Under the Lamp? (3)

Under the Lamp? (3)

“…Are you lost, little girl?”

“Ugh!”

I burst out of the store. It was crazy, but I had to try it to satisfy my curiosity.

As a result, I just felt more frustrated.

“You idiot. Did you really think a bar would just let someone like you in?”

Ren clicked his tongue in disbelief. I had nothing to say. I knew I’d be kicked out anyway.

“Damn, now that I see it, I really want to drink.”

Except for the demon realm’s alcohol brewed with blood, the only drinks I’ve tried on Earth were beer and soju, but I still wanted to drink. Eventually, I went out into the night streets again and wandered through the brightly lit entertainment district.

Among all that, what caught my eye was an arcade.

I thought they might kick me out for being a minor, but fortunately, it seemed there was no such thing as a curfew for minors in this world.

“It’s been a really long time since I’ve done this.”

I exchanged some money and sat down in front of an arcade machine. I used to be quite skilled at fighting games.

“Huh?”

While I was immersed in nostalgia, fiddling with the joystick, someone scanned me briefly and sat down across from me.

This guy was an evil and vicious bastard trying to take advantage of a young girl who probably didn’t even weigh half of his own weight.

“C-can you win? The opponent is an adult, you know?”

Ren, who was already engrossed in the game, tapped my head. I couldn’t help but smirk. What does age have to do with gaming skills?

As soon as the game started, I immediately launched a fierce attack.

“Ugh?!”

I heard a startled sound, as if he was taken aback. Still, he was blocking quite well for someone who seemed surprised. At that point, I decided to release my limits a bit more.

With a rapid tapping sound, my eyes and hands moved even faster.

For a body used to handling dozens of tentacles at once, moving a few fingers quickly was child’s play.

“Heh.”

A quick K.O. I couldn’t hold back my sneer. Crushing and humiliating a challenger who had underestimated me so confidently.

It was one of the thrilling pleasures I could experience in the demon realm.

“Oh, mister, want to go another round?”

“…”

He silently put the money in again. If he wanted to challenge, there was no reason to refuse.

Like that, twice, three times, four times.

I continued to thoroughly crush and trample him. And when that started to get boring.

“What’s wrong, mister? Feeling bad because you keep losing?”

He got up from his seat and approached me.

“It’s not particularly that.”

“Really? Looks like you have something to say.”

“Aren’t you going home? It’s 11 o’clock now.”

“Are you lecturing me because you lost?”

I just blurted out everything without filtering. After all, I had nothing to lose. His brow twitched slightly. Of course, I’m not this rude to just anyone.

“This guy, he’s quite a villain with deep malice.”

As Ren said, I could feel a very thick malice coming from him right now. It was the kind of malice that would make Kim Gwang-hun, who used to transport drugs, look like an angel.

“It’s not like that, I just wanted to help if you don’t have a home.”

“How would you help?”

“You’ll know if you follow me.”

Openly using a kidnapping pattern? I held back a laugh. I didn’t want to act too crazy, or he might not take me.

“What’s there if I go?”

“Is there anything you want to eat?”

Towards the guy who was smiling kindly, I grinned back.

“Alcohol. Anything.”

Of course, right after hearing my answer, his smile crumbled and changed to a disgruntled face.

“This way.”

He took me to an unknown place right then and there. I naturally followed obediently. Anyway, since it had come to this, I wanted to see what kind of guys they were and take them all down at once.

[But this is a bit annoying. Why am I always getting caught up in this kind of thing?]

“Don’t you ever think that your current appearance makes you an easy target for crime?”

Ren shook his head at my grumbling. Come to think of it, this didn’t seem to be completely wrong.

Who would be the most vulnerable group to crime? Wouldn’t it be young children without parents or homes?

“Get in the car.”

“What exactly do you do?”

He put me in the car. It was a van with dark tinted windows. Then he told me to wait for a moment and made a call somewhere.

“What kind of guys are they… Organ trafficking? That level of evil should be about right.”

Ren started wandering around the car, searching every corner.

[You can tell at a glance]

But in fact, from the moment I got into this car, I sensed something. My nose twitched.

[The smell of blood that can’t be hidden even with a diffuser. And the smell of semen]

I guarantee these guys were obviously bastards who wouldn’t have anything to say even if they were all killed.

“Want to have a drink?”

He handed me an opened drink. It looked so obvious and sloppy, but an ordinary girl would probably drink this and fall asleep.

