Chapter 113: The Most Ironic Death-3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 113: The Most Ironic Death-3
Taking advantage of Ho-cheol’s momentary lapse in focus, Garam grabbed his outstretched hands, twisted them, and forced him to his knees.
"Aaaagh!!"
Ho-cheol let out a scream that didn't suit him as the pain of his wrists snapping flared through his body.
Since the Wright brothers, there has been one more person to successfully achieve human flight.
That person was Garam.
With her hands hooked under Ho-cheol’s armpits, she hurled him toward the bed like a sack of rice.
Ho-cheol soared through the air, slammed into the wall, and crashed onto the mattress. He clutched his back, likely having taken a hard hit to his spine.
"Son of a... where does she get this strength...?"
While Garam glared at him, huffing and puffing, Ho-cheol stumbled to his feet and took an awkward stance on the mattress.
A brief standoff ensued. Having confirmed her physical superiority, Garam began to close in on him slowly.
Ho-cheol suddenly leaped to the side and bolted out of the room.
He’s not... running away, is he?
Garam chased after him, leaving the room as well. Once again, I was forced to rely on my hearing to understand what was happening outside.
The sounds coming from the living room were entirely one-sided.
"Come on! Come at me!"
Ho-cheol shouted, the sound of something heavy whistling through the air following his voice.
Occasionally, the sound of that object striking the floor echoed when it missed its mark.
Garam, on the other hand, was silent.
Like a machine programmed to kill, she seemed to be cornering Ho-cheol without a word.
The sounds of the chaotic struggle continued for several minutes.
"Guh..."
Somehow, Garam must have closed the distance while dodging Ho-cheol’s swings. Ho-cheol let out a wheezing gasp.
He had likely been struck in the stomach.
Then came a heavy thud as something—or someone—collapsed.
"Haa... haa..."
I heard a woman’s heavy breathing.
Then, the sound of feet dragging across the floor.
— CRACK!
The sound of something being violently stomped on and the sickening snap of bone drifted through the bedroom door.
"......"
So, this was how it ended.
I’m sorry, Ho-cheol. It’s my fault for...
Even as I lamented Ho-cheol’s failure, I held onto one small sliver of hope.
The hope that with all this noise, the neighbors next door or downstairs would come up to complain.
— Drag, drag.
The sound of dragging feet approached the room.
"Dad...."
Garam appeared, limping slowly. Blood was trickling down from her head.
She couldn't make it to me in one go and stopped to catch her breath several times.
"Phew... how annoying..."
She muttered, resting her chin on my knees.
Droplets of blood trailed down her cheek and dripped from her chin.
"Haa... haa..."
After catching her breath for a long while, she looked up at me.
"Do you really hate me that much?"
Even after everything had reached this point, she still craved affection. The sight of it made my breath hitch in my throat.
"I just wanted you to stay by my side...."
Her arms tightened around my knees.
However, it wasn't the bone-crushing strength she had shown before; it was a weak, fragile grip.
She held me with a force so slight that I could have shaken her off with a simple nudge of my leg.
"...Garam, I..."
I started to speak, but the words died in my throat.
Was it because I felt sorry for her?
No. It was because behind her, as she clung to me, a blood-soaked Ho-cheol appeared, staggering on his feet.
"Die, you bitch..."
A frying pan, held vertically, slammed directly into the top of Garam’s head.
With a dull thud, Garam collapsed backward. Ho-cheol didn't stop; he continued to rain blows down on her face with the frying pan.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"Die... you mon... ster..."
Thud. Thud. Thud.
"Fuck... back in my day... cough..."
He suddenly vomited a mouthful of blood.
"Ho-cheol... stop. She’s already dead."
Garam’s body, which had twitched with every strike of the pan, was now completely unresponsive.
I called out to Ho-cheol, who was still swinging the pan with vacant eyes.
"......"
His eyes, devoid of any light, turned toward me.
"Brother... let’s get out of here."
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah... I think my ribs are broken, though... and my leg feels snapped..."
"Is that so?"
"I think my lung was punctured... it’s hard to breathe..."
Cough, cough. He hacked up more blood.
"......"
"Bro... ther, I’m real... ly sorry... but let me just... rest for a second... then I’ll untie you."
Ho-cheol leaned his back against the bed frame and his head slumped forward.
Ten minutes passed.
"Ho-cheol?"
I called out to the motionless Ho-cheol.
"Ho-cheol?"
It was futile.
"......"
In the end, Ho-cheol died too.
Bound to a chair, surrounded by corpses.
