If I had to choose the most f×cking awful person I had encountered throughout thousands of regressions, several strong candidates would compete fiercely.
But if I had to choose the most f×cking awful human being, there would be only one.
Dollmaker Sa Ujin.
He was an incomprehensible, unpredictable madman whose boundary between good and evil was unclear—and he was exceptionally skilled, too.
Nearly everything in the underworld was connected to him, so he was treated as both a one-man Guild and one of the Three Great Guilds.
The most dangerous thing about that madman was his Ability.
“I wonder whether you know my Ability. Just in case, I will introduce it. 「Pygmalion’s Web」. If these threads enter your body, you will become my ideal doll.”
A crazy, perverted b×stard who used his Ability on people he liked and turned them into dolls.
If I got caught by him, even I would be unable to die as I wished. I would have to live as a doll until the end of my allotted lifespan.
I absolutely could not decorate my monumental final death by becoming this pervert’s figurine.
I carefully raised both hands.
“I heard your threat, which was not a suggestion, so could you remove your Ability now?”
“Hmm, all right. I deliberately tried to scare you because I thought you might resist……. You are calm, though?”
I deliberately did not lower my attitude and faced him confidently.
That crazy pervert boldly turned people he liked into dolls. However, if someone acted too submissively in an attempt to force his interest to fade, he would simply cut off their head on the spot.
F×cked if I did, f×cked if I did not.
That was why the best method was never to get involved with him in the first place. Unfortunately, we were already involved.
“If an S-Rank like you wanted to kill us, you would have already ripped off our heads and played with them. Why would you bother to talk? Anyone frightened by this would be an idiot.”
Leia, who was being threatened beside me, was hiccupping and trembling.
“I-I did nothing wrong……. P-Please spare me……!”
Well, would you look at that.
Judging by what she said, it appeared she had not listened to our conversation at all.
“That one really is an idiot.”
“She certainly seems to be.”
***
“You did not expect me to serve tea, did you? Make do with cold water.”
“Hmm, this seems to be lukewarm water.”
“My gaze toward you is cold enough, so cool it yourself before you drink.”
I handed Sa Ujin a cup of plain water and Leia an empty cup, then sat in an empty chair at the dining table.
I did not want this conversation to continue for long, so I opened a cola, took a gulp, and began first.
“So, what did you come here to talk about?”
“Kang Seon, twenty-five years old. No family, no girlfriend, and no close acquaintances. Overall Rank D, Physical Rank D, Mana Rank D. It is an utterly ordinary history with nothing notable in it.”
“Wow. An S-Rank pervert is conducting background checks on civilians now?”
Even at my obviously provocative words, Sa Ujin merely grinned as though he were enjoying himself.
“However, such an ordinary person suddenly attempted an A-Rank Death Gamble one day, took a goddess away, and even succeeded in breaking the mirror during the process.”
I felt uneasy.
Sa Ujin’s expression twisted into a particularly unpleasant smile.
“People change, but this is rather drastic. It is truly interesting. Even if I asked you to tell me how you did it, you would not answer, would you?”
“Yeah. If you are curious, turn me into a doll. My ego will disappear, and only my deepest consciousness will remain for the rest of my life, so you still will not hear what you want to hear.”
“Hmm. That is not wrong.”
It was all right. If I confronted him this strongly, Sa Ujin would not turn me into a doll. At most, he would observe me for a while.
This perverted b×stard had bothered me, killed me, and turned me into a doll before…… but at least, before the Required Gates numbered in the twenties appeared, he had never touched me rashly.
He was intelligent enough to know that if a D-Rank like me recklessly entered a Required Gate, I would die helplessly.
He was not stupid enough to throw someone he wanted to observe straight into a deathtrap.
“Enough. Get to the point. What did you really want to say?”
“Mm. It is simple.”
Sa Ujin pointed at me with his index finger.
“Enter a Required Gate with me, Kang Seon. I want to know what kind of person you are a little better.”
“What?”
This was not what I expected.
“……I am D-Rank?”
“So?”
“I will just die if I go.”
“That cannot be true. You are skilled enough to break a mirror. You even came out of a B-Rank Dungeon unharmed earlier. Without a single injury.”
That was strange. Required Gates should have been far more difficult than A-Rank……
Why was he mentioning a B-Rank Dungeon?
“Ah.”
“What is wrong? You may speak freely if you have something to say.”
“……Which Required Gate are you asking me to enter?”
“The tenth. The Gate is called . I have something to do in the ninth Gate, , so I will not be able to accompany you there.”
I was f×cked.
I understood why this b×stard was doing this.
The difficulty of Required Gates rose sharply starting from the tenth Gate.
Before that, they were not much different from ordinary C-Rank Gates.
In other words, he was certain that nothing would happen even if he took me there.
Because nobody had entered a place where the difficulty increased yet!
“You seem to be thinking hard, but there is no need. As I said earlier, this is neither a suggestion nor a request.”
I bit my lip as I looked at Sa Ujin, who spoke such murderous words with a bright smile.
Honestly, dying in the Heavenly Demon Realm would not be bad. The scenery was beautiful, the air was clean, and there were familiar faces there.
