Chapter 38

The child-shaped thing slowly tilted its head.

Crack.

Its neck bent as though the bones were twisting, producing a sound no human neck should have been capable of making.
Its mouth slowly opened.
Between the torn corners of its mouth appeared a grotesque mixture of bovine molars and human teeth.
Then.

“I’m hungry.”

A hoarse, childlike voice echoed across the clearing.

“U-Ugh!”

In-cheol’s father, who had been performing the rite, cried out in terror and fell backward.
Only then did the others notice the child, and they all stumbled back at once.

“W-What… What are you? Who are you?”

Dae-hun stared at the child in shock and shouted.
But the child simply hopped down from the Livestock Soul Monument and landed lightly on the ground.
Then it approached In-cheol’s father, who was sitting on the ground.

“I’m hungry.”

At the chilling tone, In-cheol rushed over, yanked his father by the arm, and quickly pointed at Dae-hun.

“T-That bastard’s tasty.”

The child’s head slowly twisted toward Dae-hun at an unnatural angle.

“You…”

Dae-hun tried to shout at In-cheol, his face twisted with fear, but no voice came out.
The moment he saw the child’s mouth split almost to its ears, exposing its molars, his face went deathly pale and he backed away.
Then he turned and ran.
But he never got the chance.

CRUNCH!!

With a sickening crack, Dae-hun’s knees buckled and slammed into the ground.
Somehow, the child was already perched on his shoulders.

“Raaah-”

Then it opened its mouth over Dae-hun’s head.

CRUNCH! CRACK!

Half his head, including one eye, was bitten off bone and all and disappeared into the child’s mouth.

Crunch- Crunch- Chomp- Chomp- Crunch-

The child chewed and swallowed Dae-hun’s head without stopping.

“Uh… Uh… Uh…”

The others stared with their mouths hanging open, unable even to scream.
Some instinct told them that if they made a sound, they might become its next target.
In-cheol likewise clamped both hands over his mouth and could only scoot backward on the ground.

After finishing Dae-hun’s head, the child turned toward In-cheol, blood streaming from its mouth.
It walked over step by step and crouched before him.

“Do you know lots of tasty things?”

There was no way In-cheol could shake his head when the thing asking had just chewed through a man’s skull and still had blood dripping from its mouth.
In-cheol nodded desperately.

“Good. Then I should go with you.”
“Hk!”

In-cheol nearly screamed in shock, but the hands desperately clamped over his mouth saved him from disaster.
Even in his panic, his mind began racing.
A monster that had eaten Dae-hun’s head simply because In-cheol pointed him out.
The thought flashed through his mind that he might be able to use this monster to get rid of the other monsters currently pushing their way into Majang-dong.

“Yes! Yes, I can show you.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
“R-Right now?”
“Yeah. But first I need to sleep. I’m tired.”
“Y-Yes. All right.”

Without even taking the time to check on his father, who was still collapsed on the ground, In-cheol got to his feet.
Then he led the child toward his shop, which had been pushed to the outskirts of Majang-dong.

As soon as they reached the shop, the child headed straight for the enormous walk-in refrigerator.
It pointed inside and said to In-cheol,

“There’s lots of food.”

“…”

The child opened the walk-in refrigerator, went inside, and began devouring the meat.

Chomp- Chomp- Chomp-

The office itself was small, but In-cheol ran a fairly successful wholesaling business, so the refrigerator held a considerable amount of meat.
Yet all of it disappeared in no time, and apparently still unsatisfied, the child devoured every last piece of frozen meat as well.
Then it curled up in a corner of the freezer and lay down.

Thinking that it was finally going to sleep after complaining of exhaustion, In-cheol stood watching without even closing the freezer door.
Then black strands began pouring from the child’s body like tentacles. Startled, In-cheol slammed the freezer door shut.

A short while later, In-cheol opened the freezer again and froze.
The black tendrils had wrapped around the child’s body, forming something like a cocoon.
And instead of the freezer’s ordinary cold, the entire space was filled with yin energy that made his whole body shudder.

