Abandoned Underground Mall (2)
Five shadows flickered at the entrance to the Abandoned Underground Mall Gate. The burly man who had mocked Eugene outside the Gate earlier—Kim Seokdu and his crew.
"Boss, you really gonna go in? That summoner punk's probably already been stripped to the bone by the ghouls by now."
"That's why we're going in." Kim Seokdu grinned sleazily as he flicked on his flashlight. They were an officially registered party with the Association, but in reality, they were nothing more than hyenas scavenging scraps from Gates. They looted the corpses of guildless independents or newbies who got killed. And they didn't stop at the dead—they trafficked the living for ransom. They had no qualms hunting down unlucky rookies and selling them off into human trafficking. Loot the dead, sell the living. That was their main source of income. Low-grade human traffickers, plain and simple. No fancier label needed.
The Abandoned Underground Mall Gate was the perfect spot for an ambush. Dark, narrow passages twisted like a maze—ideal for killing someone and hiding the body. Kim Seokdu smirked and took the lead. A mere E-rank punk who dared ignore him. No one in this district had ever disrespected Kim Seokdu and lived. He'd killed every arrogant bastard like that without exception.
While the guy was distracted by the monsters, he'd crush that smug pride. Saliva already pooled in his mouth at the thought. If he was already dead, they'd just loot the corpse. But if he was still alive... 'I'll kill him myself.' He might look like an E-rank on paper, but Kim Seokdu's real power was solidly C-rank. He'd only been hiding it on orders from the organization. Once he unleashed his true strength, no one would dare look down on him. The corner of Kim Seokdu's mouth twisted upward. Imagining that hotshot summoner begging for mercy at his feet brought laughter bubbling up unbidden.
"Huh? Boss, check that out."
One of the scouts pointed at the floor in a panicked voice. Kim Seokdu's flashlight beam swept over it. Instead of the bloodbath they'd expected, a pristine corridor stretched before them. No—not pristine. The floor and walls were gouged in places by some immense force, and unidentified corpses were piled up in neat stacks.
"What the hell is this? Where's that punk's body...?"
"Those are ghouls, right? No way—all of these are ghouls?"
"Did that summoner guy do this?"
"Shut your mouths, all of you."
Kim Seokdu growled low at his panicking crew. The shock was brief—his eyes soon gleamed with greed. And in his head, the abacus was already clacking furiously. Guildless independent. No decent gear, just rags. But overwhelming skill. This wasn't some random newbie stumbling in. A walking lottery ticket—either awakened with a rare skill the world hadn't seen yet, or hiding a high-rank summon. That explained the cocky attitude. He had something to back it up. But unfortunately, the moment he crossed paths with Kim Seokdu, his life was as good as over. Sure, they looked like E-ranks on paper—but Kim Seokdu was a hidden C-rank.
"Hey. Change of plans."
His voice dropped to a rasp. "We're tailing that bastard."
"What? Boss, how are we supposed to take on a monster like that...?"
"You idiots can't think? He's a prospect. Hand over a talented Awakener alive to the bosses, and we name our price. No affiliation means no one comes looking if he goes missing in a Gate."
Kim Seokdu's lips split in a vile grin. "If shit hits the fan, we bury him quietly here. No CCTV in a Gate. He's a summoner anyway—body's just a meat puppet. Wait till he's worn out fighting monsters, then crack his skull from behind. Got it?"
Greed blinded his crew; they exchanged glances and nodded. Money smelled sweeter than fear. They crept forward silently, following the trail of destruction Eugene had left, slipping into the darkness.
"Kieeeek!"
A guttural screech echoed from the darkness. A pack of ghouls, their skin flayed to expose grotesque red muscle. At least twenty of them. They charged madly, drawn by the scent of fresh human flesh.
But Eugene didn't pull his hand from his pocket. He simply took one step forward.
Swish.
In that instant, the thick shadow pooling at his feet slithered across the floor like a massive serpent.
Crunch!
Dull explosions rang out in succession. Pitch-black claws erupted from Eugene's shadow, seizing the lead ghouls by the throat and waist, crushing them in an instant.
"Kyaaak...!"
The screams were short-lived. Ghoul bones and sinew crumpled like wet paper under the shadow's grip. The followers hesitated in primal terror, but the shadows showed no mercy. They proliferated grotesquely across walls and ceiling, engulfing the ghouls from every blind spot. Bursting, tearing, crushing. A massacre without a drop of blood splatter. The devoured ghouls dissolved into unrecognizable meat lumps rolling across the floor. Grotesque, even for undead humanoid monsters—but all that remained were glittering mana stones.
"Talk about convenient."
Eugene muttered under his breath, nudging a mana stone with his toe. No need to bend down anymore. His growing mana let the shadows morph freely, extending tiny tendrils to sweep the stones neatly into his bag. Perfect auto-farming. Barely any mana drain.
Five minutes flat. Twenty ghouls wiped clean.
