The Returnee Wants to Live Comfortably

Gentlemen, Welcome to Hell (4)

"My children...!"

"Murderers...!"

In the dark underground, the curses of two fathers against their children echoed.

The pain of their burning hands threatened to drive them insane at any moment.

But they had no chance to faint.

"Louder."

"My children..."

"Murderers... psychopaths..."

"That's not right, you bastard!"

Fwoosh–!

"Gaaaah!!"

"Aaaaagh!!"

"Repeat after me: 'My children are psychopath bastards who committed murder and attempted murder.'"

"Haaah... aaaaagh!!"

To do as the boy before them demanded, they had to hold on to their sanity.

Because who knew what kind of torture this demon, who wore the mask of a boy, would inflict next.

Fear left them with no choice but to obey his orders.

"Committed attempted murder..."

"Psychopath bastards...!"

"One more time."

The torture continued without end.

In front of them, a dark toy playground spread out.

It reminded them of when their children were little, running around places like this.

Back in those days, their kids had toddled around, playing with toys alongside their wives.

They remembered riding a small train and Viking boat together, with the children laughing and shouting in delight.

But now...

"What are you thinking about?"

"Ah..."

"Hiiik...!"

Now, there was a demon before their eyes.

What was once a toy shop filled with fond memories had become a scorched ruin.

Tears welled up at the sight of their bonds with their children seemingly disappearing.

"Why are you crying as if you did something right?"

"...."

The demon questioned them.

In front of them, the 'color' of terror flickered, threatening to swallow them whole.

All they ever wanted was to spend happy times with their children...

"Now, repeat after me."

How did things end up like this?

The word 'hope' floated in the air overlaid with their children's faces.

"Hurry."

"Gyaaaaah!!"

"P-please... spare us...!!"

At that moment, not only their hands but also their legs were set ablaze with black fire. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel⟡fire.net

Then their chests, then their thighs, then their ribs.

Flames stuck to every part of their bodies.

Thus, the letters spelling 'hope' vanished forever.

And so, in a nightmare-like toy shop, the two of them burned black.

****

'This should be enough.'

The moment the two completely lost consciousness, I stopped the torture.

I immediately removed the black flames and restored their bodies, which had been burning like firewood, back to normal.

It might look as if I made all my hard work for nothing, but this was enough.

Besides, only the outward forms were restored.

The two would no longer be able to use their arms or legs.

They might appear fine on the outside, but the internal injuries would remain.

'Current medical science can't fix this.'

With that, their spirits were completely broken.

And now, there would be no one to look after them.

Because the video evidence of their participation in the Golden Gate rampage had been broadcast to the entire premises.

Thanks to that, prosecutors and the government's Hunter Unit, Qiongqi, were all storming in now.

"McLean Kang, Eric Ruin. You are under arrest as suspects in this incident."

After leaving the mall's underground,

I saw my father escorting the culprits along with the police.

While my mother had just taken Yunhee outside, my father had gathered an arrest team to detain them.

"Do you have anything more to say?"

When my father asked, they answered.

"Aaah-rr..."

"Abu-bu..."

"Huh?"

My father frowned, wondering what was going on.

Although their bodies looked fine, they were suddenly speaking like infants.

My father quietly observed me.

I winked at him mischievously, causing my father's shoulders to droop.

He seemed to realize right away that this was my doing.

"How did you do this?"

"Same as with Michael."

When Sang-ah asked, I explained.

Because of the curse I cast on Michael, he could only say "damn" and nothing else.

Just like that, I'd changed these two so that all they could do was cry like babies.

"Did you really have to go that far?"

"They might start talking about me during the interrogation. Better safe than sorry."

"True."

While punishing them, I made sure to silence them as well.

Plus, with the video evidence now displayed throughout the premises, everyone was glaring at them.

If the government's Qiongqi Unit hadn't been here, people would probably be throwing all sorts of trash and insults.

"Do you think they'll truly repent after all that?"

"No."

I replied firmly.

Even to the end, they insisted their children had done nothing wrong.

"Those kinds of people won't change even in prison."

"...."

"People can't be fixed and reused."

Then, people in white uniforms approached us.

The badge on their chests, featuring a winged tiger face, indicated they were members of the Qiongqi, the government's special force.

"Are you Ma Seongjin?"

"Yes."

"We heard you were also in the rampaging gate. Is that true?"

When I answered yes, they exchanged glances among themselves.

Then, as if they'd decided on something, one of them continued the questioning.

"Could you explain in detail what happened inside the gate?"

Just a moment ago, the rampaging gate had abruptly calmed down.

They needed to find out exactly why.

"I'm not sure either. I suddenly blacked out inside the gate, and when I woke up, everything was like that."

I purposely lied.

Who would believe that a middle schooler beat up Holy Church terrorists hiding inside a gate, then closed the rift and calmed the gate?

'Even if they did believe me, it'd be a problem.'

Through Poison Guild's S-class Hunter Kang Hyun-seok, I learned that the Holy Church had deep roots all over the country.

If there were moles from the Holy Church inside Qiongqi itself, it wouldn't do any good to tell the truth.

"Wouldn't it be better to ask the other hunters instead of me?"

"We already did, but nobody could give a clear answer."

The Qiongqi member said they were asking me because the others, who'd fainted from the poison, couldn't confirm anything.

"Then, one last question."

"...."

"Is it true that Poison Guild is a front for the Holy Church?"

Finally, a question I could honestly answer.

"Yes."

"Hm... I see. Thank you."

He smiled kindly before turning around, seeming satisfied.

"Oh, by the way—about the video you played earlier in the mall."

The evidence video I'd broadcast.

