Chapter 84
Seong-Hwi had to stay in the Capital for at least three weeks because that was how long Lina said it would take for her to extract the genes from Tutobure and Illechebra’s heads. He also had to visit Muka’s smithy and use Rust of Ruin for him twice a day.
However, none of the hunting grounds near the Capital were good enough for Seong-Hwi to earn Karma. He was a Double-B human; he could only meet Chaos that would give him Coins from the second—no, third zone. He could pay a warp gate user Coins to go back and forth between the hunting ground and the Capital, but that was far too inefficient, even if he was rich in Coins.
Seong-Hwi had lots of free time, but had no intention of wasting any of it. Hence, he decided to use the time to prepare for his next objective. He first needed to become famous—in other words, he needed to become a Named Human. The easiest way to become a Named Human was to get their name in the human ranking. Therefore, Seong-Hwi decided to clean up the filth dirtying the Capital.
***
“You can kill the guy! Just leave the brat alive!”
“Hehe! That karambit is mine!”
“Then I call the hoodie!”
“Fuck you, motherfuckers! Follow the rules. We’ll sell them for Coins and divide the profit evenly among us!”
Seong-Hwi’s eyes darted rapidly. There were twenty-three people. None of them were F-rank based on their gear and aura. Most were ranked E and D, and there was also one ranked C; it was a proper squad.
“Avant-garde! Advance!” the red-haired C-rank man ordered.
“Come on, boss. Why maintain the Paulo formation against one guy?”
“Yeah! The one who kills him gets thirty percent of the earnings!”
The others charged at Seong-Hwi as if it were a free-for-all.
“What terrible discipline. What kind of team ignores the commander’s orders?” Seong-Hwi mumbled as he smirked.
Even skills were wasted on such filth. Seong-Hwi decided to face them using only the Zanaka Karambit as he had intended from the start.
I might as well try out the new trait, too, he thought.
[Activating Trait: Hundred-Man Killer.]
[Activating Trait: Scorn for the Weak.]
AHHHHH—!
Seong-Hwi’s eyes dyed red as the two traits activated simultaneously. Hundred-Man Killer replaced the vengeful spirits of those the user killed with bloodlust, while Scorn for the Weak overpowered the souls of those with a lower caliber than the user. The two traits worked harmoniously when facing multiple enemies.
“Urgh!”
“Eek!”
The knees of the Dark Humans charging at Seong-Hwi trembled as their muscles froze. They could feel fear welling up from deep within. It felt as if they had come across an unidentified shadow while walking in a deserted alley in the dead of night.
“H-Hundred-Man Killer?”
“Shit! He was one of us!”
“State your affiliation!”
Seong-Hwi swiftly ran between the frozen Dark Humans in silence. The Zanaka Karambit spun so quickly around his index finger that it looked like a disc.
“Kurgh!”
The Zanaka Karambit sliced the carotid artery of the man at the very front. The fountain of blood signaled the start of the battle.
“Die!” a man shouted, swinging down his ax to split Seong-Hwi into two along with his comrade.
However, Seong-Hwi rolled backward to dodge the attack, ran to the man who split his comrade into two, and severed the ligaments of his arms.
“Gaaah!”
“Shields!” the red-haired man shouted as soon as two were instantly killed.
Four individuals with shields moved simultaneously to create a defense line. They realized Seong-Hwi was no ordinary human. Seong-Hwi charged at the tanks without hesitation, but the Dark Humans doubted Seong-Hwi could destroy the line of shields with only a dagger.
“Prepare to counter!” the red-haired man shouted.
The attackers, wielding swords and spears, stood directly behind the tanks.
“Hah! Took you long enough!” Seong-Hwi shouted, entertained by their quickened response.
He was also highly satisfied with how his new weapon handled. Seong-Hwi held the Zanaka Karambit in a regular grip. The karambit was curved like an animal’s claw. Holding it regularly made it seem like he was holding a hook.
Seong-Hwi stabbed one of the shields with the Zanaka Karambit, sinking into it as if it were made of tofu.
“Gasp!”
“Hup!”
Seong-Hwi pulled with his C(99) Strength, making the tank lose his grip on his shield. Seong-Hwi got closer to the tank and stabbed his temple, twisting the dagger to scramble the man’s brain, instantly killing him.
“What are you guys doing?! The three of us will knock him back!”
“Haaah!”
“Push him away!”
The three tanks with shields charged at Seong-Hwi simultaneously like moving steel walls. Seong-Hwi tensed his muscles and infused his fist with mana of his B-rank Magic, sending three explosive punches too fast to see with the naked eye. The three tanks were blown backward faster than they had charged, turning their shields into mere lumps of metal.
