Chapter 207: Eternal Spire[R-18] (32)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 207: Eternal Spire[R-18] (32)
In the dead of night.
Kim Min-su, his entire body cloaked in a robe, walked cautiously through the city's dark alleys. The streets were quiet, but the occasional sound of drunkards' laughter from here and there set his nerves on edge.
‘Tsk… I don’t want to be suspicious, but… just in case…’
It might have been better to pretend he knew nothing. But… his old cop instincts were screaming at him.
He knew instinctively that something was off, that he couldn't just let this go.
He carefully scanned his surroundings, staking out the place where Mila and the suspicious women had disappeared. It was heavily guarded, and getting inside looked difficult.
Kim Min-su quietly hid himself in the shadows and surveyed the area.
‘Too many guards.’
If this were just an ordinary building, there would be no need for such tight security. He could also feel an invisible magical energy lingering around the premises.
‘That means they’re hiding something inside.’
Kim Min-su narrowed his eyes and began searching for a way to infiltrate. Turning into an alley on the right, he moved along the wall and found a hole hidden by some bushes.
‘It’s small, but I should be able to fit through.’
He carefully slipped through the opening. Fortunately, there were no guards in sight.
He cautiously approached the building, opened a window, and slipped inside. He moved as silently as possible, killing the sound of his footsteps. Then, hearing a faint voice coming from one of the rooms, he instinctively held his breath.
“Have the women gather in the auditorium later. There’s an inspection today.”
“Understood.”
Kim Min-su instinctively ducked down and listened intently.
‘Auditorium? An inspection?’
Through the crack in the door, he could see two women standing in the room. One was Kim So-yeon; the other had sharp, piercing eyes.
*
“The Master is coming tonight. Make sure everything is in order.”
“Understood. And, Lady So-yeon.”
“What is it?”
“A report came in about a problem at the brothel.”
“Do I have to deal with that kind of thing too? Can’t you handle it yourself?”
“My apologies…”
Kim So-yeon waved her hand in annoyance.
“Fine, give me the details. What’s the problem?”
“Some participants are reportedly causing a scene.”
Kim So-yeon’s eyes sharpened.
“What are their names and descriptions?”
“It’s a group of participants who recently came up from the 2nd floor… mostly men in their early twenties. They seem to be more talented than expected, performing well and earning quite a bit of money. I’m told they’ve been getting cocky lately.”
Kim So-yeon clicked her tongue, a weary expression on her face.
“Newbies always act up, but the ones these days cross the line too easily.”
“The man who appears to be the group’s leader is a particularly serious problem.”
Kim So-yeon raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Who is he?”
“His name is Oh Jin. He’s quite well-known among the participants.”
Kim So-yeon repeated the name, lightly tapping her fingers on the table.
“Oh Jin… I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere.”
“He was originally a member of Austin’s party. After reaching the 3rd floor, he left and formed a new party with other talented participants.”
Kim So-yeon leaned back with a sly smile.
“He left Austin’s party? Then he must have learned a thing or two.”
She drummed her fingers on the desk, lost in thought.
“I think I get the picture. Is he trying to build his own power base on the 3rd floor…?”
As she pushed her chair back slightly and crossed her legs, the woman cautiously added, “Oh Jin hasn’t made a move himself, but his subordinates have been approaching our establishments and applying pressure.”
A slow smile spread across Kim So-yeon’s lips.
“Oh Jin has also been seen trying to form alliances with several other participants recently. He’s mainly expanding his influence among those from the lower floors.”
“The bottom-feeders are getting bold these days, aren’t they?”
A sudden question flashed through her mind.
“Can a guy who just got to the 3rd floor really stir up this much trouble so easily? Doesn’t he have someone backing him?”
The woman answered carefully.
“That’s the ambiguous part. On the surface, it looks like Oh Jin is acting alone, but there’s a possibility another power is behind him.”
Kim So-yeon narrowed her eyes and asked, “Are you sure Oh Jin is completely independent of Austin?”
“He appears to have cut ties completely, but there’s a chance they’re still connected behind the scenes.”
Kim So-yeon sighed and looked at the woman reporting to her.
“It’s a gray area. If Oh Jin is doing this without a care for Austin, then he’s just running wild, trusting in his own strength… Or, Austin is pulling the strings from behind.”
She smiled faintly.
“Well, it doesn’t matter either way. If the Master wants it, all we have to do is crush them.”
She stood up from her chair and stretched as if to loosen up.
“Compile his location and behavioral patterns. When the Master gives the order…”
Her eyes gleamed coldly.
“We’ll eliminate him immediately.”
The woman nodded.
“Understood.”
“And you handle the auditorium inspection. I need to go report to the Master.”
“Yes.”
“Good work.”
Kim So-yeon smiled lightly, opened the door, and stepped into the hallway. As she walked down the quiet corridor, she felt a gaze on her from behind and smirked.
‘This kind of acting is pretty fun. I think I get why the Master enjoys this sort of thing…’
*
After Kim So-yeon left, Kim Min-su, who had been clinging to the ceiling, slowly exhaled.
‘Phew… I wasn’t spotted.’
The tension from moments ago had left his back drenched in sweat. The cold sweat trickling down his spine was unpleasant, but he had no time to worry about it now.
The conversation he had just overheard replayed in his mind.
‘The Master… Could it be Seo-yun? Or is there someone else?’
He pushed aside his complicated thoughts and focused on the presence of the woman still in the room. He sensed her starting to move out.
