novelraw Chapter 155 : Chapter 155
Chapter 155 : Chapter 155
Chapter 155: Villain (3)
“Now then, let us welcome two righteous heroes who are clearly out of place in this underground arena!”
The announcer introduced us without even trying to hide his mockery.
Laughter burst out from various parts of the audience. Someone even shouted, “This is the highlight!” while waving a drink.
‘I get why I am here, but why Jack?’
I could not immediately understand why Jack had pressed the green button.
Before I could think any further, staff members approached us.
All of them were hulking men in black suits and sunglasses.
Men dressed identically surrounded Jack and me.
“This way.”
The man who appeared to be the senior among them gestured.
The guidance was polite, but the treatment was closer to being dragged off.
As we were pushed toward the cage, a pungent stench of blood filled the air.
“Grrrr….”
Beyond the bars, the Lycan let out a low, subsonic growl.
The match had been paused, and it was once again bound in chains.
Having already tasted blood, the Lycan thrashed violently, foam bubbling from its mouth, its eyes bloodshot with frenzy.
Then, with a humming mechanical sound, part of the transparent barrier opened into a square-shaped gap.
Just wide enough for one person to pass through—an entrance leading straight to hell.
“Normally, you would enjoy watching calmly from your seats. It is unfortunate that you have chosen to act on a whim today.”
The senior staff member explained in a flat voice.
Judging by his tone, he seemed to know the original owner of the facial skin we were wearing quite well.
“If you require a different form of entertainment, we can arrange a separate hunting session. Phantasmal beasts, demonic beasts… if necessary, we can even procure people.”
He went on to spout absolute insanity.
Providing people to hunt, casually mentioned in the same breath.
‘…The original story only hinted at things like this.’
Underground arenas, black markets, illegal dealers beneath the surface.
There had always been descriptions suggesting that as the world grew more dangerous, places for human madness to be vented also existed.
But those aspects were rarely explored directly in the game.
It seemed I had stumbled upon one of those hints in vivid detail.
‘You really do see everything when you hang around villains.’
In any case, the senior staff member tried to persuade us with his deranged offer.
“Team Leader, just throw them in already. Looks like they are itching for it. Losing an arm to a demonic beast would be a memorable experience, would it not?”
The reactions of the surrounding staff were different.
They had already stopped seeing us as customers and started viewing us as irritating troublemakers.
What are you waiting for?
You said you wanted to save them, right?
It felt like those voices were practically ringing in the air.
They stepped closer, grabbing our arms and trying to shove us into the cage.
That was when Jack reacted first.
“Tsk. Do not touch me with those thick hands. It is unpleasant.”
“Unpleasant, my ass. Get inside, now!”
“Of course I am going in.”
Jack turned toward the staff and smiled broadly.
“But before we do, let me say one thing.”
He subtly lowered his left eyebrow.
It was the signal we had agreed on beforehand—the signal that meant, we are flipping the board now.
“Feeding phantasmal beasts to demonic beasts is the worst possible choice.”
“…What?”
“Phantasmal beasts carry a scent demonic beasts hate the most. As food, they are the absolute worst. Causes problems, you know.”
At Jack’s sudden and utterly misplaced advice, the staff members’ brows furrowed deeply.
Worrying about a demonic beast’s digestion right before being thrown inside to die—what a sight.
“What the hell is this bastard talking about? If you feel sorry for the phantasmal beast getting eaten, then kill the demonic beast yourself! Stop talking nonsense and get in!”
“No, no. Who said anything about feeling sorry? Tsk. You idiots do not even know the value of a demonic beast. The point is this.”
Jack grabbed the man by the collar and applied pressure, smiling viciously.
“There is a far more nutritious, perfect meal for a demonic beast than anything in this arena.”
“…What?”
“A living human. That is the best meal there is—for a demonic beast.”
The moment the staff member tried to respond—
Crack—!
With a smooth snapping sound, the man’s neck bent at an unnatural angle.
His body went limp without even managing a scream.
Jack treated him like luggage and tossed him straight through the open entrance.
Thud—!
As the fresh scent of blood spread, the Lycan’s nostrils flared.
Ignoring the phantasmal beast entirely, it lunged for the newly delivered prey.
Crunch—crack!
The sound of bone and flesh being crushed echoed grotesquely through the arena.
“Uh—what?”
The announcer’s flustered voice came through the speakers.
The audience, still slow to grasp the situation, began to stir uneasily.
‘…So this was how he planned to do it.’
I reflected on my own naïveté. I had assumed we would go inside and simply kill the demonic beast.
That would have been the heroic approach.
Bremen was nothing like that.