“What… What the hell is happening…?”

In-cheol clutched his head and sank to the floor.
He had brought the thing here to kill the beastfolk gangsters, but now it looked like he might be ruined before that ever happened.
Dae-hun had been eaten, and every scrap of meat in the shop was gone.

And that wasn’t the only problem.
The monster had devoured that enormous amount of meat in an instant.
When it woke up, it might demand even more.
And if there was no meat, he might become the food.
In-cheol shuddered in terror.

“I need food. I need to find it food.”

With trembling hands, he took out his phone.
Anyone would do, as long as it was not him or his family.
He had to lure someone here before the monster woke.
That seemed like the only way to avoid becoming its meal himself.
At that moment, the office door flew open and someone walked inside.

“Hey~ Boss In. I’m here to collect.”

It was Su-cheol, a boar beastfolk with tattoo-covered forearms and a thick gold chain around his neck.
In-cheol stared up at him blankly.
Su-cheol frowned, grabbed In-cheol by the collar, and hauled him to his feet.

“What the hell? Why do you look so out of it?”
“W-Well…”
“What? Spit it out, asshole.”
“N-No, it’s just… Well…”

“Is this my food?”

The child, now slightly larger than before, was standing behind Su-cheol. No one had seen it emerge.
Su-cheol released In-cheol’s collar and turned around.

“What the hell? Who’s this kid?”

But the instant Su-cheol met the child’s eyes, he froze.
Ghostly energy flowed from the child alongside killing intent that pressed down upon his entire body.
For a beastfolk who lived by instinct, it was an aura far beyond anything he could endure.

“Huh…? Uh… Uh…”

Su-cheol staggered backward.
The child kept its head tilted at an odd angle as it looked at In-cheol.
In-cheol slowly nodded.

“…Yes. He is.”
“Okay. I’ll enjoy it.”

CRUNCH- CRUNCH-

After building up his internal energy, Jun-gyeong’s daily life became remarkably ordinary.
No more spirits came to the peach tree, he had nothing to ask of Seung-ho or Hyeon-seok, and now that he was sitting atop Mana Stones, he no longer needed the medicinal pills Barkan could make.

All Jun-gyeong did was wake before dawn, practice his cultivation method, and swing his sword.
As for food, he continued eating nothing but boiled pork and rice, just as before.
Delivery was available now, and restaurants were steadily opening throughout the neighborhood, but Jun-gyeong had little interest in food. Pork and rice were enough for him.

“This is a problem.”

Jun-gyeong looked down at his table, then turned a puzzled gaze toward Ok-hee.

“Why is this a problem?”
“Because you’re eating three meals a day made up of nothing but protein and carbohydrates.”
“That’s what I’m asking. Why is that a problem?”
“No! You need fiber and other nutrients too… Haa~ Forget it. I guess I’ll have to figure this out myself.”

Ok-hee shook her head at Jun-gyeong’s still-baffled expression.

“Why don’t you go to Mi-jeong’s restaurant? The food there is good.”
“No need. It’s not like I did it so I could go brag about it.”

Ok-hee smiled and nodded.

“You should still go. She’s waiting.”
“For me?”
“No. For the landlord. You’re the landlord, remember?”
“Right. I’ll deal with that myself. More importantly, is there any more work?”
“Nothing definite, but there is one suspicious situation.”

Jun-gyeong’s gaze immediately sharpened.

“This one’s from a police source. Apparently there have been a series of disappearances in Majang-dong. Since the cases involve beastfolk, people are keeping quiet about it. I think we need to dig a little deeper.”
“Why would they keep quiet about it? Even if they’re beastfolk, aren’t they still people living under this country’s protection now?”