“Urgh... Who the hell is this guy?!”
“That wasn’t a skill!”
“How fucking high are his Strength and Magic stats?!”
The damage dealers were left exposed once the tanks disappeared. Their legs shook uncontrollably under the effects of Hundred-Man Killer and Scorn for the Weak.
The red-haired man, realizing they had messed with the wrong person, suggested, “W-wait! Let’s talk—”
However, Seong-Hwi acted faster than the man could speak. He charged into the group of damage dealers like a wolf charging into a flock of sheep. The alley turned redder each time the karambit flashed.
Seong-Hwi hunted the Dark Humans like they were practice dummies, as he had described them. He had experience using a karambit in his past life, but wanted to get used to handling it again. He held the karambit in a reverse grip, which turned even his punches into stabs because of its curved blade.
Seong-Hwi grabbed the karambit in a regular grip again and cut open an opponent’s abdomen. Their intestines poured out as if they were a fish being gutted for consumption.
The karambit was formerly a tool for daily necessities, but was eventually developed into a versatile knife weapon. The blade was under thirty centimeters long because it was curved, but it allowed for various attack patterns based on the wielder’s weapon mastery.
“Gaaah!”
“H-help—”
“Boss! Hurry!”
Over half of the twenty-three had fallen already. The red-haired man, who had been waiting for his chance, pulled out his D Weapon from his jacket. It was a pincer-shaped red and yellow wheel lock. He used to work as a parking valet, which was why his D Weapon was a wheel lock used to lock the wheels of illegally parked vehicles.
“Gotcha!” the red-haired man shouted as he threw the wheel lock, activating a skill.
[Activating Unique Skill: Illegal Parking Clampdown.]
The wheel lock grew more than ten times bigger. Anyone could see it was a manipulation binding skill. Seong-Hwi was caught by the wheel lock like a plushie in a crane game machine.
“Now’s our chance! Kill him!” the red-haired man ordered, confident in his binding skill.
Just then, Seong-Hwi activated a skill for the first time in this battle. It was only one, but deadly.
[Activating Skill: Rust of Ruin.]
The wheel lock was instantly covered in dark red rust. Seong-Hwi added a little strength to his arms, destroying the pincer.
“Your bind timing is impressive, but the skill itself needs work. What kind of shitty rule did you establish?” Seong-Hwi remarked.
“T-that’s... impossible!”
The man couldn’t believe his D Weapon, which prevented even a Segal-rank Chaos from moving, was instantly destroyed. However, the battle continued whether he wanted to believe it or not. The screams from the alley continued.
***
“Urgh.”
“M-monster... Gurgh.”
The sight of the alley illuminated by the moonlight couldn’t be more brutal. It was filled with blood, with the corpses and those about to be corpses drowning in the puddles of blood. Seong-Hwi wiped off the blood on his Zanaka Karambit with the clothes of the corpse closest to him.
He said, “I’m surprised you didn’t run away, Mitasra.”
”K-kerek. I didn’t want to find out what you’d do to me if I did,” Mitasra remarked as he shook his head.
Seong-Hwi scanned Mitasra from head to toe, clearly disappointed.
I knew he was insane! He wanted me to run away! What was he planning on doing to me after he caught me?! Mitasra shouted inwardly as he trembled, getting goosebumps.
Seong-Hwi approached the collapsed red-haired man leaning on the wall.
“Cough! Cough! You... bastard! D-do you have any idea who we are?!”
”I do. Didn’t you tell me you were from Clan Hard Drug?”
”Knowing that, you—“
“That’s why I did it. You talk too much for someone who tried to kill me first.” Seong-Hwi crouched to get on eye level with the red-haired man. “Hard Drug is a den of druggies led by Drug King El Chapo, a Dark Human and sixteenth in the human ranking. You also have a hostile relationship with Pure Ladies and Gentlemen.”
“D-don’t tell me... you’re from Pure Ladies and Gentlemen—Cough!” The red man vomited blood.
Drug D Weapon users were mainly affiliated with three major clans. There was the Drug Crime Squad, an affiliation of the Union, and the two black clans, Hard Drug and Pure Ladies and Gentlemen.
Drug D Weapons, one of the signature internal manipulation abilities, could lead to serious consequences if used maliciously. Hence, the Union heavily invested in the Drug Crime Squad to try and force drug D Weapon users into the light.