A situation I couldn't escape on my own.
Please... someone, anyone, come.
We made so much noise. Please, let someone come up to complain.
— Ding-dong-dang-dong
The apartment intercom chimed.
[Attention, residents. This is the management office. We have received a noise complaint regarding a disturbance late tonight. Please be mindful of your neighbors and observe proper apartment etiquette.]
— Ding-dong-dang-dong
The chime signaled the end of the announcement.
And with it, my life in this dimension—the one where I had dreamed of a rosy future—also came to an end.
My cause of death was dehydration.
*
The bodies of In-ho, Ho-cheol, and Garam were discovered a month later.
The complaints about an unbearable stench had become incessant, forcing the management office to call the police and paramedics to break into In-ho’s home.
As soon as the door opened, the thick odor and swarms of insects sent the gathered neighbors fleeing in horror. A rookie police officer, who had only recently been commissioned, ran into the hallway to vomit.
"Man... what the hell happened here...?"
"Looks pretty clear to me. That guy probably tied the other one up to threaten him. The woman likely died trying to protect the man."
One officer spoke while covering his nose with a handkerchief, while another surveyed the carnage.
"Wow... so you’re saying the woman took the guy down?"
"Seems like it... whether it was the power of love or whatever... it’s impressive, regardless."
Exchanging idle observations, they began taking photos of the scene.
While they searched the house for other clues, the voice of the rookie officer guarding the entrance echoed from the front door.
"Uh... excuse me, you can't come in here."
Ignoring the restriction, a woman dressed in a sharp suit walked in, the clicking of her heels sharp against the floor.
"Who are you?"
The officer asked for her affiliation, taken aback by her confident entrance.
"Oh, me? I’m just someone with some business in this house."
"Are you an acquaintance? Even so, this is a crime scene. You need to leave. We’ll let you in once the situation is cleared up."
"That would take far too long... Hmm... Kkumuli. Give me a hand."
"What are you...? Gwaaaah!!"
Something black began to sprout from beneath the woman’s feet, spreading in every direction.
The black mass swallowed the paramedics and police officers in the house, then spat them back out with a wet sound.
Whether she had put them to sleep or knocked them unconscious, the woman stroked the black entity after seeing it had ensured she wouldn't be bothered.
"Thank you."
The entity seemed to shy away at the touch, twisting its body like a pretzel before shrinking instantly and vanishing at her feet.
— Click, clack.
Her heels made a distinct sound against the wooden floor.
She stepped into the room and wrinkled her nose at the foul stench, but she adjusted quickly.
"Late again. You certainly are a busy one."
The woman muttered as she looked at the man’s corpse, which was half-rotted and barely recognizable.
Then, her gaze shifted to the woman lying at the man’s feet.
"So it was you this time?"
"It’s a shame... but you should just consider him someone far too great for you to ever possess."
Whether she cared for the dead Garam’s feelings or not, she closed her eyes for a moment to offer a brief silent prayer.
"You’re already dead, so you won't be able to fulfill that love... but I’d like to take some of your power with me."
The woman knelt and brushed her hand against Garam’s decaying forehead.
"Kkumuli. It’s time for a meal. It’s been a while."
As she whispered, the black mass swallowed Garam’s corpse once more.
The black shadow flickered several times, like a cow chewing its cud. Watching this, the woman murmured:
"This will be a great help for the journey ahead."
*
"That wretched girl uses such wicked sorcery. In all my years, I have never seen such a technique."
The woman clicked her tongue as she dusted off her hands.
"Spirit Demon, have you ever seen the likes of it?"
The woman turned her gaze to another woman standing beside her.
"No. It was the first time I have witnessed such sorcery as well."
"Hmph... showing up out of nowhere, talking nonsense. What an utterly unpleasant girl."
The large craters gouged into the grounds of her estate served as a testament to how fierce the battle had just been.
"But you know... I doubt I’m the only one who felt it."
"Felt what, my lady?"
The one called Spirit Demon asked as the woman tilted her head with a frown.
"It seemed as though she was mimicking Namgung So-yeon’s martial arts. It was a bit crude, but the form and the flow of internal energy were unmistakably hers."
"Could it be... Qi Absorption as well...?"
"No, I’m talking about Namgung So-yeon before she became the Blood Demon. The flow of her energy was far too stable to say she was using the power of a Blood Demon."
"......"
"Ah, forget it. Let’s go finish the rest of that wine. If fate allows, we shall meet again."
As her master turned to head back into the house, the Spirit Demon hurried to follow behind her.