Let Go of That Hand

"Let go of that hand. Where do you think you're causing a scene?"

"......"

I tore my gaze away from Oh Hyuk-cheol and looked back at the old man.

"Guh... guhrrrk..."

His frail, ragged body couldn't hold out any longer—he was foaming at the mouth, eyes rolling back. He looked like he was in a lot of pain.

"If you're telling me to let go, then I will."

Crack!

I snapped his cervical vertebrae with my fingers, freeing him from his agony. I tossed the old man's limp body roughly to the floor.

"......"

"H-Hiiik...!"

I turned to Oh Hyuk-cheol, who stared in a daze, and the researchers gasping in shock, brushing off my hands with a clap.

"There. You told me to let go, so I did."

"That bastard—take him down!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

At Oh Hyuk-cheol's roar, the researchers frantically drew their weapons. They looked like laser guns straight out of a sci-fi flick, but just staring at them made me sigh.

"We're on the same page, Mom. Wouldn't a machine gun be way better?"

"What the hell are you babbling about! We'll blast—"

He probably wanted to say "blast you," but Oh Hyuk-cheol had no choice but to go silent in the next instant.

- Grrr...

"You can stop the wolf fire now. It eats up too much mana."

The leather pouch I suddenly pulled out went pop!, and Gift revealed his massive body.

Everyone except me and Gift went pale as ghosts.

"D-Dragon...?!"

"What the fuck. Why's a dragon popping out of there?!"

It's not a dragon, it's a wolf-dragon.

The researchers hesitated, unsure whether to shoot me or the dragon first, then unleashed a barrage all at once. Naturally, their target was the dragon.

Boom boom boom!

...Not bad firepower, huh?

"I-It doesn't even scratch him...!"

Of course it wouldn't. This guy's the strongest drag—shit. Now even I'm getting confused.

I gave an order to Gift, who was taking the laser barrage as leisurely as a sunbather.

"Go wild until you're satisfied. But don't eat any of them? It'll cause trouble later."

- Kiiing...

"No, why the disappointed face? I'll get ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you something way tastier later. That good enough?"

- Kyaang!

Habits need to be ingrained properly. No matter what, I can't let my kid eat human trash worse than garbage, right?

Crack crack boom!

With his feral instincts unleashed, Gift swept through the researchers like a tidal wave.

"N-No, stay back—!"

"S-Save... Aaaagh!"

His swinging forepaw crushed three or four at once, and his whip-like tail demolished the surrounding research equipment. Some of those were glass tanks holding monster specimens.

"Escaping? ...Ah! That fucker!"

In the midst of the chaos, Oh Hyuk-cheol was hightailing it alone, trying to save his own skin. Of course, it was a futile effort.

I picked up one of the researchers' laser guns and aimed at him.

"Is the trigger here?"

Pew!

A blue flash shot out, piercing his right calf.

"Guhk...!"

He staggered for a moment, then kept hobbling away on one leg.

"Is this gun crap, or is that guy just tough..."

So I fired again.

Pew!

This time, his left calf.

"Gaaah...!"

Finally, he collapsed, blood pouring from both legs. I walked over slowly and grabbed a fistful of his hair as he flopped around like a fish out of water.

"Navigation."

"W-What, what...?"

"Ears clogged? Guide me to the room with the 'samples.'"

"What the hell do you mean guide?! You know where it is!"

Oh, right. I was still wearing the Ice Mask. It steadily drains mana while active. No point wasting it here.

I deactivated the skill and reverted to my true appearance. Oh Hyuk-cheol's face twisted like he'd seen a ghost as my features shifted in an instant.

"What're you staring at? Hurry up and guide me. Navigation broken?"

"H-Ha... O-Okay. Kang Tae-sik was actually—"

"Aigoo. Way too perceptive for your own good. But what now?"

I tightened my grip, yanking out a chunk of his hair. A bit of scalp came with it, and the metallic tang of blood rose up.

"Uh, guh-hurk—?!"

"I hate quick-witted guys like you the most."

Half his hair gone, Oh Hyuk-cheol flailed and grabbed my wrist.

...Damn, annoying. If the kids' room didn't require his mana to open, I'd have killed him ages ago.

"Don't touch me with your filthy trotter—"

I placed my palm on the crown of his head.

"You dare touch me?"

Bam!

I slammed his face into the floor. Teeth shattered, blood spraying everywhere.

I yanked his head back up by the hair; he was on the verge of passing out.

"Guh, guh..."

"Don't wanna kiss the floor again? Then start navigating."

"T-Then you'll let me live—"

I put the slightest pressure on his head. Just enough to hint I'd repeat the last stunt. Just a hint.

That alone made him jolt like a knife to the heart.

"O-Okay! I'll guide you! That's all, right?!"

A short while later, thanks to the excellent navigation, I reached the vicinity of my destination without getting lost.

Vicinity only.

"Rest stop."

"...?"

Oh Hyuk-cheol made a puzzled noise as I veered off suddenly. It quickly turned into a scream.

"I-I don't know what you're thinking, but you absolutely can't touch that!"

"I don't know what you're thinking, but one more word and I'll peel your face off."

"......"

I really meant it. Too bad.

I stood before the largest glass tank in the lab, arms crossed quietly. Inside was an egg so massive it could have been laid by a dinosaur, carefully preserved.

"Even seeing it with my own eyes, I can hardly believe it... Yeah. Looks like the Disaster Egg for real."