They always chose the most brutal, most vicious option available.
I glanced at Jack.
He was watching the carnage inside the cage with interest, as if enjoying a circus act.
Then chaos erupted.
“Kya—kyaaah!”
“H-He threw a person in there! That lunatic!”
“Security! Where is the security team?!”
Shouts rang out as armed staff members—over a dozen of them—surrounded us.
The announcer on the platform had gone pale, clutching the microphone.
“E-Everyone, please remain calm! The situation will be resolved shortly—”
He did not get to finish.
Bang—!
A gun appeared in Jack’s hand, seemingly out of nowhere.
Smoke rose from the barrel.
With a single shot, a red hole opened in the announcer’s forehead.
He remained standing, still gripping the microphone.
“Resolved… re-sol-ved… heh… hhh… reee…”
He twitched, repeating the last word like a broken recording.
That horrific sight sent the screams around us climbing to a higher pitch.
[Fear, Shock, Panic]
The emotions that had filled the arena just moments ago—excitement and anticipation—
the vivid red hues reflected by the Eye of Deception—
All of it was instantly replaced by ashen terror.
“This really is fun.”
Jack chuckled, blowing smoke from the muzzle of his gun.
“That rush you get from smacking people who thought they were safe just seconds ago. Addictive, is it not? You know it better than anyone.”
The grin on his face was pure villainy.
I could not immediately share his sentiment.
He had just killed someone as casually as swatting a fly.
This went far beyond any line.
It was villain behavior through and through.
But I could not stay silent.
I was not Ryu Jinwoo here.
I was Balzac.
Instead of remaining quiet, I put on a relaxed air and spoke.
“…I like it. Very much.”
I twisted my lips upward and swept my gaze around, as if admiring a magnificent work of art.
“I knew it.”
Jack nodded in satisfaction, then suddenly opened his mouth wide.
Far wider than a human jaw should allow.
From deep in his throat, something red squirmed upward.
Gag—!
A blade sheathed in a red scabbard emerged.
It was the sword belonging to the original owner of the face I was wearing.
Jack tossed it to me casually. The blade was spotless, not a drop of saliva on it.
“You have been using a sword lately, right? Let us see what you have got.”
He jerked his chin toward the charging staff.
“That bastard has a weapon!”
“We definitely searched him—how did he pull it out of his mouth?!”
“Subdue them! No—shoot to kill! Kill them!”
Their confusion was brief.
They were professionals.
At the command, they drew their weapons and charged—
swords, knuckles, guns, even jackknives flashing under the lights.
“Yeah. I figured it would go this way.”
Jack moved like a fish in water, lunging toward the nearest group.
Each sweep of his blade produced the clean sound of flesh being cut.
Most of the attackers were drawn toward him, but that did not mean I was safe.
Clang—!
I deflected a flying bat with my scabbard.
A jolt ran through my wrist.
‘One mistake and I am dead.’
This was real.
If I slipped even once, a blade would be buried in my gut.
I twisted desperately, deflecting and evading attacks.
Avoid. Counter.
I was locked in intense combat when—
Boom—!
A massive shadow landed in front of me with a heavy impact.
It was the senior staff member in sunglasses who had guided us earlier.
“…You filthy rats.”
He ground his teeth and tore at his tie.
In an instant, an alien wave of magic power rippled from him.
Crack—crunch—!
The sound of bones twisting rang out.
His muscles swelled grotesquely, the suit stretching to its limit before buttons shot off like bullets.
Bulging veins, flaring trapezius muscles—
no longer human, but closer to a monster.
A transformation-type enhancement ability.
‘…He looks more like a demonic beast than the Lycan.’
Even more menacing than the real one.
“How dare you cause trouble here! I will tear you apart!”
He roared and charged at me, his massive fist aimed straight at my head.
Whoosh—!
Even a glancing blow would have shattered my skull.
I chose evasion over confrontation.
I leaned back and kicked off the ground, creating distance just as his fist slammed down where I had stood.
The reinforced floor cracked like a spiderweb, debris flying.
“You dodge well, like the rat you are!”
He bellowed, wrenching his fist free.
The pressure rolling off him was overwhelming. A frontal clash would be disadvantageous.
But that very strength could be turned against him.
[Kang Duhyeok]
[Excitement, Rage, Hatred]
[Status: Berserk]
‘He is overexcited from a berserk-type buff.’
The weakness of berserk abilities was tunnel vision and dulled judgment.
Power came at a cost.
In that state, the most effective weapon was provocation.
“Having muscles does not mean you know how to fight.”
“What did you say?”
“Try developing your brain too, not just your muscles. Your balance is terrible. Or is your head just for decoration?”
