GRIND.
Cha Mincheol ground his teeth at Lee Hyeoksu’s words.
Lee Hyeoksu had originally been his senior from high school.
They had been in the same athletics club and had even climbed the Tower together as party members.
But after Mincheol discovered Lee Hyeoksu’s true nature, he had told him he wanted to leave the party.
And this was the result.
“Just Floor 45. Clear that one floor with us, and I’ll let you go. I’ll send your mother home unharmed too.”
Lee Hyeoksu lightly patted Cha Mincheol’s cheek.
“If you refuse… your mother dies here.”
“…….”
Cha Mincheol’s eyes turned blood-red.
The whites of his eyes were so bloodshot that they had become crimson.
He clenched his teeth so hard that it sounded as though his molars might crack.
“If you touch my mother….”
“?”
“You bastards….”
Veins bulged along Cha Mincheol’s neck.
“I’ll tear every last one of you apart with my own hands.”
WRITHE. WRITHE.
Cha Mincheol thrashed violently, trying to break free of his restraints.
But the restraints were made of Mithril and would not come loose.
‘These fucking….’
THUD. THUD. THUD.
Cha Mincheol slammed his head against the floor.
The anger was directed at himself.
He had fallen for their bullshit about holding a farewell party and ended up having a Mana Seal placed on him.
He should never have drunk anything given to him by trash like these bastards….
“I’m going to kill every last one of you painfully. So don’t touch my mother.”
“…….”
The basement fell silent.
Lee Hyeoksu shrugged and let out a short sigh.
“Haa…. If you insist on acting like this, then I don’t have a choice either.”
Lee Hyeoksu stepped back.
‘Tch…. What a waste. But if this bastard keeps refusing to cooperate until the end, I’ve got no choice.’
Lee Hyeoksu sighed as he lit a cigarette.
Cha Mincheol.
This bastard was a wild beast.
A wild beast clad in armor from head to toe.
They had already provoked the beast.
If they could not tame it, they had to kill it.
SWISH.
“Last chance. Clearing Floor 45. Are you joining us or not?”
Lee Hyeoksu raised his hand as he looked down at Cha Mincheol.
The moment that hand came down, Cha Mincheol’s mother would die.
Then—
SHING.
One of his subordinates drew a knife from his waist and placed it against her throat.
“?!”
Lee Hyeoksu’s eyes widened.
“Hey! Not yet, you bastard! Not yet—”
Too late.
Having misunderstood the signal, the subordinate began drawing the blade across Cha Mincheol’s mother’s throat.
“Mom!!”
At that very moment.
BOOM!
The basement’s iron door burst open with a tremendous crash.
FLINCH.
“?!”
Startled, the subordinate stopped moving his hand.
Blood trickled from Cha Mincheol’s mother’s neck, but fortunately, the wound was not deep.
STEP. STEP.
Someone descended from the dark staircase above.
A black hoodie.
An expressionless face.
It was Han Yugeon.
His steps were so natural that it looked as though he were strolling into his own home.
“This place smells no different from the Tower.”
“Who the fuck is this bastard? Hey! Who are you?!”
As Yugeon approached, one of the subordinates scowled and cursed at him.
But Yugeon ignored the gangsters and looked at Cha Mincheol’s mother.
His gaze fell upon her neck.
‘I arrived right on time.’
A single trail of blood ran down her neck.
Fortunately, the wound was not deep.
“…Everyone, draw your weapons.”
Watching the expressionless Yugeon, Lee Hyeoksu ordered his subordinates to arm themselves.
He had no idea who that bastard was, but something felt wrong.
He could not sense any particular energy from him, nor did the man appear especially strong, yet goosebumps rose all over his body.
“What? Our weapons?”
“Yes, you idiots!”
In the end, Lee Hyeoksu shouted at his dim-witted subordinates.
SHING.
“Hey! I don’t know who you are… but what business do you have here?”
“…….”
There were eight people in the basement.
Excluding Cha Mincheol and his mother, there were six gangsters in total.
Yugeon ignored Lee Hyeoksu’s question and looked over the gangsters.
【Lv. 58】Lee Hyeoksu
‘Lee Hyeoksu is Level 58.’
Cha Mincheol was Level 50.
Lee Hyeoksu was eight levels above him.
‘His subordinates are fairly strong too.’
Every one of them was above Level 30.
Thanks to the passive effect of Transcendent Eye, Yugeon could clearly see the gangsters’ levels.
SHING.
Without saying a word, Yugeon drew the sword at his waist.
“Haa…. Just who the hell are you? Why are you drawing your weapon? We shouldn’t have anything to do with each other.”
Lee Hyeoksu scratched his head when Yugeon drew his sword.
Something about the man gave him chills, so he had tried his best to avoid a fight.
“Do I need a reason to dispose of vermin like you?”
“Khuhuhu, vermin…. You’ve only just met us, yet you’re already passing judgment?”
“I can tell just by looking at those two.”
Yugeon pointed toward Cha Mincheol and his mother.
“Hey! That’s none of an outsider’s business.”
“Heh….”
“?”
Yugeon scoffed, and Lee Hyeoksu’s brows furrowed.
“You’re scared, aren’t you?”
“….”
“I showed up like this, yet you’ve been babbling ever since…. You don’t have the guts to attack me, but something about me bothers you, so you’d rather send me away…. Am I wrong?”
“…You really take me for a pushover. Kill him.”
