Ch.114EP.29 – King Kong and the Hybrid Clash (2)

Dismemberment.

The brutal torture technique, meant to separate flesh from bone, continued relentlessly for over 30 minutes.

Of course, the bones and flesh weren’t actually separated, but for someone experiencing such pain, thirty minutes would have felt like 30 years.

In reality, Roy Vant, now completely haggard, was barely more than a walking corpse.

His life force had diminished to the point where death could come at any moment.

It was utterly miserable, but unavoidable.

“He was a tough one, with such a tight lip…”

“It wasn’t tight—you just forcibly prevented him from speaking, senior.”

“Ahem.”

“……”

At the stern warning, Yord closed his mouth.

Having witnessed firsthand the horrific torture where muscles and bones were grotesquely twisted before returning to their original form, he had no courage to oppose the man in any way.

It was cruel violence that could leave someone with psychological trauma.

No wonder torture specialists often developed mental disorders.

Yet he remained steadfast.

Though his actions bordered on madness, he was more cold-blooded than anyone.

He looked like someone who had just completed a mandatory task, and watching this, Yord broke into a cold sweat.

‘This senior… is truly thorough.’

Yord didn’t fully understand his senior knight, but he felt he had at least grasped the surface.

A man who showed no mercy to enemies and was ruthlessly willing to use any means necessary against those he deemed foes.

Some might stupidly say, “Isn’t that obvious?” But those who know, know.

There’s a world of difference between knowing something and putting it into practice.

‘If I ever have to fight him again someday, I want it to be for the sake of learning, not as his enemy…’

For many reasons.

While Yord was increasing his understanding of Ihan, Jake, who had already experienced Ihan for three years, appeared indifferent.

“Still, it’s fortunate. He knew much more than we thought.”

No, he wasn’t indifferent—he too wore a businesslike expression and showed no sympathy for the subject.

“…Surprising. I thought you would be angry about this kind of thing.”

Watching this, Aren, who had turned paler than Yord—no, beyond pale, as if he had emptied his entire stomach—involuntarily spoke up upon seeing this other side of Jake, whom he had considered the only normal person.

He expected a knight to say something principled and normal—that how could one perform such cruel and barbaric acts as torture, even on a prisoner?

To Aren’s bewilderment, Jake replied:

“He’s a threat to Pendragon, isn’t he? Of course, I know this violates both human ethics and chivalry. However, as knights, we shouldn’t hesitate to wield our swords against enemies for the peace and order of the kingdom and its people, even if we’re called demons by enemy forces. I simply don’t waste emotions on those who would become enemies of Pendragon, Your Highness the 8th Prince. So I don’t think he did anything wrong. The kingdom can remain peaceful because there are people like him who do what must be done and dirty their hands.”

“……”

“If you find me and that guy uncomfortable, I suggest you return to the royal capital now. I’ll persuade him.”

“……”

…Until now.

Jake, who had always been respectful while addressing him as “Lord” or “Commander,” used the term “8th Prince” for the first time, and Aren would have to be a complete fool not to understand what this meant.

Treating him as “royalty” rather than a knight.

It was nothing less than a notification to live like a flower in a greenhouse.

To stop playing at being a knight…

Hearing this.

Crunch!

If his pride wasn’t hurt, he couldn’t call himself a man, let alone royalty!

“Watch your words. I am not the 8th Prince, but the proud 1st Squad Commander of the Order of the Silver Lion. Know your place, Jake Farman!”

Aren raised his voice in anger, biting his lip until it bled, while Jake simply nodded calmly.

“…I apologize, Lord Aren.”

“Damn it!”

Aren was visibly frustrated and couldn’t control his anger.

But that anger wasn’t directed at Jake.

He was angry at himself for showing such an unseemly appearance and behavior in this situation.

‘I am a knight of the Order of the Silver Lion!’

Repeating this to himself, Aren half-opened his eyes toward Jake.

Although he had helped snap him back to his senses, the provocation directed at him was far from pleasant.

“…Now I understand why you’re friends with that monster.”

“Is that an insult?”

“What else would it be!”

“Hmm, an insult then.”

“Argh!”

Aren realized that Jake’s formal speech now felt extremely unpleasant.

“…I didn’t know Senior Jake could provoke like that. And quite effectively too.”

Even he would have felt his pride wounded hearing such words.

From a third-person perspective, it was clear that Aren was dancing in the palm of Jake’s hand, and Yord could only shake his head at this different side of his senior knight, whom he had thought was simply pure-hearted.

His provocative tone reminded him of “someone.”

And that someone…

“Tsk, he used to be such a nice guy. But after going on a few missions with me and seeing a lot of ugly things, his personality got a bit twisted. I’m telling you, military life warps people’s character.”

“……”

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Ah, it’s nothing…”

“…Your eyes look quite disrespectful.”

“I really had no intention.”

“Hmm…”

“……”

Yord remained silent and averted his gaze.

…How could he possibly say:

‘Senior… I think you’re clearly the root cause, not the military.’

…out loud?

Yord had the wisdom to know that his mouth could be the source of disaster, and he preserved his well-being through silence.

It was the moment he acquired an essential passive skill for social life.

*

*

*

– Th-they approached me one day…

The information Roy Vant revealed mentioned not one but multiple individuals.

– I don’t know how long they’ve been in the tunnels. But I’m certain it’s been at least 10 years.

When asked why he thought so:

– …They used the tunnels as if they were their own home, and they knew the structure too well. They knew secrets that even the soldiers managing the tunnels wouldn’t know.

What was a prison and execution ground for some was like their own bedroom for them.

This meant they had completely mapped out the tunnel structure, which was as complex as an ant colony and as confusing as a maze.

Even though the structure constantly changed due to the Worms…

They must have been there for a long time.