Ok-hee’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“I wouldn’t exactly call them citizens. They’re more like visitors who came here and decided to stay. And beastfolk tend to cause their share of problems.”
“…”
“Most beastfolk species are naturally suited to group living, so they band together easily. Even across species. Wolves and bears might form the same organization, for example.”
“So, like Korean organized-crime gangs?”
“Exactly. Their culture has warped into something like that. There’s one beastfolk gang that used their distinctive traits to swallow up Majang-dong. They’re the victims in these disappearances. That’s why nobody’s eager to make noise about it.”
“Beastfolk victims…”

As Jun-gyeong saw it, gangsters or not, people were people, and those who lived among them were simply another kind of person.
But the government and police did not see things that way.
They were, indisputably, living beings of another species.
Even if they were a race that had migrated across dimensions, it was difficult for the authorities to look kindly on beastfolk who repeatedly caused trouble.

“Anyway, we need more information. We don’t know whether this is a gang war or something being done by a monster. The police haven’t found any trace of the missing people.”
“If even the police can’t find a trace… then a yokai is probably involved.”

Jun-gyeong instinctively sensed that a yokai was involved.
From his battles with beastfolk, he knew how strong they were and how quickly they could move.
If beastfolk like that were vanishing without anyone noticing, it would be difficult to explain without a yokai or evil spirit being involved.

“I’ll go take a look myself. I happen to be out of meat anyway.”

Ok-hee glanced down at the table and nodded.

“All right.”

It was the tail end of the monsoon season.
Fortunately, it was not raining, but thick clouds covered the sun and cast the ground in gloom.
Jun-gyeong entered Majang-dong with Ok-hee.
Scents poured from between flashy red and yellow signs and refrigerated display cases glowing red over rows of meat.

The metallic smell of blood unique to butcher shops.
The smell of fat.
And the musk of animals.

Jun-gyeong stopped.
Mixed into the smell of blood was the damp, sinister trace of ghost energy.

“How many beastfolk are missing?”
“Three.”
“Someone must have reported them missing for the police to classify them that way.”
“Yes. Beast, the criminal organization controlling this area, filed the reports.”
“Beast… Are those their people?”

Ok-hee followed Jun-gyeong’s gaze.

THUD!

A huge man wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt that exposed tattoo-covered skin kicked a box outside a butcher shop.

“You fucking with me?!”
“J-Just give me a little more time.”
“Time? Ha. You crazy bastard.”

The beastfolk grabbed the man by the collar and shook him back and forth.

“You human bastards still don’t understand the situation?”
“Kgh-”
“Do we look easy to you?”

The beastfolk thug shoved the butcher-shop owner away by the collar, sending him tumbling backward as boxes toppled around him.
Customers and nearby merchants frowned and backed away.
A few people pulled out their phones.

“Put those cameras down!! You all wanna fucking die?!”

The beastfolk shouted threats at them, and everyone who had taken out a phone hurriedly shoved it back into their pocket.
The beastfolk turned back to the butcher and grabbed his head in one massive hand.

“Tomorrow. I’ll be back tomorrow. Got it?”
“…Yes.”

He gave the man’s collar a couple of sharp pats, then turned and disappeared into the crowd.

The crowd wore dark expressions.
The butcher-shop owners lining both sides of the alley looked especially terrified, lowering their heads and retreating into their stores.

“…Damn animal bastards.”

The butcher who had been knocked to the ground struggled to his feet and went back inside.
Ok-hee watched, shaking her head.
Jun-gyeong’s eyes slowly narrowed.

“He’s terrified.”
“Whatever the reason, wouldn’t anyone be scared after being treated like that?”
“No. I’m talking about that beastfolk.”
“The beastfolk? You’re saying he’s scared?”

Ok-hee stared at him in disbelief.
Jun-gyeong nodded, his eyes gleaming.

“Yes. He’s scared out of his mind, with his tail tucked between his legs.”

Jun-gyeong kept his eyes on the beastfolk’s retreating back.
Even while shouting threats, the man’s ears twitched sharply at every tiny sound around him, and his eyes darted nervously like those of a hunted animal.
They were the eyes of prey afraid of a predator.