The taunt landed perfectly.
His face flushed red and blue.
“You insolent bastard!”
Boom—!
He charged again, faster and heavier than before.
The pressure felt like a tank ramming forward.
But I did not retreat.
Instead, I stepped into his reach.
‘Now.’
As his massive fist flew toward my face, I twisted my head aside by the thinnest margin.
At the same time, I drove the scabbard deep into his ankle.
Thump—
A tiny obstacle was all it took.
All that kinetic energy from his full-speed charge turned into poison, shattering his balance.
“Guh!”
The hulking body pitched forward.
I slid aside and placed one hand on his back, giving a gentle push—
perfectly timed, adding just enough acceleration.
Crash—!
He smashed through the cage wall and flew straight toward the Lycan.
“Grrk?”
The demonic beast’s confused grunt lasted only a moment.
Saliva poured from its jaws as it focused on the new prey.
The cage became instant chaos.
“Grrrk!”
“N-No—get away! Get your teeth off me!”
The senior staff member was no ordinary opponent.
Even on the brink of being devoured, he thrashed violently in resistance.
But after smashing into the reinforced glass moments earlier, he was already at his limit.
He could only struggle—nothing more.
‘That should take care of it.’
My objective was complete.
I turned away and scanned for the next enemy—
‘…What?’
I froze.
Everything was already over.
Dozens of enemies lay sprawled across the floor—
unconscious, or dead.
Barely three minutes. Perhaps even less.
‘He really is insane. Jack.’
More shocking than the speed was the condition of the bodies.
The sword wounds were impossibly clean.
No hesitation, no mercy—perfectly precise and brutally efficient.
It was a clear testament to how deeply Jack was steeped in slaughter.
“Tsk. Not even a warm-up. And these idiots dared to skim our merchandise.”
Jack shook the blood from his blade and clicked his tongue.
He stepped over the bodies toward the cage.
“You handled that nicely. Let us take a look.”
He reached inside and grabbed the senior staff member by the back of the neck, dragging him out.
“Urgh.”
Bloodied and barely conscious, the man looked between Jack and me, then around him.
The audience had fled.
His subordinates were annihilated.
Confusion filled his eyes.
“Answer only what I ask. Hand over the master key. Give me the final security code. And the boss’s location.”
Jack listed his demands calmly, then twisted the man’s arm.
“Speak cleanly and make it easy on yourself. Hmm? Just one word.”
“S-Shut up… guh!”
The man glared at Jack with venom-filled eyes despite his agony.
Crack—!
“AAARGH!”
Jack snapped a finger bone without hesitation.
Still, the man clenched his teeth and stayed silent.
‘…That is more tolerable than you would think.’
A strange thought crossed my mind.
Breaking bones was undeniably painful, but in situations flooded with adrenaline, it could be endured.
“Well, look at him. He has some spine.”
“…Just kill me. I will never do what you want, even if I die.”
With his sunglasses half-slipped off, the man stared at us defiantly.
Jack’s eyebrow twitched.
As I watched him raise his hand again, anxiety crept in.
‘This is taking too long.’
The damage was already done.
Jack turning the place into a wasteland was expected.
But the audience had fled.
If we lingered, outside support would arrive.
At worst, Patrol or heroes could show up.
If I was caught, it was over.
My academy life, all my plans in this world—finished.
Caught red-handed, there would be no excuse.
Jack’s crude torture would not break him in time.
Decision made, I moved.
“Tsk, playing the loyal servant? Just hurry up and spill—”
“Wait. Come here.”
I cut in sharply.
Jack raised an eyebrow.
Ignoring him, I grabbed the man by the collar and pulled him close.
I raised my index and middle fingers and pressed them diagonally, hard, deep into the inner side of his clavicle.
Instant reaction.
“…!”
He could not even scream.
Like someone with their airway crushed, he mouthed silently, trembling violently.
“What did you do?”
Jack stared at me.
I applied even more pressure, crushing the nerve cluster beneath my fingers.
Ironically, I understood.
The countless pains I had endured.
The System’s settlements and penalties had taught me something.
Where to touch the human body to inflict the most unbearable pain.
Where sensations worse than death were hidden.
My fingers traced his body only a few times.
“G—ghk… hh… hhh… khih—hih—!”
The man who had endured broken bones with defiance collapsed, drooling and sobbing.
Ten seconds.
That was all it took.
“I-I will talk… please… stop… I will tell you everything….”
At last, his mouth opened.
I withdrew my hand and turned to Jack.
Jack looked between the man and me, then curled his lips in interest.
“Tsk. Same as ever, you crazy bastard.”
I had just been called insane by a madman.