Chapter 87 : Gentlemen, Welcome to Hell (3)
Gentlemen, Welcome to Hell (3)
Meanwhile, at that very moment.
A restaurant at an intersection somewhere in Hand.
Because it was primarily a place that served pasta and steak, the restaurant boasted a lavish interior by default.
Moreover, it was lunchtime, so the place was bustling with people.
The staff were busy carrying dishes, while the guests laughed brightly and enjoyed their meals.
"Um... You really don't have to treat us like this..."
"Aw, it's fine. You're Seongjin's family! If anything, I feel like this isn't enough."
Sung Chohyang smiled as she spoke to the family sitting across the table.
Han Suyeon, Ma Seongjin's mother, felt uncomfortable at the hospitality from Sung Chohyang, who had arranged this meeting.
"It's okay. I have plenty of allowance, so please don't feel burdened."
"Still, you're only a student, you shouldn't be spending your allowance like this."
"It's fine. My dad owns the company!"
On one side was the daughter of a potion company CEO, and on the other, the family of a high-ranking Korean prosecutor.
Neither side would ever need to worry about money in a restaurant like this.
But Chohyang was adamant about not accepting a meal from her friend's parents, and Han Suyeon was equally adamant about not imposing on her son's friend.
"Enough already, let's just order! We didn't come here to just sit around!"
Ma Yunhee, sitting next to her, urged them to eat quickly. Everyone's stomachs were growling in chorus.
"Right. Let's eat first and think later."
"Yeah."
"Sumin, what do you want?"
"I'll have the bacon spaghetti."
"Sangbaek, you?"
"I'll get the steak."
She handed the menu to Park Sumin and Choi Sangbaek, who were sitting beside her.
After placing their orders, they looked out the window and chatted.
"How do you think things are going right now? At the Golden Gate."
"At the very least, nothing bad will happen. Seongjin is there."
They had originally been at the Golden Gate site. They'd escaped after hearing rumors about a possible gate rampage ahead of time.
The first to warn them was Kang Ah-rin, who'd told them about the upcoming incident upon visiting for the first time in six years.
"Even if we'd been there, we'd have just gotten in the way, right?"
"Exactly. And besides, Yunhee and I specifically are being targeted."
According to Kang Ah-rin, some madmen were out for revenge for their children and planned to wipe out Seongjin's family.
Once they found that out, staying at the scene would have been suicide.
"Still, at least we got away as planned."
"Yeah, but is it really okay for us to just hang around eating like this?"
Their son was probably fighting inside the rampaging gate right now.
Even Ah-rin and Sang-ah were struggling to protect them.
Of course, their appetites had all but vanished. Still, the real reason they came was to comfort Yunhee, who didn't know the truth.
"Do you feel like you abandoned your comrades?"
"Well, yeah. We're family."
"But you made the right call. I once saw a disaster movie where some extra said, 'I left my wallet behind!' and kept going back into danger."
"Oh? I saw that too! Because of that extra, not only the main character but all the supporting characters died, right?"
"How did you feel at that ending?"
"What do you think."
Han Suyeon answered curtly.
"I thought I was going to split from frustration."
****
Blood dripped onto the dark, black floor of the toy park.
Eric, bleeding from his slashed wrist, trembled as he stared at the cold, blue blade that had cut him.
"You, you—you—you didn't actually know we'd come at you like this, did you?!"
He'd thought he'd stabbed that damned woman and her daughter to death, but those had all been fakes.
At some point, they'd switched places, using those dummies to lure him and his companion here.
"You do have some brains, huh? I thought you were nothing but an idiot when I saw you last time."
"That time...?"
"One of your lot came looking for the Sura Guild once. You remember, don't you?"
That was McLean, Michael Kang's father.
He'd gone to the Sura Guild to seek revenge for his son, even getting down on his knees and begging the highest-ranked Sura there to help him kill Ma Seongjin.
"Remember now, McLean?"
"How do you know that...!"
"I grew up on the Sura Guild side, you know."
Thanks to that, Ah-rin easily heard such news. Of course, she left out the fact that she was the very Sura McLean had met.
"I couldn't just sit by while you guys targeted Seongjin."
So she had the guild's secret agent tail McLean, learning that he had met with Eric at the hospital and planned this Golden Gate rampage together.
As soon as Ah-rin got back to Korea, she had gone straight to Seongjin's house to relay the information.
'Of course, part of it was that I missed Seongjin...'
Thanks to that, Seongjin's parents also learned of the plot, and Seongjin himself summoned everyone and set up a plan.
He would deal with the cult inside the Golden Gate, while the others would capture these two outside.
"So, from the start... you did all this just to catch us..."
"I was sure you'd both show up in person. Because..."
Suddenly, Ah-rin slashed her sword at empty space. The force cut through the air, cleaving an unseen drone in two.
With stealth mode broken, the drone crashed to the ground in pieces.
"Did you really think we wouldn't notice you lurking around with something that reeks like that?"
"..."