He asked about it carefully.

"Any idea who played it?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I noticed some names were bleeped out in the video."

McLean and Eric had collaborated in the gate rampage because of me.

Of course, they mentioned my name in the footage, so I edited it to bleep it out deliberately.

I refused to become the subject of bothersome investigations.

"No. I only got to enter Golden Gate as a prize for winning the school competition."

"..."

And there's something else to keep in mind.

With how things played out, I'm the near-murdered victim here.

That applies not only in the eyes of other hunters but also to everyone gathered around now.

Even if I hadn't edited the video, I'd still deserve sympathy.

"Alright, thank you for cooperating."

Looking regretful as he finished his questions, the Qiongqi member turned his attention to Sang-ah and Ah-rin.

"And lastly, I wanted to tell you one more thing."

The two girls tilted their heads in confusion.

With a friendly smile that said he meant no harm, the member took out three business cards from his pocket.

"If you ever graduate from Hand and want to join Qiongqi, give us a call. We'll take you anytime."

After giving us his cards, the member finally walked away.

Sang-ah seemed fascinated, turning the card over in her hands.

For a business card from a government unit, it looked just like a regular office worker's.

"Feels like we got scouted on the street by a dating agency."

"Most guilds recruit this way too."

"Really?"

Both talent agencies and hunter guilds trolled school fronts to scout new talent.

Especially after graduations, it's said the front of the school bustles with hunters.

"Um... Ah-rin."

"Huh? Y-yeah..."

When Sang-ah called, Ah-rin snapped out of some daze.

She'd apparently been zoning out while staring at the business card.

"What's with your expression?"

"Uh... it's nothing."

Sang-ah was right; Ah-rin didn't look well.

She seemed exhausted, like someone who had just lost something most precious to her.

Quite the contrast to the beaming face she'd shown underground.

"Huh? What's that smell...?"

Suddenly, Sang-ah started sniffing and got up from her seat.

Lately, Sang-ah had been obsessed with food and now seemed especially sensitive to it.

"Seongjin, I'm suddenly starving."

"Again?"

"Ugh... I can't stand it. If I don't eat something soon, I'll go crazy."

Unable to resist her hunger, Sang-ah sighed dramatically and left.

Since Sang-ah wasn't the type to cause trouble, I wasn't particularly worried.

"Seongjin."

"Yeah?"

"There's something I wanted to tell you anyway."

Ah-rin suddenly grabbed my hand.

Feeling the touch of her small, soft, white hand, I turned my head almost involuntarily.

There she was, wearing a wistful expression.

"When I was burning those men's hands earlier..."

"...."

"It reminded me of that man from six years ago."

That man?

Wondering who she meant, Ah-rin continued.

"Choi Suyong. The teacher who always bullied me."

"Oh..."

I gave a small gasp, now recalling.

He was the first bastard whose wrist I ever burned back on Earth.

Right now, who knows if he's even able to eat a meal with that hand.

"If that awakened being hadn't shown up at the playground, you and I wouldn't have survived, Seongjin."

I was the one who messed him up like that, but I purposely lied when I testified.

If anyone found out an elementary schooler had done all that, it would bring trouble to my family.

"But I still remember everything that happened at that playground. What happened to Choi Suyong's arm..."

"...."

"And what happened to those men's arms just now."

Back then, I'd turned Choi Suyong's arm into charcoal with Hell Flame.

Same with these two—though initially identical, I restored them to delete signs of my involvement.

'Though the aftereffects remain.'

Yet, there were a lot of parallels with back then.

Ah-rin was deeply unsettled by this realization.

"That time... it was you who burned him, wasn't it, Seongjin?"

I answered briefly.

"Yeah."

"I thought so..."

"Are you scared?"

"No. Why would I be scared of you? It's just..."

Just...?

"I wonder how the me of back then would look at who I am now."

Ah-rin gazed down at the business card in her hand with a deep, searching expression.

Back then, seeing the Mutamit from Qiongqi at the scene inspired her dream to become a hunter.

Now, as Sura of the Sura Guild, that dream had come true.

Or so it seemed.

"I guess what we call dreams are just little things after all."

Ah-rin looked at the card resting in her hand.

If it had been the Ah-rin of those days, she would have squealed with joy the moment she received it.

Of course, the difference of six years is significant enough for anyone.

She must've been through a lot in those six years.

But what had happened to her in such a short time to make her say things like this?

I couldn't read her heart, even when I looked straight into her face.

****

–Status report?

"Yes. Everything's being sorted out."

A woman with hair as white as a corpse was on the phone.

–Already finished?

"Yes. It was really unexpected."

Karen Rayhold from The World.

She was on the phone with a man, judging from his young-sounding voice.

Karen spoke as she moved about the now-calm Golden Gate site.

"It seems to be the work of those Holy Church bastards or whatever. They probably did it to assassinate Sura of the Sura Guild."

–Infighting among themselves? All the better, then.

"Better? Bullshit! Do you realize what's happened because of that?"

Karen snapped at her conversational partner.

Apparently, she hadn't liked him even before, as she scowled throughout the call.

"And your school is connected to this mess! How can you say that? Get back here and help clean up, you idiot!"

–Heh... you sure talk rougher than you used to.

"Gee, I wonder why that is."

–....

On the other end, the man had no rebuttal for some reason.

Then Karen's eyes fell on a black-haired boy.

"Oh, and there's someone I'd like you to investigate."

–All of a sudden? Can't you just do it yourself...?

"I've got enough on my plate. Don't make it complicated. He's a student at your school anyway."

Karen fixed the boy with a meaningful stare.

"He looks awfully familiar somehow."