Ch.34Chapter 2. Seed of the Devil (3)

What is a demon?

Is it the succubus tied to that pillar, or is it those who conducted all sorts of biological experiments on her?

“Kyaaack!! Ugh.”

“Ah, demon…!”

Or perhaps I’m the demon, smashing those barely human creatures to pieces.

[Hearing you call me that makes me feel completely uninhibited about what I’m doing.]

CRASH!

I swung my club and shattered the spine of someone trying to escape.

“Kuh, huk….”

The white lab coat began to turn red, and I swung my club hard at the fleeing researcher’s back.

THWACK!

The researcher could no longer run away.

He couldn’t even crawl on the floor, and his breath stopped right there.

Today, I killed people.

People who might not have been people, but demons.

People who might have been someone’s children, or someone’s parents.

But they are clearly “villains.”

They research demon seeds, which later germinate and bring threats to the world.

From an individual perspective, I killed people, but from a humanitarian perspective, I killed those who would provide the catalyst for world destruction.

“Nngh, uuugh….”

[Still alive?]

Groans came from inside the chamber behind the glass window, where the succubus was.

-Warning, warning, warning, intruder detected, warning, warning.

The alarm had been sounding since I broke the glass, and the machine that was trying to dissect the succubus had stopped.

“This, I absolutely cannot give this up…!”

Thinking I had come to rescue the succubus, the researcher tried to restart the machine using a device inside.

“Ah, aah…?!”

Whirrr.

The mechanical drill was now pointing at the succubus’s face instead of her abdomen.

The succubus looked at me with terror-filled eyes, and her eyes clearly said:

-Save me.

[…….]

Before I could even think, my body was already moving.

I kicked off the ground, jumped through the broken window, gripped my club tightly with both hands, and channeled my strength.

“Kuh, heheheh!!”

The researcher was manipulating something with his twisted body.

If I didn’t attack him now, he would surely try to escape by any means.

It was a moment of choice.

Should I change direction to subdue the researcher?

Or should I stop the mechanical drill?

[Hmph.]

The trajectory of my club, swung over my shoulder, was naturally aimed at the mechanical drill.

[I’m not some frustrating hero, after all.]

CLANG!

I struck the arm of the mechanical drill hard with my club.

The succubus turned her head to the side, and the twisted drill tip barely grazed her cheek.

“Kuhaha! Success! You fool! I—”

The researcher who had just opened what looked like an emergency exit and was about to escape froze in place.

[A gift for you.]

I kicked the mechanical drill’s arm in mid-air as I landed.

SPLAT!!

Naturally, the spinning drill tip headed toward the researcher, and it precisely penetrated his abdomen.

“Kuh, hack….”

The researcher spat blood and died.

It was a grotesque sight beyond words, but considering all the situations that must have occurred inside this chamber, one might think he deserved it.

“Hahaha!”

At least, seeing the tear-stained laughter of this succubus.

“Ahahaha, serves them right, these damn bastards…! After tormenting me over and over…! Haa, haa…!”

Though still tied to the pillar and only able to express her elation verbally, if I were to untie her, she looked ready to run over and stomp on the corpses.

[Your name?]

“…Jeon Yu-bin. 22 years old. You, I’ve heard rumors about you.”

The succubus looked me up and down with a hollow smile.

“When I was kidnapped, I was just an ordinary villain, but how much stronger have you become…?”

[When were you kidnapped?]

“Last autumn.”

[That’s an ambiguous time. Back then, I was known as a C-rank.]

I tore off Jeon Yu-bin’s restraints one by one with my hands.

[Now I’m an S-rank villain.]

“That’s impressive. How did you get so strong so quickly?”

[It’s confidential. The Syndicate’s.]

“I see. Confidential, nice. Then… why did you come to rescue me?”

[Rescue?]

I took out a rope I had made using my Goblin club, not the research facility’s restraints.

[I didn’t come to rescue you.]

“……?!”

WHUMP.

Before Jeon Yu-bin could move, I quickly bound her with the rope.

Tightening it so she couldn’t move her wings or arms at all, I restrained her and made her lie face down on the floor.

“What, what are you doing?!”

[Why did you think I came to rescue you?]

I stepped on Jeon Yu-bin’s back, on her wing joints, and placed my club on the back of her head.

[I certainly feel sorry that you were subjected to biological experiments by demons wearing human disguises, but that doesn’t mean you’re an angel wearing a demon’s disguise.]

“No, no! I’m not a bad person!”

[Have you ever killed anyone?]

“……!”

Jeon Yu-bin couldn’t say anything.

Of course.