In the near future, four artifacts that would turn Earth into a living hell: the Evil Divine Machines. And the most threatening among them, the Disaster Egg, was right in front of me, separated only by a sheet of glass.

Immense mana...

Feels like a nuke's stuffed inside. Triple-layered barriers for suppression on top of specially coated reinforced glass, and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠still.

The mana waves are so intense they're giving me vertigo.

Can I even handle this? No choice, but... honestly, I'm anxious.

Of all places, the Disaster Egg crashes into these bastards' home base...

I vaguely knew how they'd acquired it from Kang Tae-sik's memories. The egg had fallen like a meteor near their headquarters. Whether from space or some dimensional rift, who knows.

But one thing's clear: "Better off in my hands than in this madhouse."

"Y-You... You're not thinking of taking that, are you...?"

I muttered to myself, but he overheard.

"Why? Gonna try to stop me?"

"N-No... It's just, for an individual, it's a bit too much to handle..."

"Worrying pointlessly when you don't even know what's inside."

"What's inside...?"

"Am I your friend? No reason to tell you."

He wouldn't believe me anyway.

First, how to handle this barrier.

"Hey, you're the director here, right? So you have the highest security clearance."

"...Y-Yeah?"

"Come dispel this barrier."

"......"

He crawled over cringingly and channeled a bit of mana. The barrier resonated and shattered, then crack—fissures spiderwebbed across the sturdy glass tank in seconds.

Probably from the egg's overwhelming mana.

"This feels bad..."

Oh Hyuk-cheol backed away, sweating bullets, regretting the dispel.

I agreed, but no turning back now.

"Positive mindset—love it."

But I had no plans to deal with the egg right now. My priorities were set.

"Good job. Keep guiding."

"Just leave this as is... F-Fine, I won't ask anymore, so stop glaring..."

Now Oh Hyuk-cheol was offering his head on his own.

Soon, we reached the lab's depths, where a wall appeared. Oh Hyuk-cheol swept mana over it, dispelling the illusion and revealing a hidden space.

A dark straight corridor lit by sporadic red lights. He glanced at me warily.

"L-Listen. From here on, uh, well..."

Desperately trying to hide what shouldn't be seen. But pointless—I already knew what lay ahead.

From then on, I navigated the corridor expertly without his guidance, heading straight to that room.

Damn it all.

Everything from here was burned vividly into my memory.

"......"

The deeper we went, the thicker the stench—like blood or something worse.

The closer the sobbing sounds grew.

I silently held back the tears welling up. This churning in my chest—I couldn't put a name to it.

I thought knowing the truth ahead would make it bearable.

"M-Mom... Mommy..."

"Hic... squeak..."

"Hungry... cold..."

Facing it with my own eyes, I wasn't sure I could endure.

Beyond the iron bars, children who looked no older than ten huddled and shivered.

Some couldn't even curl up properly.

"Arm... my arm hurts so much..."

Because insect-like legs had been grafted where arms should be, joints refusing to bend right.

And every child in ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠those bars had their bodies grotesquely modified. Necks collared with enchanted restraints.

"Heh, heh... S-Scared, huh?"

Oh Hyuk-cheol rolled his eyes at me, sneering.

"I-I'll explain everything. Once you hear, you'll understand—"

Just breathing the same air as this scum rotted my lungs.

So,

- Crunch!

I smashed his nose with my knee.

"Guh, guhurk...?!"

"No need to explain. I already know everything."

That he'd snatched outbreak orphans from the orphanage and cut them up. That younger kids had higher graft success for quality 'chimeras.' Oh Chae-rin's plan to mass-slaughter them later for a ghoul army with Corpse Revival.

I knew it all. Sickeningly well.

- Splat!

I drove my fist full-force into his already pulped face. Blood gushed from his burst eye socket, screams unending.

"W-Wait. W-Wai...!"

"You know what really pisses me off?"

Thud! Thud! Thud!

"Guh, guuuuh..."

"No matter how much I beat you to death right now, those kids are stuck like that forever."

Not cathartic at all. If anything, I was the one choking.

"Puh... ugh... puh—"

When I paused my fists, his face was so mangled his features were unrecognizable. I was grateful he was still breathing, not dead.

Thrilled I could make this trash suffer more.

"L-Live... please..."

"Wrong. You should be thanking me right now."

Whoosh...

Ether flames quietly ignited, enveloping my hands.

"Those kids have to live a life worse than death, but you get to die by my hand, you brazen fuck."

"Guh, hngh, hngh... hngh..."

"If even trash like you has a speck of conscience, at least die in maximum pain."

I reached out with my flame-seared hands and gripped his face.

"......! ......!!"

As his flesh melted like candle wax, he thrashed his legs wildly. Muscles liquefied, bones crumbled—finally, thud.

His flailing legs went still.

"......"

No head left for Greed Photography. Might've gleaned useful info, but whatever. I'm human too—I don't wanna peek inside this scum's skull.

"I'm fine. I can handle it."

And this isn't the time for you to worry about me.

I approached the iron bars holding the children slowly.

Creeeak!

Just a bit of strength bent them like taffy.

"......"

The kids stared at me with trembling eyes. How did I look to them now—the guy who'd brutally killed their tormentor?

Good person? Bad? Confusing. Scary too, probably.

I get it.

"Hi."

I smiled gently and extended my hand to the children buried in the dark.

"For now, shall we go somewhere with fresh air?"