Since I had to return before morning, I drank the drink and pretended to fall asleep for now to speed things up.

*

“This is crazy… Isn’t she too young?”

“What’s the use of that? They’ll probably charge even more. Besides, at this level, it’s considered a premium product.”

The car didn’t drive for long before stopping somewhere. I squinted and looked outside. The atmosphere wasn’t much different from the red-light district where I had been. However, it was a bit more decadent and darker.

“Just take her in for now. Unlike her appearance, she’s quite cheeky and arrogant.”

“Oh, come on…”

Someone picked up my body. I was carried down what seemed to be stairs leading to a basement.

I almost gagged from the thick smell of cigarettes. If there’s one thing I hate the most, it’s those damn cigarettes.

“Hey, Kim Dumb-dumb! First, strip her completely and start with the basic training…”

“Training my ass. Today is your death anniversary.”

I opened my eyes and drew upon my magical power. Along with the damn cigarette smell, what irritated me were these horrible malicious intents.

Underage sex slaves? They deserve to die a hundred times over.

“Wha… Argh!”

“Aaagh!”

Just from the shockwave of me putting on my outfit, those whose bones were crushed all over their bodies fell and died.

The next to die, with his neck cut off, was the employee standing stupidly right next to me.

“From what I can see, there’s no innocent person here. It seems I’m the only one who was forcibly brought here, right? Am I wrong, Ren? They all have malicious intent above the threshold.”

“That’s…”

“So it’s okay to just kill them all, right? If I killed the seller, it’s only fair to kill the buyer too.”

I swung my blade and split in half the prostitute who was screaming. I couldn’t let her live anyway since she had seen my face.

“Ta-Tequilas!”

“There’s only one exit behind me… So, I guess you all have to die now?”

Several employees who seemed to be in a hurry rushed out and pulled something out of their pockets when they saw me.

It was a gun. I was starting to doubt whether this country really had gun control laws.

“Even if you resist, you’ll only die painfully.”

I picked up the rubber bullets that had hit my stomach and face, crumpled them, and threw them on the floor. At the same time, shadows spread instantly along the walls, floor, and ceiling.

The speed was even faster in the narrow indoor space.

“Kuhak…”

“Kkeuk.”

The protruding spikes pierced and killed them. Only then did the drunk people seem to realize the situation, as screams from both men and women echoed everywhere.

“Hah…”

Ren, who seemed to have given up by now, was sitting next to me, sighing deeply.

“Don’t wear yourself out like that. We have nothing to lose.”

This time, I pierced and killed a fleeing naked prostitute along with an employee.

As I walked slowly forward, leading the shadows, there was no one left alive in the corridors and rooms behind me.

“Do you know who I am! I’m a member of the National Assembly of this country…”

“What are you talking about, you bald criminal?”

I also killed the bald man who was hiding behind a prostitute as a shield, spouting nonsense about being a member of the National Assembly, along with the woman he was using as a shield.

“M-my father is a three-term member of the National Assem…”

“I just killed a current member, didn’t I? You think you’re something?”

I also beheaded and killed the stupid and lacking guy who was bragging about his father’s credentials when faced with the risk of death.

And along with them, I killed all the others who were associated with them.

Those intoxicated by drugs were especially tormented until the effects wore off before being killed, while those begging for their lives were given a clean beheading.

“It wasn’t even that big of a place, yet they kidnapped people.”

And the entire process took less than 30 minutes. I broke into what appeared to be the manager’s office.

I had just torn the manager limb from limb, but there might be something worth salvaging here.

“It’s a ledger of partner companies.”

For example, something like this. This didn’t seem to count as spoils of war.

“It seems like chaos outside. Shouldn’t we escape quickly!”

“Wait a moment. Is this ledger really all there is to salvage?”

I pored over the contents of the ledger. To keep records in such an analog way in this day and age. The ledger contained information about other illegal entertainment establishments in the area.

I tucked it away for now. Though playing the numbers game was bothersome, it might come in handy if needed.

“Let’s get out of here then.”

I headed outside, stepping through puddles of blood. Outside was already bustling with activity. Grinning, I grabbed Ren’s ear.

“Now, just a moment… Aaargh!”

And in an instant, I soared into the sky, destroying everything. Half of them were rolling on the shattered ground, while the other half were pointing up at me and cursing.

“Stupid fools.”

Mocking them, I erased my presence and headed straight for the facility.