The basic condition for becoming a demon is “killing one’s own kind,” and Jeon Yu-bin, being a “pure demon” rather than someone forcibly turned into a demon by a demon seed, became a demon through normal means.

[You didn’t become a demon through an ability going berserk, but rather sought strength by using your ability to kill people. How many did you kill?]

“I, I didn’t kill…! Anyone!”

[That’s a lie.]

I’m not judging by physical symptoms when someone lies, like heartbeat or eye movement.

[The investigation is already complete. Jeon Yu-bin, you killed your junior at Sejong Island and stole her ability. Do you remember the name ‘Hwang Do-hee’?]

“……!!”

Jeon Yu-bin’s expression changed.

Until just now, her whole body had been expressing indignation, but her expression turned cold, and she merely sneered at me.

“What’s this? You knew everything already?”

[I came knowing. Our informant is quite excellent.]

To summarize the Tavern Owner’s information:

[You killed your junior Hwang Do-hee at Sejong Island and stole her magical power, and then you went berserk and became a demon. The security forces of Sejong Island said they restrained you and put you in a secret prison, but it was actually a secret research facility…. Something like that.]

Using prisoners as test subjects is a common story.

[Since you became a demon, human rights don’t matter anyway. Right? Even by definition, a demon isn’t human.]

“Ha, haha…. If I ever escape from here, I’ll definitely join ‘Pandemonium’ and expose everything about this place. And I’ll demand that all demons have the right to live as humans.”

[You have big dreams.]

I raised my club high.

[The conversation is over. Any last words?]

“W-wait. Are you really going to kill me? Huh? Really…?”

[What, did you think I was just trying to scare you, or that I’d reveal your villain origin story and tell you to repent for your sins?]

“S-stop! Wait! You’re not really going to kill me…! Why are you doing this to a fellow villain?!”

Jeon Yu-bin’s expression began to grow desperate.

“The person who told you I was imprisoned here, the person who ordered you to attack this place, they wouldn’t have given you the mission to kill me!!”

She began to struggle desperately, trying to break free from me.

“You could capture me and expose the ugly truth of Sejong Island, or use me to uncover the truth about this research!!”

[That could be possible. But didn’t you hear what I said up there before I came down?]

I leaned down and whispered in Jeon Yu-bin’s ear.

[The unjust shall all be executed.]

Demons must be killed, no exceptions.

[Even heroes don’t face legal consequences for killing demons, though they might face moral ones. Why should I spare you?]

“Y-you could use me! H-how can you treat me like this! The ugly truth of Sejong Island! Capturing demons for research, conducting human experiments! Shouldn’t you spread that to the media?!”

[You seem to be under some misunderstanding. Do you think you’re the only one being researched on Sejong Island?]

“No way… there are other demons besides me?! Why are you keeping those people alive?! Why are you only trying to kill me?!”

[Well.]

It’s obvious, if you think about it.

[Because Hwang Do-hee’s parents requested that you be killed.]

“…….”

Jeon Yu-bin couldn’t say anything.

As if she hadn’t expected it at all, she looked up at me with a blank face, as if she’d been hit from a direction she never considered.

“How did they…?”

[They wanted to see the face of the murderer who killed their daughter, to see what kind of face she was living with, but they couldn’t even get a visit or approach. That’s where it started.]

How the request came in is the Syndicate’s role.

[Did you think the person you killed wouldn’t request your death?]

I am simply carrying out my assigned mission as a fixer and “manager” of the Syndicate.

“Ha, haha…! Do you think you’re any different?! You hypocrite! You’re just the same!!”

[I know. I’ve killed many people too, and their families want me dead.]

There are more people who hate and want to kill the Goblin than Jeon Yu-bin.

[They can point their knives at me. But I have no intention of accepting those blades.]

Because I’m not a stupid, frustrating hero.

[And.]

I shaped the end of my club into a sharp spike, then gripped it in reverse.

[Demons are what I hate second most after villains.]

SPLAT!!

Red blood sprays.

Red blood no different from a human’s.

Clap, clap, clap.

Beyond the exit that the researcher had opened.

“My, that was impressive.”

A man approached, clapping his hands.

A man in black hanbok with a black mask featuring a comical face, wearing a straw hat on his head.

“You handled that quite decisively, Goblin. Was it really necessary to kill her?”

[Who are you?]

“As for me, I belong to a different organization than you, but have the same job to do, though I’ve made different choices than you.”

The man swung a rod resembling a switch over his shoulder.

“One who wants to spread the ugly truth happening here to the world and expose the reality of those in high places.”

Flutter.

The man raised the rod over his shoulder, gripped it with both hands, and bowed at the waist like a roly-poly toy.

“I am ‘Malttugi’ of [Hwalbindang].”