashed over him at the same time.
"—!!!!"
He nearly passed out. It was like every inch of his flesh was being sliced off. He couldn't even scream—just clamp his jaws shut on his bleeding lip.
"From now on, answer my questions. Only."
"No—"
Crash—!!
"—!!!!"
Pain surged again. Worse than before. But he didn't pass out. Whenever he teetered on the edge, the pain stopped.
Blood trickled from lips that couldn't even scream.
"Don't get cocky. Know what this is?"
The boy shook the vial of holy water, making it slosh. It dangled right in front of his eyes.
"It's that premium holy water I mentioned, diluted. Why do you think?"
An answer flashed in the man's mind. No way?
"So you... won't pass out?"
"Oh. Correct. Good answer, so no splash this time."
Chills ran through his entire body. So that's why he hadn't blacked out. Was this kid a psychopath?
"I'm saying it again—don't get cocky. Just spill what you know."
The man didn't answer. No way he would. The pact he and his group had made was for the greater good.
He'd bite his tongue and die first—
"Too bad. That was your last chance."
"What?"
"You know demifiends have no pain tolerance? Their steel-like skin always blocks attacks, so they barely feel pain. But holy water? It ignores the skin and delivers straight agony."
The boy lifted the holy water. Ready to throw.
‘Don't flinch. Don't flinch. He can't have many.’
How much did premium holy water even cost? Threats from some clueless brat held no terror.
The man braced himself, chewing his lip.
"Sigh. If you feel like talking, speak up? This is a freebie before I throw—people exposed to extreme pain nonstop, their brains shut down pain receptors to protect the body. What happens then? Ta-da~ Vegetable complete!"
Or so they say. Believe it or not. With those words, the boy threw the holy water.
One.
Bearable.
Two.
Like dying, but still manageable.
Three.
Like dying. He'd rather pass out.
Four.
Why was he still throwing? Shouldn't he be out by now?
Five.
Something was wrong. His iron will had shattered long ago.
A conversation replayed in his head.
—People exposed to extreme pain nonstop, their brains shut down pain receptors to protect the body. What happens then?
—Ta-da~ Vegetable complete~
Six.
He forced his eyes open to look at the boy. Holy water still in his hand.
Seven.
"Stop!! Stop!! I'll talk!! I'll talk!!"
"Can't hear you~"
Eight.
"Please spare me. Please spare me. Please spare me."
"Louder!!"
Nine.
"We were gathering sacrifices for a devil summoning. The ritual needs 30 corpses and—"
That was it.
Lee Seong-hoon tucked the holy water away as he watched the man finally ready to talk.
"Still, it's impressive there's a place open this late."
Nearby café. Lucky for us, one was still operating. Self-employed folks who stay open at times like this are legends.
Desserts were good too. Nice spot. Levatein, sitting on Raphael's lap, munched away happily.
Wipe the whipped cream off her face, and she beams for some reason.
"So we have to stay here until evening?"
I nodded, took a few more bites, and pushed the rest toward Lachesis.
From torturing that demifiend earlier, we'd learned quite a bit.
First off, things weren't far off from the original story's progress.
In the original, Kim Tae-hyun and Yang Min-ji come here, get kidnapped.
They get rescued before becoming sacrifices, stopping the devil's descent—but Yang Min-ji's ability catches the enemies' eyes, making her a target.
That's the plot.
But since I accelerated the incident, it hadn't progressed that far.
Next, the vampires.
No idea where they got the info, but they'd learned about the impending subjugation.
So they were borrowing vampire power to prepare. With 20 corpses already fed into the summoning circle in their hideout, running would be weird.
"But that guy earlier was in such a rush. You think he's okay?"
"Yeah. Eat this."
Nom— The blonde digs into cake. Worrying about that guy is pointless.
He probably overheard me torturing him anyway. No need to fret.
It'll play out the same. No devil summoned, just like the original, and they'll get subjugated naturally.
After all, it's the Demifiend Countermeasure Team coming. They're the best at fighting demifiends.
Unlike other heroes, they're specialized in close-quarters combat against demifiends. Special list or whatever?
I just wait, trust them to handle it, grab the items, and bounce. Yeah. That's the plan.
"What do we do until evening?"
"Hunt for good eats."
"Everything's closed."
[Play with Levatein!!]
"Pass."
I ignored the two blondes pouting their lips and rested my chin on my hand, gazing out the window.
"Vampires, huh."
Good thing I didn't bring Sophia.
Dark room. Two men stared each other down.
One had red eyes that glowed even in the shadows. The other's were a deep ash-gray.
"Thanks for coming. You damn mosquito bastards."
"You're welcome. Puppet."
They shook hands, laughing. Veins bulged on the backs of their hands, but neither lost their smile.
"I specifically asked for a Pureblood."
"Purebloods your friends or something? Be grateful I came."
"I heard even Progenitors can't keep up with half a Pureblood."
"Wanna die?"
Can you kill me? With those words, both rose from their seats. They glared. But neither threw the first punch.
About three seconds of silence later...
They sat back down.
"So what do we do?"
"Watch from above. Kill anything that comes. Done."
"Killing them brings bigger fish."
"Ah. Don't kill. Use as sacrifices. Gotta summon quick and bail."
"Manifesting in the human world, huh. So crude."
"Fuck off. How much you know after crawling out of your hole."
"Unlike you short-lived punks, I've lived long."
"Hey. We offer enough sacrifices, we'll live long too."
The red-eyed man ignored him and shifted his crossed legs.
"Don't forget. When the devil's summoned, our wish comes first."
"Yeah, yeah, that was the deal~ So cooperate nicely for a smooth summon."
"Don't worry about us. Worry about yourselves."
The ash-gray eyes laughed in amusement.
"You think demifiends are a joke? Seven coming. We've got 23 sacrifices prepped. Just toss them in, done."
"Good enough."
The blood-eyed man stood as if their business was over. He left without looking back.
"Leaving already? Spill your wish already!!"
"I live by getting jobs done clean. One wish."
The man turned. His blood-red eyes gleamed bright in the dark.
"Lady Sophia's location."