Enraged by Yugeon’s words, Lee Hyeoksu finally gave the order to his subordinates.
“You bastard!”
THUD THUD THUD.
The instant Lee Hyeoksu gave the command, the gangster closest to Yugeon charged forward with his weapon raised.
“Cha Mincheol’s mother.”
“…?”
“Close your eyes for a moment. This is going to be gruesome.”
SQUEEZE.
Cha Mincheol’s mother immediately squeezed her eyes shut.
At the same time, the gangster’s sword moved swiftly.
SWISH.
DING!
You have activated 【Seamless Realm】.
BZZZZZZ.
The moment Yugeon activated Seamless Realm, everything in the world began trembling ever so slightly.
Then the faint trembling ceased, and everything turned gray.
The world fell silent as everything slowed down.
No.
It went beyond slowing down.
Everything stopped.
The weapon hurtling toward him froze inches from his face, and the voices of the gangsters who had been spewing curses vanished.
At the same time, red lines began appearing across the gaps in the gangsters’ defenses.
And within that frozen world—
SLIDE.
Only Yugeon began to move.
‘Things this world doesn’t need.’
SLASH.
SLASH.
SLASH.
Within the world where everything had stopped—
Yugeon’s sword moved from one gangster to the next, slicing through their necks.
CRACK.
CRUNCH.
The sounds of skin tearing and bone grinding traveled through the tip of his sword.
Then—
BZZZZZZ.
Yugeon deactivated Seamless Realm, and time began flowing once more.
FSSSH.
“What just….”
THUD.
THUD.
THUD.
Lee Hyeoksu stared at his subordinates in utter disbelief.
In the span of a single blink—their heads were all falling from their shoulders.
At the same time—
GUSH.
GRAB.
“You… fucking….”
Lee Hyeoksu felt hot blood pouring out and clutched at his own neck.
But no amount of clutching could keep his severed head attached.
WHOOSH.
THUD.
In the end, Lee Hyeoksu’s head also fell to the floor.
DING!
[Accumulated growth has been reflected in your stats.]
Strength +1
Agility +1
Senses +1
SLIDE.
CLICK.
The bedroom door quietly closed.
Mincheol stood in front of it for a moment before letting out a sigh of relief.
His mother had finally calmed down and fallen asleep.
After all the gangsters had died—the moment they returned home, he disinfected the wound on her neck and applied medicine to the bruised areas.
His mother had not said much.
She had simply stared at her son’s face for a long while before closing her eyes, apparently exhausted.
He had tried to prepare something for her to eat, but perhaps because of what had happened that day, she refused.
‘…Thank goodness.’
Relieved that the situation had improved, Mincheol quietly left the house.
CREEAK.
THUD.
When he stepped outside, Yugeon was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
“Your mother?”
“She’s asleep. The wound isn’t serious, so I just applied some medicine.”
“Good.”
After that brief reply, Yugeon turned and began walking.
Mincheol hurried after him.
GRRRRUMBLE.
They had not walked far when Mincheol’s stomach let out a loud growl.
His face immediately turned red.
“S-Sorry….”
“How many days have you gone without eating?”
“……Four days.”
“Four days. No wonder you’re hungry.”
Yugeon let out an incredulous laugh.
The gangsters must have offered him food while they were holding him captive, but apparently he had refused to eat anything and starved himself to the end.
That explained why such a sturdy-looking man had been taking those beatings so helplessly in the basement.
“Follow me.”
Yugeon changed direction and headed toward a pork soup restaurant in a nearby alley.
Its signboard was old, and the windows were clouded with steam.
Mincheol hesitantly followed him.
“I don’t have any money in my wallet right now….”
“I’m not telling you to pay, so stop talking and follow me.”
“Two large pork soup with rice, please.”
“Yes.”
The moment they sat down, Yugeon ordered two large servings.
CLATTER.
A few minutes later, the woman began setting down the steaming earthenware bowls.
“Please put both of them in front of him.”
“Hm? You’re not eating, young man?”
“I ate on the way here.”
Mincheol glanced between them awkwardly.
“Both large servings are for me?”
“One bowl didn’t look like it would be enough.”
“……Ah.”
Mincheol scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
People had always called him a big eater.
SLURP.
“Ah…. Hot….”
“Eat slowly. Nobody’s taking it from you.”
Mincheol began shoveling down the soup and rice.
He ate so frantically that it almost looked as though he had buried his face in the bowl.
Yugeon crossed his arms and silently watched him.
TWITCH. TWITCH.
‘As expected of the future’s greatest shield.’
The muscles in Mincheol’s forearms bulged dramatically every time he ate.
Even after four days without food, the sheer mass of his muscles had barely diminished.
If anything, once food entered his stomach, his muscles seemed to return to their proper place, swelling taut once again.
‘He was born with that body.’
The density of his muscles was fundamentally different from an ordinary person’s.
It was a body bestowed by the heavens.
And on top of that, there was his still-dormant Trait—
Heavenly Killing Star.
‘If I hadn’t stopped what happened today, Cha Mincheol would’ve fallen into hatred for humanity.’
After witnessing his mother’s throat being cut right before his eyes—
Cha Mincheol would lose his reason and awaken the Heavenly Killing Star Trait.
Then, right there and then, he would tear the gangsters limb from limb and become consumed by hatred for humanity.
Ultimately transforming into the worst kind of Murder Demon, one who wanted to kill every human being.