But 10 years was hard to believe-

– There are buildings and farms. That means there are habitable facilities inside the tunnels.

…Hard to believe, but they had created their own living spaces throughout the tunnels.

In other words, various facilities that would be impossible to build without living there for at least 10 years.

This too was difficult to believe.

Even if the soldiers rarely entered the tunnels and were indifferent, how could they not notice the construction of living quarters?

As ‘he’ twitched his hand again with suspicion:

– Eek! P-please believe me! It’s true, I swear! I-I’m only telling you what I saw!!

Roy Vant wailed.

As if he never wanted to experience such pain again.

And in desperation:

– I-I don’t know who they are! But they were organized! They recruited the strong ones in the tunnels! They seemed to be looking for people with grievances, or those who harbored anger against Pendragon, no, against the nobility and royalty! They had antidotes from somewhere, restoring people’s fighting techniques! I even saw them teaching fighting techniques to ignorant farmers!!

He spilled more information, revealing disturbing details.

– I-I’m the same. I was a low-ranking soldier from Britain. I was imprisoned here for looting civilians, just waiting to die! B-but they taught me fighting techniques and how to fight. Th-the potion you found in my pocket is the same. It’s a potion that increases fighting power, though it has side effects! I-it’s true! Please believe me!

…This was even more unbelievable.

Two years, he said.

That’s how long he had been imprisoned in the tunnels.

And a soldier who didn’t even know fighting techniques, an adult man, learned and reached that level in just two years.

This was no ordinary achievement.

He was definitely stronger than the half-trained members of the Order of the Silver Lion, and even stronger than the 1st Squad Commander who led them.

And yet, just two years…

Considering that it takes at least 10 years for a knight to become competent, this was astonishing.

– M-my mission was only to recruit those with resentment against the nobility. Y-you were the same. I knew if I recruited you, I’d be guaranteed promotion and could get more potions, so… Arrrgh!

Roy Vant writhed in pain again while revealing information.

Someone had used another terrible technique on him while he was speaking, and with an aggrieved expression:

– W-why!?

A protest—why do this when he was spilling everything?

To this protest:

– Because you’re lying outright. You didn’t just commit looting, did you?

– !!?

– I thought so. You were clearly lying.

– Arrrrrgh!!

Roy Vant.

He was a major criminal who had committed not just looting but also murder.

Confirming this, he, Ihan, cast a cold gaze and:

– I’ve always been good at identifying trash.

He calmly continued the torture.

Not to extract information, but simply to inflict suffering.

Having heard most of the information, the knights wore grim expressions.

“This potion, it’s definitely that, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it seems so.”

“Hmm…”

The knights observed the addiction symptoms in Roy Vant, who had collapsed in a corner.

And considering his abnormal growth…

“This is made from monster flesh. 100% certain.”

Monster flesh.

It’s essentially poison to humans, deadly poison that kills instantly upon consumption.

When animals eat it, they mutate and become “monsterized”—that’s common knowledge.

…But you know what?

When you think about it.

“Humans are animals too, and this proves it.”

Among humans who consume monster flesh, some occasionally survive.

And those survivors sometimes gain powerful strength, regenerative abilities, and exceptional learning capabilities.

A true blessing.

However.

“Most survivors develop madness. They get angry easily, commit murder easily. Their humanity gradually erodes.”

Proof that blessing and curse aren’t so far apart?

In that sense, monster flesh is clearly a terrible curse and nightmare.

“I’ve heard about it. ‘Ma-in disease,’ becoming a <Ma-in (魔人)>…”

“…According to royal records, the last Ma-in was discovered 30 years ago. And that Ma-in displayed enough power to overwhelm a hundred soldiers in just one month, and was only defeated after ten knights intervened.”

The end is always the same for those who survive eating monster flesh.

A monster’s instinct is to kill people.

And the instinct of a human who has become a monster, a Ma-in, is naturally to kill people, and furthermore-

“They even resort to ‘cannibalism.'”

“Ugh!”

Cases where they fail to recognize their own children and eat their wives and children.

Having heard about this several times during their cadet days, the knights looked at the potion with horror.

Ihan rolled the potion in his palm with a somber gaze.

“…Judging by the fact that he hasn’t completely lost his humanity, this potion must have minimized those side effects. But even that has its limits.”

Ihan was certain.

The unpleasant stench emanating from the potion.

It contained a small amount of monster flesh, just enough for humans to consume without dying.

“They must have experimented extensively. How many people did they kill?”

It was clearly a drug created after thoroughly understanding human immunity and tolerance.

No, this couldn’t even be called a drug or poison.

A ticking time bomb that could explode at any moment!

Problems would arise at some point during consumption.

And to develop such a time bomb would require at minimum…

“They must have used tens of thousands of humans as test subjects. Ha! Those lunatics-!”

Jake’s confident statement.

Having occasionally caught illegal magicians with Ihan, he had frequently witnessed such experiments.

Though not an expert, he could make a reasonable estimate.

Which made it all the more horrifying.

How could anyone who calls themselves human do such a thing!

It reeked of madness, obsession, and boundless malice.

“Now it doesn’t matter whether these guys are the Blood Cross or whatever. We need to eliminate them immediately. Otherwise, the future will be even more terrible.”

“I agree.”

A group with such malice.

And this group possesses a drug that can turn people into Ma-in, or rather <Half Ma-in>.

On top of that, they’re teaching high-level fighting techniques to such individuals.

How many of them could there be?

If there were a thousand, no, even a hundred, it would be a sufficiently threatening level.

Enemies threatening the kingdom.

This simple fact was important, and the knights focused on Ihan’s words.

And he, responding to the knights’ expectations:

“Let’s go crush them all.”

─He delivered an answer that was not just refreshing but exhilarating.