SRW | Chapter 21

Kim Jaeyoung thought of his uncle. The man who had screamed that he was a murderer, that killing his parents was his true nature, even though he knew it wasn’t true. Maybe the man had been right. What he wanted was nothing like the love ordinary people felt.

When he stormed out of the cafeteria in a fit of rage, he hadn’t cared if he died right then. But the thought of Eunsoo breathing alone in a world without him made something swell violently in his chest. Should I just kill him first? He imagined wrapping his hands around Eunsoo’s throat, watching those dark eyes fix on him one last time. But nothing. No fantasy eased the suffocating pressure in his chest.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

A deep vibration made Jaeyoung pause, pressing himself against a nearby wall. Above, the red moon loomed close. The red moon had grown so large that it made him wonder if it would collide with the Earth, casting a crimson hue over the entire world. No longer able to hide in the shadows, he slipped into a darkened alley.

—SCREEEECH!

—SKREEEEE!

—GROOOOAAAR!

Every monster in the vicinity shrieked, sprinting in the same direction. One brushed right past Jaeyoung’s face, too frenzied to notice him. Their path toward the pharmacy sent a chill down his spine. He quickened his pace.

Then, something blocked his way.

It floated in midair. A small figure about waist-height, its entire body composed of translucent liquid with human-like limbs. While other monsters ran about excitedly, this one remained perfectly still in the air, staring down at him.

[*&^^$.]

It even spoke. Though the language was unintelligible, its half-lidded eyes suggested amusement. Jaeyoung frowned up at it. He needed to get to Eunsoo quickly, and now this thing was in his way.

The monster extended its hand. The movement was elegant, painfully slow. Jaeyoung thought he could easily dodge it. He tried to move, but before he could react, his head was caught in the monster’s grasp. His body froze as if pressed down by invisible scissors, completely paralyzed.

[What a delicious-looking soul.]

Was it because the creature was holding his head? The words it spoke reverberated in his mind, suddenly being understandable.

[Arrogant, too. Prime quality.]

The creature smacked its lips. Was it planning to eat him? A wave of disgust swept over Kim Jaeyoung.

[I wasn’t going to feed until my body recovered, but to find such premium quality among these primitive humans… How surprising. Consider it an honor to become part of me.]

The humanoid monster dissolved into liquid and poured over Jaeyoung’s body, enveloping him completely. Though the process was slow, Jaeyoung still couldn’t move a finger. The liquid creature forced its way into his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears.

*

‘Where…am I?’

He stood alone in a dark space. Looking around, he saw nothing but his own body and endless desert sand. Watching his fingers and toes gradually disintegrate into the void, Jaeyoung realized he’d been absorbed by the monster. When his body completely scattered, eternal rest would come.

Death didn’t frighten him. Such a painless end could even be called fortunate. But the thought of dying before Eunsoo, leaving him behind, made rage surge uncontrollably. The monster had ruined everything. Jaeyoung stomped the ground madly, his feet sinking deep into the sand-like surface until he lost balance and fell. Then he began punching the ground. Thud, thud. The earth swallowed his arms whole, pulling him deeper until even his face was buried. Though effectively buried alive, he didn’t suffocate. He hadn’t been breathing to begin with. Jaeyoung guessed his body would soon completely scatter and become part of this desert.

‘Eunsoo…’

He wanted to see Eunsoo. To hug him, bury his face in his neck, and say everything he’d wanted to say. Why had he suddenly been kind to me? What did he want from me?… Why give me affection only to ignore me now…

Then something brushed against his hand. He desperately grabbed at it. A smooth, round marble. Jaeyoung flailed his remaining arm, searching for more, but only fine sand touched his skin. The marble was the only solid object in this desert.

With most of his body gone, the marble kept slipping from his grasp. Using his remaining strength, he rolled it toward his face and put it in his mouth. Gulp. Though it had been a solid bead, the moment it entered his mouth, it melted away like water. A cool liquid trickled down his throat and spread through his body.

Jaeyoung’s body began reconstructing itself. Only then did he understand. This endless desert was the accumulated remains of all the lives the monster had absorbed, and he’d nearly become part of it.

[…What? What’s happening to my body?]

This was the monster’s mental world, and the marble he’d swallowed was a fragment that had broken off from the monster’s core.

[What are you doing inside me, human!]

“…Not much.”

The sand covering his body scattered hastily as if recognizing its master.

[Insolent human.]

Jaeyoung felt the monster trying to vomit him out. As he resisted and stumbled back, his foot hit something. Looking down, he saw a tennis ball-sized sphere. Picking it up with a dazed expression, he noted its watery surface that rippled like jelly but felt hard as glass. A pulse throbbed against his palm.

The monster’s core. Its heart. Without hesitation, Jaeyoung brought it to his mouth.

[How utterly arrogant! Do you think a mere human can handle the power of a king who has lived for hundreds of thousands of years?]

“What a load of crap…”

Eunsoo would have said that while sneering. Jaeyoung closed his eyes, picturing that beloved face, then swallowed the core whole. The moment it entered his mouth, it liquefied like the smaller marble and aggressively flooded every part of his body.

“Ghk—GAAAAH!”

It felt as if thousands of blades were stabbing into every pore of his skin. He writhed in agony, his body twisting as if it would tear apart.

[Kahaha! How laughable! This is amusing! Kahaha!]

He thrashed, screaming as tears and mucus flowed freely. His smooth skin cracked and began turning to sand again. The burning agony felt like being thrown into a pit of fire. His mouth parched with each breath until his tongue disintegrated into dust, his eyeballs rolling back. Even as he experienced what must be the most painful death imaginable…

‘Eunsoo…’

He thought only of him.

[I’ll be laughing about your stupidity for the next hundred years! Ahahaha! …What?! This can’t be…?!]

Just as Jaeyoung’s body was nearly gone, the monster’s panicked voice echoed. Its core, which should have reformed after being expelled, remained scattered across the ground.

[A curse… Awarita, you damned savage! You borrowed power from the Void…!]

Normally, it could have shaken off such a curse easily. But still wounded from its war with the King of Greed Awarita and with part of its core still inside a human, the King of Arrogance Aroganchia faced a choice: fade into oblivion, or abandon pride and live as a parasite.

[For I, Aroganchia, born a king, to meet such a meaningless end…unacceptable!]

Aroganchia had lived its entire life in arrogance. Among the Seven Kings, it had considered itself supreme. The thought of being erased by some savage’s scheme was unbearable. With its final strength, it willed a fragment of its core toward Jaeyoung. The core wriggled like a living thing and seeped into what remained of Jaeyoung’s body.

[Human! Take revenge! I give you all my power!]

*

Kim Jaeyoung opened his eyes.

He stood exactly where he’d encountered the monster Aroganchia, but his dazed mind couldn’t process where he was.