It seemed she was heading to the auditorium she had mentioned.
Kim Min-su carefully lowered himself from the ceiling and silently followed her.
‘First, I need to follow that woman.’
Following the direction she was heading, he soon came to a large door that looked like the entrance to an auditorium. The woman opened it and went inside. He saw guards standing in front of the door. Kim Min-su slipped out through a window and checked the auditorium through an adjacent one.
Peeking through a crack in the window, Kim Min-su was stunned by what he saw inside.
‘What… is this?’
It was a completely different scene from what he had expected. Inside the auditorium, armed women were undergoing training. Their movements were disciplined and sharp, their expressions stern and focused.
‘What is this, are they training some kind of special forces unit?’
Kim Min-su was thrown into confusion. The situation didn't match any of the scenarios he had imagined.
Just then, the cold voice of the woman from the room echoed through the hall.
“The Master will be inspecting you personally. Not a single mistake will be tolerated.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
The women answered in unison, and the training resumed.
Kim Min-su’s mind was a mess.
‘They’re not sex slaves… they’re trained soldiers. What the hell is going on here?’
He ran a hand through his hair and let out a small sigh. It seemed he had been caught in a pointless misunderstanding.
‘Right, there’s no way Seo-yun would do something like that…’
Even though he had trusted his gut, he felt ashamed for having suspected a comrade. Kim Min-su stared at the auditorium and muttered bitterly.
“I guess you really shouldn’t be so quick to judge people…”
Kim Min-su turned away. Still, his questions weren't entirely resolved.
‘If they’re going to such lengths to operate in secret, they must have some other purpose, right?’
A lingering sense of suspicion remained, but the anxiety in a corner of his heart subsided with the knowledge that, at the very least, Seo-yun wasn't involved in something horrific.
Kim Min-su quietly slipped out of the alley, organizing his thoughts.
‘I should go back and tell So-young first. It’s best to clear up unnecessary misunderstandings quickly.’
As he exited through the small hole he’d used to enter, a black snake that had been waiting silently in the darkness appeared. Its red eyes glinted sharply.
A moment later, Tia appeared, elegantly sweeping back her violet hair. She glanced at the hole with cold eyes, then gave a quiet order to the women following her.
“Seal that hole again.”
“Understood.”
Tia gave a simple nod and turned away.
“Now, let’s head to the basement auditorium.”
Tia and the women descended a spiral staircase. As they went down, the atmosphere changed completely.
At the bottom of the stairs was a massive iron door. Tia held a crystal key in her hand to the door, and it swung open without a sound.
“Welcome, Lady Yekaterina.”
A woman waiting in front of the door bowed deeply.
“Are the preparations complete?”
“Yes. All the ‘tools’ have finished their preparations.”
“Good. I’ll inspect them before Mr. Seo-yun uses them.”
Tia passed through the iron door and entered the basement auditorium. It was completely different from the one on the surface. The entire room was bathed in a red light, and beautiful women stood in a line, completely naked.
Tia approached the woman at the front, spreading her pussy open to look inside and then thrusting her fingers in to probe it.
Squelch…
“Haahng…”
“The color of her vulva is clean, and her tightness isn’t bad. Her breasts are large and her moans are pleasant to the ear. I think she’ll be a perfect match for Mr. Seo-yun’s tastes.”
Tia nodded with a satisfied expression and moved to the next woman. Every time her hands passed over their bodies, moans echoed through the auditorium.
“Your skin is so soft. Have you been receiving special care?”
“No, ma’am. I was born with it!”
Tia smiled and lightly caressed the woman’s breast. The woman’s body trembled as she moaned.
“Ahht…”
“Mr. Seo-yun will like this. Next…”
Tia continued her meticulous inspection, one by one. But when she reached the second-to-last woman, her expression darkened.
“What’s with this one? Why does she look so pale?”
“My apologies. She has been refusing to eat since yesterday.”
Tia stared at the woman with cold eyes.
“What are you so unhappy about? You’re going to be treated well.”
The woman kept her head down and said nothing. Tia sighed lightly and instructed the manager standing beside her.
“This one seems to need some ‘special management’ before she can be presented. Teach her some ‘manners’ before Mr. Seo-yun arrives.”
“Yes, understood.”
As Tia approached the last woman, a loud noise suddenly erupted from one side of the room.
“Let me go! You bitches!”
Tia raised an eyebrow slightly and walked toward the source of the sound. Inside a steel cage was a woman with red hair. It was Mila Roseburg.
“Is she still being this loud?”
“Yes, she’s been like this the whole time. Lady So-yeon said she was difficult to handle, so the Master decided to deal with her personally.”
Mila glared at Tia with eyes full of rage.
“Let me go! I said send me home!”
Tia lightly touched Mila’s cheek with her finger.
“You still don’t get it, do you? You belong to the Master now. It would be better for you to just accept it.”
“Fuck you! My dad won’t let you get away with this! You’re all dead!”
Tia burst out laughing.
“You have no idea how many times I’ve heard that. ‘My father,’ ‘my husband’… But strangely enough, no one has ever come looking for them.”
Rage flared in Mila’s eyes.
“You bitch…!”
Tia looked at Mila’s defiant gaze and gave a chilling smile.
“So defiant even after being raped once. You’re just the kind of toy Mr. Seo-yun loves. Still, a little education seems necessary.”
With a cold look in her eyes, Tia unlocked the cage. A sudden chill ran down Mila’s spine, and her body trembled.