However, many people in the Mirror World were former criminals on Earth, so many of them entered black clans. Hard Drug and Pure Ladies and Gentlemen were in the middle of a bloodbath in a battle of recruitment of such drug D Weapon users.
”Y-you son of a bitch! You lured us here!” the red-haired man shouted, certain Seong-Hwi was from the opposing clan.
I can’t believe they would use such a powerful person as bait! They’re going all in on this!
Seong-Hwi shook his head as he looked down at the man.
“I don’t know what you’re misunderstanding, but tell your boss that I’ll be hunting the Hard Drug clansmen from now on, so catch me if you can.”
”W-what?”
”You have terrible hearing. I doubt anything would change without one of those ears.”
Seong-Hwi grabbed the man’s head with his left hand and hooked the Zanaka Karambit over the man’s left ear. The ear started to be cut due to the dagger’s weight.
”GAAAH!”
”Make sure to get it right. My name is Cheon Seong-Hwi. You guys started this fight. Isn’t that right?”
“Gurgh!”
The man glared at the smiling Seong-Hwi, vowing to remember this. The Zanaka Karambit fell to the ground with the man’s ear.
***
A large commotion broke out at Paysandu alley in the outskirts of Middle Earth once morning arrived.
“What in the world happened here?”
”Looks like they had a knife fight in the middle of the night.”
”It may be the outskirts, but this is still Middle Earth. They sure are audacious.”
People mumbled with one another at the entrance to the alley. The investigative team from the Union had blocked off all entrances to the alley, but many people witnessed the massacre before the Union arrived and discussed what they saw.
“Over twenty people died. Not to mention the blood... God! I don’t even want to talk about it. I would guess this is the work of someone who kills for pleasure.”
“What the hell is the Union doing when a killer like that is on the loose in Middle Earth?!”
”This is the problem with Dark Humans. They should just stay in South Earth where they belong. Why do they come to Middle Earth to cause problems?”
The humans around the Paysandu alley trembled in fear from the first mass murder in the area.
***
“They’re from Hard Drug?” asked a short-haired, cold-looking Asian woman to the investigators examining the corpses.
“Yes, Team Leader. These guys are chronic offenders. An informant stays at an item store and chooses a human who looks rich in Coins to lynch them as a group.”
“Then are you saying they got played at their own game this time?”
“It appears so.”
The woman crossed her arms and wagged a finger. A pure white fox jumped down from the top of the building moments later, hopping between the alley walls. It then jumped up to the woman’s shoulder and sat on it.
Yip! Yip!
“You... couldn’t find any traces?” the woman asked, her brows furrowing.
The fox whined dejectedly.
The woman patted the fox with one hand and thought, Miho couldn’t find any traces? Was this the act of a human who can erase their presence at will?
Her D Weapon, Miho, could track humans using any traces they left on a site, meaning the human she was trying to track could hide their presence.
A perfect skill for someone who kills for pleasure. Is it just a coincidence? the woman thought.
She turned around and stared at a man examining the corpses on the ground. He was a tough-looking middle-aged man with a stubby beard and messy hair.
“Didn’t you mention you were a detective on Earth, newcomer? What do you think about this case?” the woman asked.
The man answered, “The culprit appears to have lured them to this alley on purpose.”
“On purpose?”
“Yes. This may be Middle Earth, but it was still the dead of night. Who would willingly walk down a dark alley by themselves?”
“That’s not convincing enough,” the woman remarked.
The man nodded and continued, “Of course not, but look at the traces on the scene.” He pointed at the corpses and said, “The fact that the culprit killed the victims as if toying with them is far too suspicious. You could say he’s trying too hard to look crazy.”
The man grabbed a severed ear on the ground and said, “It’s easy to think it was an incidental murder instead of a planned one, seeing something like this. The culprit likely took advantage of that.”
“And what makes you so sure it’s not incidental?” the woman asked.
“Because there would have been at least a footprint if that were the case. The culprit made certain to leave nothing that could be traced back to him.”
The man rummaged through a corpse’s pockets and continued, “And considering there are traces of the culprit searching the corpses’ pockets... The culprit likely stayed at the scene for a while after the act to take their time and rig the scene. Such people usually premeditate their crimes, and the fact that the crime was made to look intentional says it all.”
The woman nodded. “There’s no evidence, but your deduction is impressive. What was your name again, newcomer?”
“Haha. It’s Ma Sang-Sik, Team Leader Kim Seo-Yeon.” Sang-Sik repeatedly opened and closed his Zippo lighter as he examined the crime scene. “One could even say he’s begging for attention.”