It had been expensive equipment. Eric felt overwhelming fury as his entire plan went up in smoke.
"Monster! Get rid of that brat right now!"
There was still hope. They still had the monster that the Holy Church had given them.
Originally it was only the size of a person, but after taking damage, it began to merge, becoming gigantic.
Now, in that form, it could easily kill their enemies.
–KRAAAAHHH!!!
The monster glared viciously at Ah-rin, raising its massive club and charging.
"Yes! Once we get rid of her, Ma Seongjin is next!"
The huge club slammed down to the floor.
Though it looked like a little girl would be crushed under the weight, the two grown men practically drooled as they watched, grinning.
KWAANG–!
A deafening boom echoed from the impact.
A strike like that should have crushed an entire building—no way that kid survived.
But then...
"God, that's disgustingly heavy!"
A red-haired girl suddenly appeared, blocking the hammer with both arms.
Sang-ah, eyes blazing, bit her lip and braced with all her might.
"Yaaaaaahhhh!!"
Sang-ah swung one arm back and thrust her fist forward with a yell.
Her all-out punch struck the club, which slowly began to crack, then—
KWAJIZIJIK—
It shattered completely into pieces. She'd destroyed the weapon that had slammed her into the wall, dealing payback in kind.
McLean and Eric looked on, speechless.
"Huff... huff..."
Sang-ah's eyes burned more fiercely than usual, her heart pounding as if it would burst.
She felt an unbearable thirst, like a starving beast was rampaging inside her.
'Why have I been feeling like this lately?'
The strange symptoms that had been plaguing her had gotten even worse.
It was as if her body itself was crying out for something. Was it some important day?
Regardless of her declining health, there was one upside.
'I've suddenly gotten stronger.'
She'd almost fainted from that hammer blow just a moment ago. Yet now she'd blocked and destroyed it outright.
'But this power...'
Maybe it was the damage from slamming into the wall earlier, but her consciousness was wavering and her vision blurring.
While Sang-ah was distracted by these thoughts, the monster swung its fist at her.
"What are you thinking about so hard?"
"Huh?"
Its fist, mid-swing toward her, had stopped. A pink-haired, fox-eared girl now stood in front of her.
"Get it together."
Ah-rin was blocking the monster's massive fist. Despite her slender left arm, which looked like it could snap from a tap, she easily stopped the blow that could have flattened a tank.
With just one hand.
"Ah..."
"Let's finish this."
"Okay..."
Ah-rin let go of the fist and swung her sword in a flash. The monster's arm, which had been punching out just seconds ago, fell to the ground.
–KYAAAAAA!
As the monster clutched its severed limb, Sang-ah leaped to its eye level.
Making eye contact, Sang-ah grabbed the monster's face with her scaly arm.
〈Heat Ray〉
Sang-ah could melt steel beams with the heat emanating from her body.
Now, she concentrated all that heat into one hand and released it like a bullet.
A laser-like beam shot from her palm, piercing straight through and melting the monster's entire face.
KUUNG—
The headless monster collapsed like a robot that had lost all power.
Ah-rin, inspecting the corpse, pondered for a moment.
She remembered a similar monster that attacked her during waterfall training—in all likelihood, this was the same type.
'This one must have come from the Holy Church as well.'
The underground toy store was in complete ruins.
Considering Hand's facilities were stronger than most places, the monster's power was frightening.
But now even that monster was dead.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! We have to run!"
"We'll back off for now and wait for the next chance...!"
While Ah-rin and Sang-ah dealt with the monster, McLean and Eric snuck away, searching for an emergency exit.
Just as they reached the door—
KWAANG—!
The door suddenly exploded inward.
"Gah!"
"Ugh!"
The shockwave sent the two sprawling across the floor. A figure stepped through the blown-apart door.
"Why are you running? You're the ones who started all this."
"Y-you..."
"This must be the first time we've met face-to-face, huh?"
It was an unmistakeable face. The same boy they'd been so desperate to kill—Ma Seongjin.
"Oh? Seongjin!"
Ah-rin's face lit up at his arrival.
"What happened at the Golden Gate?"
"All settled! How about you two?"
"We're fine!"
"No issues at all."
Though Sang-ah looked injured, Seongjin wasn't too worried. With dragonblood in her veins, those wounds would heal in a day.
"Good to hear."
"Eek...!"
Having checked the girls' condition, Seongjin turned his gaze to the would-be escapees.
McLean and Eric instinctively clasped their hands behind their backs, faces gone ashen with terror, having just recently thirsted for blood.
"Gentlemen, were you looking for me?"
"What about the Golden Gate...!"
"It had to have rampaged...!"
"That? It's all taken care of. That's why I'm here."
The rampaging Golden Gate had subsided.
Usually, a rampage lasted days, but if you dealt with the root cause inside the gate, the chaos would quickly clear up.
The culprit? A dimensional rift inside the gate. With it closed, the rampage ended.
"No way..."
"Anyway, gentlemen, let me ask — why are you after me and my family?"
"What?"
At that question, the two men bit their lips.