The problem was that I did not know what variables would arise if I went there with this b×stard.
A development where I looked away for a moment and suddenly became a doll was entirely possible.
On the other hand, if I refused to follow him, I would become this pervert’s figurine right here.
Once I reached that conclusion, making a decision was easy.
“All right. Let us do that. When are we entering?”
I would enter with him, secretly find an opportunity, and die cleanly. Since Sa Ujin had already marked me, that was the best choice.
That was what I thought.
However, Sa Ujin was not as stupid as I had expected.
“I will contact you after the tenth Gate opens. I need to resolve the ninth Gate first, so there is plenty of time, right?”
“Yeah, you kind b×stard.”
“A compliment, too. That is nice to hear. And…….”
Sa Ujin took out a sheet of gold-coated paper from his pocket.
“Because of the nature of my work, I do not trust people very easily. I think we should use at least one of these. You can do that much, right?”
What Sa Ujin had taken out was an A-Rank contract.
How thoroughly was this b×stard trying to choke the neck of a D-Rank? This was like bringing out a gun to catch a single fly.
“You even wrote the contract in advance…….”
My mouth stopped moving before I could continue my complaint. Instead, I felt displeasure and anger grip my heart for the first time in a very long while.
“……What is this?”
“Ah, how should I put it……. Insurance? There are people like that sometimes. They do not consider their own lives very important, but they care an extraordinary amount about the lives of others~. I added it just in case, but it appears you like it?”
“Yeah. It is a very…… unique feeling.”
The contract bore a line in handwriting so clear and unpleasant that it could not be overlooked.
It stood out among dozens of clauses.
[43. If Party B (Kang Seon) fails to fulfill the contract with Party A (Sa Ujin), an assassination request targeting ‘Yu Danyeong’ shall be sent to five organizations under Party A.]
Given his personality, if things did not go as he wanted, he would kill Yu Danyeong even if the contract could not take effect.
Fine. I had already extended my life on a whim, so I would extend it a little longer. Once this contract ended, I would truly, absolutely, unquestionably die.
Sa Ujin was strict about give and take, so if I showed him a plausible result, he would have no reason to bother me further.
“Hey, Sa Ujin.”
“What is it, Kang Seon?”
“Fine. I will sign the contract, but…… I have one condition as well. You do not mind, right?”
“You want to place a condition on me? Pfft, pffhahaha! All right, do as you wish. This is an amusing situation, too. To think a D-Rank would try to place conditions on me!”
I put on the brightest expression I could and pointed at Sa Ujin.
“I will sign the contract right away, so let me slap you once.”
“What? Ah, ahaha, hahahaha!”
Sa Ujin burst into laughter, then nodded.
“Do that. Ah, my stomach hurts from laughing so hard.”
“Keep laughing.”
SMACK!
I raised my hand high and struck Sa Ujin across the cheek with all my strength.
Since he had an S-Rank body, a D-Rank slap would not even tickle him, but……
[Skill 「Mimicry」(???) has been used.]
[Mimicry: Sa Ujin - 「Pygmalion’s Web」(E-)]
“……!”
“However, remember this much, all right?”
A sharp thread from my hand was aimed directly beneath Sa Ujin’s chin.
“Your smile is really unpleasant. Especially when you laugh while looking down on someone.”
Sa Ujin realized that the thread aimed at him was Pygmalion’s Web and murmured in a low voice.
“I will remember that, interesting person.”
Only after exchanging gazes with him for a long time did I dismiss the web and write my name on the contract.
***
“Hmm, hmm…….”
“Welcome, Master.”
Jang Tae-seong, the head of the Bodhi Tree Faction responsible for the casino, respectfully greeted Sa Ujin and led him to a seat.
“Jang Tae-seong.”
“Yes, Master.”
“Yu Danyeong.”
“Yes. You instructed us to cut off her limbs and bring her in as soon as you gave the order…….”
“Yeah. That girl.”
Sa Ujin pressed down the twitching corners of his mouth with one hand and spoke.
“Do not touch even a single hair on her. Relay the mission details to every member of the organization again. Yu Danyeong is not to be watched. She is to be guarded without being noticed. Unless she is in danger, do not even enter her field of vision.”
“Yes, understood.”
Jang Tae-seong immediately took out his phone and made several calls. Then he repeatedly glanced at Sa Ujin.
He had watched Sa Ujin for a long time, but he had rarely seen an atmosphere that suffocating.
“M-Master. May I ask one question?”
“Ask.”
“I am curious why you changed that woman from a hostage used merely for threats to a person under protection.”
Sa Ujin was generally generous when his subordinates had questions, so Jang Tae-seong directly asked what was bothering him.
With his arms crossed, Sa Ujin tapped his forearm several times with his fingertips. Then he wore an unpleasant smile and muttered,
“I do not think she is the sort of person a whip will work on.”
“Pardon?”
“To watch such an interesting doll…… yes. Instead of a whip, I should give her a carrot. That is a more profitable arrangement.”
Sa Ujin began quietly giggling to himself as he recalled the faint remnant of pain on his cheek.
‘If I do that, merely trying to take away the carrot will serve as the whip.’