Eugene brushed his spotless shoes and ventured deeper into the gloom. The hunt was smooth, but an odd unease tugged at him. Ghouls were brainless; they charged headlong at any life scent. Yet deeper in the mall, things changed. They weren't hunting him—they fled outward, as if chased by some colossal terror. Too consistent for coincidence.
'This tied to the Polluted Core too?'
Eugene's gaze fixed on a collapsed bathroom wall. The entire surface was coated in an unsettling dark-red stain. Not Gate moss or monster blood. A viscous black ooze that writhed faintly, as if alive. Devouring even the surrounding light in its eerie form. His eyes narrowed.
If this linked to Aria's warnings about Gate overloads, then this area hid a mutated abomination.
He reached cautiously toward the polluted stain—
Shiiik!
A sharp whistle cut from the darkness behind him. Aimed at his exposed neck: an assassination needle laced with paralyzing venom.
But it halted midair, inches from his skin. The shadow at his back morphed into a human hand, snatching the dart between two fingers.
"Tch. Missed."
A tongue-click from the shadows, and out stepped the hulking Kim Seokdu. His four armed crew fanned out, blocking every escape.
"Hey, rookie. Got eyes in the back of your head? Lucky bastard."
Kim Seokdu approached with a sleazy smile, his steps oozing confidence from numerical superiority—and utter certainty in his own power.
Eugene didn't even turn. He just dropped the needle to the floor with a clink.
"Get lost while I'm asking nice."
Dry, flat tone. Not a trace of panic or fear. That calm made Kim Seokdu's face twist ugly.
"Don't front, punk. Your summons can be badass all you want—knife in your meat puppet ends it. Hands up, on your knees. Keep your limbs intact, maybe."
At his signal, one crew member hurled a binding snare at Eugene's ankle.
That instant—
"Annoying."
Humans forget easily. Sometimes you needed education, not words. The kind etched bone-deep, unforgettable agony.
BOOM!
The entire underground mall shook like an earthquake. Kim Seokdu and his crew slammed to the floor under invisible crushing pressure.
First time testing Gravity (S) on humans instead of monsters. More effective than expected.
Crack! Crunch!
Tiles shattered like spiderwebs. Kim Seokdu's shoulder blades exploded from their sockets.
"Guhk...! Keoogh!"
Lungs crushed; even screams choked off. Viscera compressed to the bursting point—pure agony.
"Kheuk...! Keuk...! W-what the...!"
Kim Seokdu forced his head up, vomiting bloody froth. Through his pinned vision: Eugene's shoe tip. Untouched by a drop of blood. Indifferent steps.
They'd poked the perfect hornet's nest. No—this transcended that. Why would someone this strong bother with an E-rank Gate?
'Association hunting dog...?'
Chills raced down his spine. Association Inspection Division agents. Specialists in purging underworld scum like traffickers and illegal Gate squatters. True to their name, relentless hounds that never released prey. No mercy. Fists before laws—human weapons.
If this monster was one, Kim Seokdu's life ended here. Only ominous bone-cracks echoed above.
He knew instinctively: pride now meant death today.
"P-please... spare me! Mercy, sir! We were insane!"
Kim Seokdu groveled, crushed to the floor. But his outer crew, witnessing that power, had already snapped.
"M-monster...! Run!"
Terror-struck, they bolted not for the entrance, but deeper into the dark.
That moment—
Greeeak... Crunch!
Their frantic footsteps cut short with spine-chilling bone-shatters.
From the dark emerged a massive aberration. Between its enormous jaws, coated in black slime, dangled the crewmen's lower halves limply.
A giant black slime monster—not even humanoid.
Gulp.
It swallowed its prey whole. Now its ravenous malice turned to Kim Seokdu, sprawled on the floor.
"Hiiik...! S-stay back! Get away!"
He flailed his broken arm futilely; gravity pinned him immobile. The massive slime maw yawned wide, shadowing his head.
Splorch!
No death rattle. Just eerie bone-grinding echoes.
Eugene thought he'd grown numb to it, but apparently not yet. Still, as an Awakener by choice, he'd bear it all.
He frowned silently at the writhing slime in the blood pool.
'This Gate's polluted freak.'
Coincidence piled into fate. Some sticky thread linking him and Gates. But for Eugene, a welcome special event. Why refuse a gift-wrapped present? Slay it, claim the black orb reward.
"■■Jin... ■..."
The black slime mumbled something. Inhuman noise, beyond vocal cords.
"■■■■■..."
Unintelligible tongue.
That instant, Eugene's shadow surged like a tidal wave, sensing danger.
It engulfed the slime whole, crushing down.
Crunch!
No mercy from shadows. One overwhelming strike. It shredded apart mid-mutter.
'Too weak for a polluted mutant. Or have I just gotten stronger?'
Unless Barcas-tier, no tension anymore. Utterly anticlimactic.
Eugene's brow furrowed deeper. More than that...
'At the end...'
Not mere death rattle. It had tried delivering a clear message to him.
A translucent blue status window filled his vision. Normally welcome, but...
Eugene smacked his lips bitterly. That final voice lingered in his ears.