"You seriously don't know? You took our innocent little girl..."
"And my son... You got him killed!"
He already knew the reason. They blamed Seongjin for their children's deaths or injuries.
Thus began the parents' vengeful vendetta.
"Me? Puhahahaha! Sure, I won't deny that much."
"So it really was you!"
"But... are you even in a position to talk?"
"What?"
"You know damn well what your kids got up to."
–Michael Kang.
He started as a pickpocket, then got suspended from school for it.
In his rage, he hired hunters to capture another student and rip their wings off.
He even committed a grisly murder at a restaurant.
–Emily Ruin.
She constantly bullied her classmates, acting as queen bee at school.
To aid her boyfriend Michael's murder plan, she even provided resources to hired hunters.
Not to mention her dirty cheating during the school competition. If anything, she was even worse.
"Isn't it strange? Other people suffered because of your precious children, so why are you the ones angry?"
The pot really was calling the kettle black. Their kids were pampered so much they both turned out this way.
But basic logic never penetrated their minds.
"Our kids just made a mistake, that's all!"
"It was just a little accident... Did those kids really deserve to end up like that?!"
"A little accident?"
My god. Fuck.
Seongjin cursed under his breath.
"Puhahahahahaha!"
And laughed.
"So what about the people your kids hurt?"
"Uh...?"
"What did they do to deserve it?"
"..."
The restaurant worker butchered by Michael. The students tormented by Emily.
What crime had they committed to deserve that fate?
"And, I've got a nice present for you two."
Seongjin glanced upward for a moment.
"Perfect, there's a big screen right up there."
A massive LED display loomed overhead. Usually it played department store commercials, but today it would serve a different purpose.
Seongjin snapped his fingers, and the screen came alive. Then—
[So, the Sura Guild is a no-go?]
[Unfortunately, yes.]
[But don't worry. There's another way.]
As the video played, McLean and Eric wept in horror. There, on the screen, was a recording of themselves.
[Have you heard of the Holy Church?]
[Holy Church?]
[They're a secret group, rivals to the Sura Guild. They say they'll help us.]
[Really?]
The scene: a hospital hallway, when Eric had visited his daughter.
McLean came to discuss their plan. Hadn't no one been around? When did this get recorded?
[And during the gate event, that damn kid's going to go into the Golden Gate.]
[His family will probably be there too. Let's wipe them all out at once.]
[The plan?]
[Hehehe... Of course I have one.]
Watching the video play, both men broke out in a cold sweat.
The person who'd given this recording to Seongjin was Ah-rin.
A secret Sura Guild operative had shadowed and filmed them on her orders.
The remarks where a name was muted—on purpose—were about Seongjin.
[Have you heard of a gate rampage?]
[What...?]
[We're going to trigger a rampage at the Golden Gate!]
Here was the smoking-gun proof that the two of them had caused the Golden Gate disaster.
"When did they record this...?"
"Don't be so shocked just yet."
"Huh?"
Seongjin smiled, his lips curling like a demon.
"This is the department store—they sell a lot of electronics, right? Plenty of TVs."
"..."
"By now, that video should be playing on every single screen in the store."
"What...?"
Their hearts dropped into their stomachs. But there was no time to be shocked, or to scream.
KWAJIK—!
"Kyaaaaah!!"
"Aaaagh!!!"
Seongjin grabbed each man's arm and twisted it brutally. McLean and Eric screamed, clutching their broken limbs.
"Stop it!!"
"You bastard! You call yourself human?!"
"Oh, wow. Still not sorry, huh?"
CRACK—
"Arrrrgh!!"
"Goddamn it!!"
"Now, if you don't want to hurt anymore, repeat after me."
Seongjin smiled once more.
'My child is a psychopathic murderer and attempted-murderer.'
"What?"
"Say it: 'My child is a psychopathic murderer and attempted-murderer.' Now."
"How could you make us—"
WHOOSH—
This time, pitch-black flames wrapped around their broken arms.
"Ahh! It burns!!"
"Stop it!!"
"Say it: 'My child is a psychopathic murderer and attempted-murderer.'"
"Enough...!!"
"My child is a psychopathic murderer and attempted-murderer."
"Please...!! Put out the fire!!"
"My child is a psychopathic murderer and attempted-murderer."
"Arrrgh!!"
No matter what they screamed, the demand was the same. All they could do was writhe in pain as their arms burned.
Driven by the pain, their survival instincts finally kicked in.
"My child... is... a psychopathic... murderer... ngh...!"
"And an attempted—murderer..."
But cursing their beloved children was agony in itself.
"Louder."
–WHOOSH!!
The black flames blazed even hotter.
"Arrrgh!!"
"Aaaah!!"
They screamed at the top of their lungs, tears streaming down their faces as they shouted.
"My child... is a psychopathic murderer and attempted-murderer..."
Again—
"My child... is a psychopathic murderer and attempted-murderer..."
Louder.
"My child...!"
"Is a murderer...!"
In that dark space, their chants echoed without end.